Do you know what a stock shot in golf is?
To put it simply, a stock shot is a shape of shot that you can rely on whether that be a fade or a draw.
The best golfers in the world have had a stock shot. For example…
- Jack Nicklaus – fade
- Ben Hogan – fade
- Lee Trevino – fade
- Nick Price – draw
- Berhard Langer – draw
- Tom Lehman – draw
- Bobby Jones – draw
So why would such great players not just hit the ball straight?
Simply because it’s virtually impossible to hit straight shots. Jack Nicklaus has been quoted as saying he’s only ever hit 3 straight golf shots in all his life.
And he’s one of the best golfers who has ever lived!
So what chance do you and me have of hitting straight golf shots consistently?
Obviously very little to none.
The reason it’s virtually impossible to hit perfectly straight golf shots is because the clubhead is traveling very fast and at impact the clubhead has to be moving exactly along your target line. And I mean exactly, it can’t be a fraction of an inch off. Equally the clubface has to be perfectly square when it contacts the ball. Also, you need to hit the ball directly out of the center of the clubface.
But then, even if you achieved all of this you would probably have wind to deal with which would put some sidespin on your ball.
Now the theory with choosing a stock shot is that it will help you to have greater consistency from one shot to the next. So to hit either a draw or a fade you need to put sidespin on the ball. And to do this you need to contact the ball with a glancing or crosscutting blow.
Here is a practical example of why you need to pick a shape of shot that you can hit consistently.
Let’s say you’re faced with a 5-iron to a green. The pin is on the left side of the green just 10 feet from the fringe. So if your stock shot was a fade you could aim at the pin and if you fluked a dead straight golf shot your ball would be right on the pin. If on the other hand you hit your standard fade shot you would probably end up about 10 feet to the right of the hole with a good chance at holing the putt. But if you had a bit more of a fade than you liked then you might end up 20-30 feet to the right of the hole.
That’s smart golf.
So you have to make a decision which way your normal golf shot (your stock shot) is going to fly. And you only have two options:
1. A fade.
2. A draw.
Now there are pro’s and con’s to both shape of shots, and let’s look at some.
The Fade
A fade is a shot that curves slightly from left to right.
Fade Example
- This shot is easier to control than a draw in my opinion.
- It flies higher and lands softer.
- If a lack of distance is a problem for you then this is probably not the best shape of shot.
The Draw
A draw is a shot that curves slightly from right to left.
Draw Example
So you have to make a choice as to which shape of shot you want to hit.
The major factors in making this choice are height and length. If you play on a course that often requires high shots to stop the ball then the fade will be better at doing this. If on the other hand you need to play a lot of lower shots then a draw is better. Then if you play a golf course that is very, very long and you struggle with distance then a draw will give you more distance. For a shorter tighter course, then a fade will do better.
The bottom line is you have to weigh up what will work better for you.
Now by doing this it doesn’t mean that you can’t hit the other shape of shot. It just means that most of your shots will curve one way, and you’ll know that is going to happen before you play the shot.
OK, let’s say you’ve chosen to play a draw shot as your stock shot.
How are you going to make sure you hit a draw shot consistently?
Well, you’re not going to change anything with your swing. Hopefully you’ve grooved a good solid swing by now. o you’re going to achieve a draw shape of shot by adjusting your setup. Here’s what you need to do.
When you’re standing behind your ball I want you to visualize a straight line from your ball to your ultimate target. Then pick out an initial, intermediate target from your ball to your target. This initial, intermediate target should be about 2-3 feet in front of your ball.
Now, you’re going to pick another intermediate target to the right of your first one. Once you have this second, intermediate target you then use that to setup to your shot.
So you setup your body parallel to the second intermediate target. And by doing this all parts of your body will be aligned to the right of your ultimate target. Here is a picture showing you this setup…
Now the only other adjustment you need to make is to square the clubface up to where you want your ball to finish. So for this example, you would have to close the clubface a fraction so that is pointing at the initial intermediate target. Here is a closeup picture of this…
So there you go, that’s the two main things you have to change in your setup to hit a draw (or fade for that matter).
