How to Hit a Low Draw With Your Driver

If you play on a lot of hard golf courses, a low draw is a very useful shot to have in your repertoire. It gives you an advantage when you must drive into the wind, since the low draw gets a lot of its distance after it hits the ground. For many weekend players, hitting a draw of any kind seems like an impossible task.

However, the low draw is often easier to learn because the shot feels more like a normal swing. Tiger Woods compares hitting a low draw with a driver to hitting a stinger shot from the tee.

1. Set up to hit a straight drive. This is the easiest way to learn how to adjust your setup to hit the low draw. If you play right-handed, pick a target that is a few yards to the right of where you'd like the ball to finish. (Aim to the left if you play left-handed.)

2. Address the ball with your feet, hips and shoulders parallel to this target line. Tee the ball forward in your stance; for most players, imagining a line dropped straight down from your left armpit will give you the correct position. Grip the club so the face points straight down the target line.

1. Adjust your ball position. To do this, keep your body aligned to the target line and just move both feet slightly toward the target. Tiger likes to narrow his stance slightly when he does this.

2. This will have the effect of moving the ball backward in your stance. Move forward just enough to move the ball back an inch or two.

3. Then push the tee down to lower the ball. Normally you want half of the ball to be above the top of the driver head; for the low draw, you want only a third to a quarter of the ball above it.

1. Pull your right foot straight back 2 or 3 inches from the target line. This will close your stance, which means that a line drawn through your ankles will now point across your target line.

2. You want an in-to-out swing path when you try to hook the ball; moving your foot like this alters your swing path without you having to think about it. This technique was recommended by Ben Hogan, who said it helps a golfer a draw while making minimal changes to a normal swing.

1. Keep your shoulders parallel to the line of your feet. If you keep your shoulders parallel to the target line, they promote an outside-in swing and could result in a pull or a fade, depending on the position of your clubface.

1. Make your swing. The closed stance will help you to make the in-to-out swing path you need. The new ball position will let you hit the ball solidly without having to reach for it on the downswing.

2. But since you only moved the ball a little, you'll have time to get the driver face back square to the target line. The ball will start out on a low flight just to the right of your target, draw back and bounce toward the spot where you want the ball to finish.