keeping the driver straight

Question
Hey Eddie, right now i'm having a major tendency to push the ball right of my target line, it will go perfectly straight in the wrong direction. When i do get it ball to start down my intended target line it will have a fade spin on it and the ball ends up left of the fairway in the rough. Think it is a setup problem? Thanks

Answer
Hi Rajeev:

Let's get our pushes and fades down first.  The language of a fade is a ball that curves from left to right.  A push is a shot that just goes straight right.  So if your ball has a fade spin on it, it will end up right of the fairway, not left.  So if we are talking about the same thing, then the problem is two fold.  If you tend to just push the ball straight right, then you are swinging too much from the inside.  The club is approaching the ball too far from the inside, then swinging out to the right of the target.  Clubface is square to that line, so ball just goes straight right.  A fade simply means the clubface is left open (to the right), so the ball would curve slightly from left to right.  ASSUMING YOU ARE ALIGNED CORRECTLY, start making your forward swing more towards the target instead of towards 2 o'clock (picturing a clock when 12 o'clock is your target).  Check in your setup that your shoulders, forearms and feet are line up parallel to the left of your target.  The clubface is lined up at the target, the rest of you should be aimed parallel left.  If your shoulders are open a little, the tendency is to push the ball off to the right or turn that into a fade or worse yet a slice.  A little practice and you'll be fine.  

Eddie Kilthau
PGA Member