Whens a good time to learn to shap shots

We all have holes that favour certain types of shot ie to draw or fade it round either a dog leg our to use the contours of the land.
But when would be a good time to learn how to do this. Should us high handcappers just concentrate on just hitting straight shots all the time till we get down lower. Or should we be working on this now?

 Hi Matt, I'd say concentrate on the basics like stance grip etc which will enable you to strike the bal correctly. Shape shots are achieved by tweaking the stance, grip and club face.

 If you get bored whilst practicing you can toy around with fade ie open your stance (ie move your left leg lower than your right and experiment with differnt amounts of open face) or draw, the opposite though I wouldn't mess about with the grip just yet.

Just hit the ball straight. If you are a high handicapper, don't try to be extravagant!

 David, yes I've got to agree with you. I myself would never consider hitting a drive with draw or fade as I rarely achieve what I set out to do, ant fade or draw if I'm honest is i purely accidental. I do however know where the bal will be going as soon as I hit it.

At this moment I am satisfied if the ball goes forward, but I ifind now that these new metal woods are almost impossible to put a shape on them that can be controlled, where as my old persimmons were a pure joy in what one could achieve with them.

I was fortunate enough to be able to draw a ball naturally from very early on in my golfing journey and I think that a stock shspe of shot, where one knows which way the ball is going before being hit is an advantage to anyone.

I still manage to do this with my irons and is probably the reason why am pretty good with them from the 150 yard marker.

A perfectly straight shot is not only hard to achieve but can then move either way, with the striker having no say in which way, that is why,myself, I much prefer to play with a shape.

 Agreed John, and I'm quite happy with (for want of a better description) either a slight push or pull.

Ive recently been spending time at a local practice ground practicing lobs pitches and chips and this has had a great effect - much happier more accurate around the greens than have been in the past.

The age of your clubs is irrelevant to the kind of golf you are playing. New and shiny might give you more confidence but I very much doubt any improvement in handicap.

When you can put check spin, side spin, even no spin on a wedge shot, you know you've got the right one. What ever name is stamped on it.

On the subject of shaping shots, modern day clubs are built for forgiveness, both Woods and Irons, so hitting a Ball with Shape is a lot more difficult today. So my advice would be leave it to the experts, even Tiger struggles with it.

TheLyth

Here's my 2 penneth and it's worth nothing

Whilst I don't go to the range and pratice hitting a fade or draw as I have enough trouble keeping it straight   I do play around with manipulting shots.

Even as a high handicapper there are times when you need to try and do a low punch shot, draw or hook etc etc   obviously for the likes of me this is to get round obstacles when the tee shots gone off towards trees and the like 

I would never tee off or take a shot from the fairway when in clear view of the green and try and hit a fade or draw.  Everyone would just laugh at me when the ball went 10 yards !

I am sure that each and every one of us has 'Our' shot, either a fade or a draw.

If you can go onto the course and hit your stock shot most of the times then you should be on your way to lowering your handicap.

If you are asking this question then maybe it is time for you to start shaping your shots.

The best thing to do is get onto the practice ground and hit your normal shots, then say every ten shots try to hit the alternative shot.

It might be that just once a round you will need to hit this other shot and it could save you from having a disaster on that hole.

Good luck with this.

Russ