How to Hit a Fade in Golf - Fades Made Simple

Quick answer: A fade starts left of your target and curves back to it. That happens when your clubface at impact is left of the target - which sets the starting direction - and your swing path is slightly further left still, which puts the left-to-right spin on the ball. The fastest way to produce those conditions is at setup: aim your feet and shoulders left of the target, move the ball slightly forward in your stance, and get your pressure onto your lead side before impact. (Left-handers: mirror every direction in this guide.)

In this post, WhysGuy will cover:

• What a fade actually is, and why it's worth having one.
• Four practical setup changes that produce a fade.
• How to set up the WhyGolf Alignment Disc to feel an out-to-in path.

What Is a Fade in Golf?

For a right-handed player, a fade describes a shot that starts to the left of your target and curves back to your target.

If you haven't already, we highly recommend reviewing our post on the Ball Flight Laws for a refresher on the relationship between clubface angle and swing path. Put simply, a club's face angle at impact primarily determines the starting direction of the golf ball, and the resulting curve reflects the difference between your swing path and face angle at impact.

The impact conditions for a fade (right-handers):

• The club's face angle at impact must be to the left of the target, so the ball starts left of the target.
• Swing path needs to be slightly left of face angle, which produces fade spin.

It's likely most people reading this don't have trouble fading the ball. If what you actually want is to perform an exorcism on your slice, our guide to hitting a draw works the same problem from the other direction. Provided your fade isn't pathological - spinning excessively - fades are genuinely useful:

• For most golfers, fades are easier to control than draws, since they usually require less clubface rotation through the ball.
• Fades spin more than draws. More spin lets you land approach shots softly on greens, so you can be more aggressive from the fairway.
• Fades let you attack tucked-right pins safely (left pins for left-handers). Instead of aiming straight at a right pin, you aim toward the center of the green and let the fade spin walk the ball closer.

How to Hit a Fade - 4 Steps

The four changes below are in order for a reason. The first three are setup changes that move your swing path left without you having to think about it mid-swing; the fourth is the only thing you actually feel during the swing.

1. Aim Left of Your Target

• Since you need your swing path to be left of the target at impact (for right-handers), aim your feet and shoulders left of your target at setup.
• Your swing path naturally follows the direction your body aims - aim left, swing left.
• This is a setup change, not a swing thought. Once you're aimed, you don't have to think about it again.

2. Move the Ball Forward

• When you move the ball forward in your stance, your swing path naturally comes more from the outside, which helps you hit a fade.
• Don't be afraid to play around with ball position. If you move the ball forward a few inches and still struggle to fade it, try playing the ball off your front heel.
• If you're not sure where your ball position currently sits, our guide to using golf alignment sticks covers how to check it in about two minutes.

3. Get to Your Lead Side

• If you don't get your pressure to your lead side at impact, it's easy to stall with the lower body and hit the dreaded pull-hook. The hook happens because your arms and wrists turn over, closing the clubface well left of the target with a neutral path.
• If you're struggling to get to your lead side at impact, the Pressure Plate can be a useful tool to feel a proper pressure shift.
• More on the distinction between pressure and weight in our weight shift guide.

4. Swing Left After Impact

• With the Alignment Disc, you can set alignment rods at specific angles to facilitate a swing path and shot shape of your choosing.
• For many golfers, practicing with a physical reference point makes it far easier to feel where the clubhead is - and where it should be - through the swing.
• The dotted line in the illustration is the path you're trying to feel: the clubhead exiting left of the target after the ball is gone.

The Alignment Disc Fade Drill

The setup changes above get your path moving left. This drill is how you find out whether it worked, without needing video or a launch monitor.

• Setup: Set the Alignment Disc about a club-length from the ball and a foot inside the target line.
• Rod angle: Place a Padded Alignment Rod in the disc and match the rod's angle roughly to the angle of your club's shaft at address.
• Rehearse: Take a few slow practice swings to feel the new path before you hit anything.
• Adjust: If you hit shots from this position and the ball isn't fading, move the disc closer to the target line. That moves your swing path even further out-to-in.
• Transfer: Repeat for a few shots until you have the feel, then apply that feel to regular range shots.

Why Your Fade Isn't Working

• The ball isn't starting left. If it starts at the target and curves right, you have a push-fade, not a fade - your face is square and only the path moved. Check the face first: the ball starts where the face points.
• You aimed your feet but not your shoulders. Shoulders drive path far more than feet do. It's easy to set your feet left and leave your shoulders square, which cancels most of the change.
• You're steering it. Holding the face open through impact with your hands produces a weak, spinny cut instead of a fade. Let the setup create the path and swing normally.
• You hang back. Staying on your trail side lets the hands turn over, and the ball hooks even from a left path. Get your pressure forward - that's what step 3 is for.
• You only exaggerate a little. A fade is a small window. If two inches of ball position and a few degrees of aim aren't producing curve, double them, feel the exaggerated version, then walk it back.

Key Takeaways

• A fade in golf happens when your clubface is slightly open to your swing path at impact, with both left of the target for a right-hander.
• Change your setup before you change your swing - aim left, ball forward, pressure to your lead side.
• The ball has to start left. If it doesn't, you're fixing the wrong thing.
• The WhyGolf Alignment Disc is a useful tool to help you feel an out-to-in swing path indoors or on the range.

Check out our YouTube channel for drills and tips:

P.S. If you're here researching for a golf-obsessed dad rather than your own ball flight, we put together a golf gifts for dad guide organized the same way this post is: by the problem you're trying to fix.