- Body Alignment
- Clubface alignment
Once you have changed these factors you then simply need to swing along the line you’ve setup. And in the example I’ve just given you that would mean that your swing path will be swinging out to the right of your target. The ball should then curve from right to left because at impact the clubface should be slightly closed and your swing path is in to out.
To hit a fade you simply need to reverse those instructions that I just gave you for a draw. Remember, you simply have to change your body alignment to your final target and then align your clubface to your final target. After doing this you then simply have to swing along your alignment line.
Now there are some other things that will help you to hit one shape of shot or the other. Here they are:<
So the main things you need to adjust are your alignment and cluface positioning at setup to help you hit a stock shot consistently. And the other things I’ve mentioned above are things you can try to help you hit a better and more consistent stock shot.
The bottom line of this lesson is that you need to pick one shape of shot that you can almost certainly always hit. Then make the necessary setup changes and learn to hit that shape of shot consistently. When you do that you’ll have much greater ball striking consistency and consequently much more fun playing golf.
P.S. Until midnight on the 24th of December 2009 you can try the online consistent golf school for just $1. To do this simply go here: http://www.consistentgolfschool.com/$1trial.htm
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Tiger Woods sure is making news at the moment! 
And a lot of people are arguing about what he’s done, whether it’s right or wrong or any of our business.
Well, this is the way I’m looking at it.
I don’t care what Tiger Woods has done or not done. We are all sinners so I’m not going to jump down his throat on any of that. I will however express how very sad it must be for Elin and the kids right now. What a terrible situation for them.
Now on the privacy issue. This is the best quote I have found about whether Tiger Woods should have privacy or not over any of this. It’s a quote from the CEO of Google Eric Schmidt. In an interview with CNBC, Schmidt said….
“If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place.”
That sums up all of this privacy talk up for me perfectly. And really that applies to all of us whether we’re in the public eye or not.
Before all of this I did think Tiger Woods was intelligent. He seemed like he was intelligent at least. But everything that has come out over the last week or so is making me come to the conclusion that I may have overestimated his intelligence. However as my wife said….intelligent people can make bad choices and intelligence does not equal wisdom. Wise woman.
Now when Tiger Woods comes back to playing golf next year it is going to be an absolute circus as far as the media is concerned. I’m sure before that there will be the “Oprah” (or someone similar) interview to try and repair his battered image. I was just reading today that Gatorade is pulling the pin on its Gatorade Tiger Focus drink. Naturally they are saying they had it planned months ago anyway.
What an unfortunate name for a drink in hindsight, along with Nike’s “Just Do It” slogan.
Anyway those are my current thoughts on this Tiger Woods situation. Let me know what you’re thinking is. By the way here’s a question to answer….do you think this is going to be good for golf or not and why?
A number of months ago I asked golfers to think about their enjoyment levels playing golf now compared to when they first started. I received a lot of responses from golfers all around the world, but one golfer sent me his thoughts and his response really saddened me. I thought it would be great if we could collectively help this golfer out. So first read what his response was to my “tell me about your enjoyment levels you have now compared with when you first started playing golf” question.
======> Start Golfers Response To My Question
Nick, I enjoy your website and instruction very much, good job. I was just talking to one of my friends about this not long ago. I am a scratch golfer by the way.
I could hardly wait to get to the golf course on a Saturday & Sunday morning. Like a kid on Christmas morning!! I seemed to enjoy the game so much more then!! I think I even enjoyed my friends more, during the Saturday morning Men’s Club events. I enjoyed the local and state golf tournaments as well.
Now, I know so much more about the golf swing than I ever have, but seem to enjoy it all much less. I get aggravated more often when I play and practice. My good rounds leave me with a nothing feeling, because I expect to play well. The bad rounds; well they are just ZERO fun anymore…
Any suggestions Nick.
======> End Golfers Response To My Question
So have a think about this and then please post your comments giving this golfer your advice on what he can do to regain the enjoyment he had when first starting to play golf. I look forward to reading your advice and comments.
Tags: golf enjoyment