Draw or Fade?

The old argument of whether to hit a draw or a fade has historically been won by those in the "draw" corner. Not sure why but I suspect its because a draw gets you increased distance. It may also be because 90% of golfers hit an exaggerated fade and want to gain those extra 20 yards of the tee by hitting a draw. Both types of shot shapes have there pros and cons. But what you really want to know is which shot shape is the best overall?




Start of with the draw shape. A draw shape is the ball moving right to left in the air and has increased top spin on the ball thus causing it to roll further on impact. To hit the draw shape the swing path needs to be an in-out shape.

A Fade shape is the ball moving left to right in the air and has increased backspin thus causing it to stop a lot quicker on impact and with the higher lofted clubs sometimes causing the ball to spin back. The fade shape is hit due to the swing plane being out-in. The reason behind 90% of golfers hitting a fade and in most cases an exaggerated one is due to them trying to hit the ball with their arms instead of their shoulders. In doing this the swing plane is only going one way and that's out-in!

Now which shot is better is entirely personal to the golfer.

For me the way to go is to be able to hit both shapes. Play the draw of the tee and with the long irons for increased distance and the fade on approach shots for that desired "drop and stop" action!

Rory moving to Nike??

Rumours have it that due to Rory McIlroy's contract with Titleist coming to an end, Nike are going to try and reel him in with an astonishing 156 million pound deal! Making him the second highest paid British sportsman behind David Beckham. Rory will be able to feast himself on 780,000,000 Freddo's after signing the contract.

The main fear will be what happens to Nike's current 'no money spared' marketing machine Tiger Woods. Woods reportedly earned 35 million a year from Nike in recent years but has had to take a sizeable recent pay cut due to an unknown reason. Is this due to his arch rival joining Nike? I think so!

But why is Rory moving to Nike. After winning 2 major championships with Titleist, why would he change the most important things in his bag, his clubs! To a golfer his clubs are like a footballer's boots or a tennis player's racket. The fear is that due to a change in equipment Rory may lose his touch and may not be able to emulate Woods and Nicklaus in their Major victories, even with the huge amount of natural talent that he has.

Europe's next Ryder Cup captain?

Many believe Darren Clarke is the favourite for the captaincy but statistics suggest that the dark horse of Paul McGinley is the most qualified. After Europe's record breaking win Darren Clarke was quick to tweet that he has yet to be offered the 2014 captaincy to be held at Gleneagles.

But backing from some of the games most prestigious players is going the way of Darren Clarke. The two that stand out the most come from his close friend and Europe's current most experienced player Lee Westwood. Westwood was very supportive of his colleague and stated "Darren's achievements in the game are far greater than that of Paul's".



But many feel that if McGinley misses out on the captaincy in 2014, then he will run the risk of being pushed out of the spotlight by players like Padraig Harrington and Lee Westwood.




Many players praise the man from Dublin for his organisational skills and the motivation that he provides them. McGinley ticks all the right boxes for becoming a captain despite never winning a major. It would be a great loss if he doesn't get the chance to lead his continent. No one wants McGinley to be another Sandy Lyle and be casted into the shadows.