By Justin Parsons

Forget the high draw – this is the go-to shot you’ll see most at the majors

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The twin revolutions in equipment and athleticism that have transformed golf over the past two decades have also had a dramatic impact on the way the top modern day tour professionals flight the ball. When I was growing up, many of the top players would employ a fairly pronounced draw as their stock shot. In the 1980s and 90s, draws flew significantly farther than fades and playing with plenty of shot shape was standard with the old tour wound balata balls.

As a result, most of the best players of that era had a lot of hand action in their swings through impact with the ‘reverse C’ finish position a common sight among the game’s finest. But today, what you see now is a lot of players hitting what we would refer to as a tour pro fade. This is a really powerful, very straight shot that might contain just a little bit of fade spin that makes the ball fall to the right. The way players hit this shot is of course quite complex, but in the video below I have identified two key components in the swing that are vital in producing a tour pro fade, and illustrated a couple of drills that you can try in order to gain a better feel for this very reliable, powerful shot.