Until we evolve the game of golf into a massive AI-enhanced set of clubs that never hit anything short of the perfect shot, golfers are tasked with the search for the golfing Holy Grail…the “Perfect Swing!”

Before you can begin this quest, you first need to understand the different types of golf swings.

Empty your mind about everything you have read either in print or online and for the purpose of this blog post let’s look at the different types of golf swings, and how that will play into ultimately finding the “perfect” swing to apply to your game.

Let’s tee it up!

Draw or Fade? Which One Describes Your Swing?

First, let’s examine the two distinct types of golf swings and what that means to your golf swing from addressing the ball to your completed swing ‘follow through.’

Although a completed golf swing is comprised of several feet of the complete arc of the swing, it’s the moment your club impacts the ball that determines which type of swing you have.

Your complete swing is only in contact with the ball for about 0.75 inches. The position of your club face at that precise moment is going to be either;

• Right of the target producing a draw
• Left of the target producing a fade
• Centered for straight ball flight at the target

Take a look at this graphic to get a better understanding of draw and fade-type golf swings and how that relates to the flight of your golf ball.

Now ask yourself which type of swing best describes your swing. If your ball begins traveling to the right and back toward the target you have a draw in your swing. If your ball begins its flight by leaving your club face and flying left to right back to the target, you have a fade in your golf swing.

These examples listed here are for right-handed golfers. If you are a lefty, the paths of the ball are simply reversed as a left-handed draw will move left to right of the target.

As you get comfortable with a swing that consistently produces a draw or fade, you can begin to experiment with different angles of attack and your stance to use your draw or fade ability to better your golfing game. This ability will come in handy when navigating a tougher course that has trees and different obstacles like sharp dog-leg holes and sand traps.

A competitive golfer with a low handicap can use his or her draw and fade to produce a scorecard worthy of framing!

Advanced Details of Your Golf Swing

Now let’s dig a bit deeper into that golf swing and define some of the finer details and elements you can factor into finding your “perfect” swing.

Without inundating you with a bunch of technical jargon and data specifics about these details let’s break them down into three different elements;

• Single Plane
• Rotational
• Hands and Arms

Then, let’s help you to visualize these elements a step further by attaching the name of a professional golfer you probably know to those specific elements.

Rickie Fowler and His Single Plane Swing

PGA Professional Rickie Fowler uses a Single Plane Trajectory during competition at PGA-sanctioned events. This type of golf swing is the most difficult to master.

To begin with, when you take your club away from the ball, your hands are held higher in comparison to other types of swings. It is difficult to achieve this height, maintain square shoulders all the way through the ball and follow through.

It is what it is. Your club is in a single plane and you drive through the ball to produce a slight draw effect.

Tiger Woods and His Rotational Swing

We have all seen the power that Tiger Woods can put into a tee shot. Tiger uses his entire body to power through the ball and this type of swing is not intended for those who are not in top physical condition.

As Tiger takes his club away, he rotates his body from the waist up. He brings the club to the ball he unleashes all that power in his rotation much like a spring releasing energy. When he strikes the ball the power of the rotation is transferred from the right to the left at the precise moment of ball impact. This takes a bit of practice to get right but when you master this much power through the ball the results will be amazing!

Another good tip for the rotational swing is allowing your left arm (for right-handed golfers) to essentially pull your club down hard during the swing and your rotation to follow just behind that pulling power. As you impact the ball your rotational power shifts from your right foot to your left and all the way through your swing.

And the best advice for an awesome rotational swing is practice, practice, practice!

Jim Furyk and His Hands and Arms Swing

Tiger uses rotation. Jim Furyk rotates only slightly during is golf swing. His swing utilizes the hand and arm muscles at different leverage points to consistently drive through the ball. This gives Jim  more ball control in keeping the trajectory straight at the target.

This swing focuses more on keeping the body rigid while allowing the hands and arms to do the work.

Have you ever seen an older golfer on the course that always hits a straight shot?  It may look like they’re chopping wood rather than golfing but always hit right at the target! He’s using the hands and arms swing!

In Conclusion

There is no substitute for practicing hard and often when searching for your “perfect” golf swing.

The “perfect” golf swing is a myth. In reality you need to be searching for “your perfect golf swing”. This comes from experimenting with different tips to find how to make consistent contact with the golf ball. The ball leaves your club straight and true and you watch in amazement as it passes through 200 yards, 250 yards, and so on. The search is over. The Holy Grail of golf is now in your possession!

For some great advice, and direction in finding your “perfect” swing the staff at Indoor/X-Golf is ready to assist you with PGA staff members, high-speed cameras to take your swing apart and analyze, and give you the insight to put you and your golf swing on the path to what performs best for you!