How are people using draw/fade to affect their shots?

[bahnzo]

I'm curious, because I haven't played real golf in a long time, and even when I did I never had the talent to draw/fade a shot. 

I've also noticed there's some commentary where it's talked about hitting the fade/draw into the wind for some reason, but they don't elaborate so I have no idea what they mean.

Anyone wanna share how they use the fade/draw in the shot shaper?

[cseanny]

To allow distance control and aim points.

The current fade/draw mechanics don't actually allow for you to offset the wind unless you're hitting over 102%-105%, and even then, it's only a few yards at best. If you want to offset the wind one must hit fasts or slows.

[twofor22]

I usually only use it to go around corners. I don't have the skills in real life to do both on demand either. I used to hit fades all the time, now I hit draws for some reason.

[dreagleg]

For me it seems like I hit a natural draw, because I can't seem to hit a straight, perfect shot on the meter, and I usually hit fasts most of the time.

So I basically just aim right and play the draw. It works consistently enough for me to play the hole, but every one in a while I'll hit a slow instead of a fast and have a massive slice on my hands. I never bother to actually try and shape my shot because I can't hit it straight in the first place!

[5150]

I haven't verified if this all holds true in 2k21, but in real life, draws and fades are used for a variety of reasons:

-Holding against the wind - if the wind is blowing left to right, then a right handed golfer could hit a draw to hold the shot up against it, and vice versa.

-RIDING the wind - let's say the fairway curves left to right, and the wind is coming from behind the tee and a bit across the fairway from left to right as well... I might hit a draw to take advantage of that wind to push the ball further and also follow the fairway curve. Gotta be careful not to overcook it, though.

-Adjusting yardage slightly - generally a draw will end up rolling out further due to the lower trajectory, while a fade will carry a few yards less due to the higher trajectory. This is an oversimplification but a draw usually results from a closed club face, which de-lofts the club, hence lower trajectory / more rollout, with a fade being the opposite (open face, more loft, higher traj).

[andy6467]

dont think the draws or fades really help you mitigate the wind in this game. Agree that it is a fast or slow swing that can help.

[illinoisgator]

In 19 I’d use it to kill some distance on approach shots if needed. Say on a left to right wind id draw it to kill som distance and usually would cut down the rollout too by landing softer. On 21 I use it to just get around stuff...I’m too concerned just trying to get something straight right now

[iorwerth]

I am finding that i generally hit fast tempo. Discounting wind, if I put fade on it (amount varies per club), then I can often aim straight, as the fade counteracts the effects of the fast tempo. No exact science to it, and it doesn't always work (probably varying degrees of fast on my shot and not always straight swing, as well as wind having an impact), but it can work out nicely on some shots. Having said that, my best round is +5 over, so take what I am saying with a big pinch of salt, though when I started using it my scores did improve. So, i tend to either aim to the right to account for the fast tempo, or aim straight and try some fade.

[sandsaver01]

I have been having some success using draw/fade to keep from going through the fairway on drives on dog-leg holes. Maple Glen seemed to have a bunch of them, and I kept hitting good drives which them went right through the fairway into the rough because of the direction they were rolling. Putting some draw on dog-legs left gets the roll going along the direction of the fairway and not across it. I have also started using it occasionally on approaches to again have ball come in at a favorable direction for the green.

I find the "shot shaping" in 2K21 to be more useful than 2019 because of the way the game now aims the player for you. You just put the aim marker where you want the carry to end up and the player aims right or left the correct angle. In 2019 (for me anyway) it was always a guessing game how far left or right to aim to get the ball to land where I wanted it.

[FortyNothing]

I play left handed and use a draw on my drives to make the ball go from left to right in addition to purposefully playing fast because playing for perfect is near impossible, but I can nail fast almost every time.

I usually aim at the left edge of the fairway and only draw to just before the point where the swing plane reduces in size. This gives me a predictable arc. The trouble comes when the wind starts blowing however. Makes it a little less predictable. You can’t just shape the shot to cancel out the wind this year. I like clubs with high shot shaping. Shot shaping in general works a lot different than it did in previous games. I like it.

This becomes an issue however when I need to fade the ball the other way as shooting for slow is more difficult for me as I am a fast swinger and thus makes it more likely for me to hit a very slow which sends the ball into the woods.

It’s also great when you want to arc the ball toward the hole on an approach shot.

In previous games I would just go for perfect every time and always hit straight. Shot shaping is more important and more realistic this year in my opinion and makes for a more fun game I think.

[bahnzo]

Sept 19, 2020 5:42:58 GMT -5 sandsaver01 said:

I have been having some success using draw/fade to keep from going through the fairway on drives on dog-leg holes. Maple Glen seemed to have a bunch of them, and I kept hitting good drives which them went right through the fairway into the rough because of the direction they were rolling. Putting some draw on dog-legs left gets the roll going along the direction of the fairway and not across it. I have also started using it occasionally on approaches to again have ball come in at a favorable direction for the green.

I find the "shot shaping" in 2K21 to be more useful than 2019 because of the way the game now aims the player for you. You just put the aim marker where you want the carry to end up and the player aims right or left the correct angle. In 2019 (for me anyway) it was always a guessing game how far left or right to aim to get the ball to land where I wanted it.

Trying to get the ball to roll like you talk about is one of the things I've been trying. But I don't see it. Maybe it's the slope of the landing area? I've been trying to do this for greens especially. When you've got a tight pin tucked in behind a bunker, I would have thought bending the ball around that bunker would help getting it to roll a little in the direction of the shot. But it never seems to. It lands and bounces straight like I hit it that way to begin with. 

[Fluid druid]

Draws and fades do mitigate the wind, i use it a lot, it's not massive but it def helps going against a cross wind. I also use it to reduce distance on certain shots.

[donkeypuncherben]

I don't use it to mitigate the wind per se, but I love drawing or fading shots against the crosswind because it is a good way to take distance off and get longer irons to land more softly. I think it is a lot more controllable shot in terms of what happens after the ball lands than just aiming right or left to compensate

With the tee shots I will often use it when the fairway is at an angle to get my drive rolling down the length of the fairway rather than across.

[bahnzo]

Sept 20, 2020 4:55:58 GMT -5 donkeypuncherben said:

I don't use it to mitigate the wind per se, but I love drawing or fading shots against the crosswind because it is a good way to take distance off and get longer irons to land more softly. I think it is a lot more controllable shot in terms of what happens after the ball lands than just aiming right or left to compensate

With the tee shots I will often use it when the fairway is at an angle to get my drive rolling down the length of the fairway rather than across.

Thanks, this is something I've yet to try very much. Do you have any tips when playing against the crosswind, ie: maybe only aim 1/2 as much as you would and then play the fade/draw? 

[donkeypuncherben]

No sorry I don’t have it down that well. I just do feel shots sometimes it works sometimes it doesn’t