LPGA Tour legend explains her fade and draw swing thoughts

Laura Davies has been ripping powerful drives since she burst onto the professional scene in 1985, and at 58 years old, she’s still plying her trade on the LPGA Tour.

Ahead of last season’s Shoprite LPGA Tour Classic, we had the chance to catch up with Davies and pick her brain about some of her go-to shot shapes off the tee: Her ‘stock’ fade, and her high draw — a shot she’s been employing more in the latter part of her career,.

“It’s not technical for me, I’ve never had a coach,” she tells GOLFTEC and GOLF Top 100 Teacher Nick Clearwater. “It’s very feel based for me.”

Here’s her advice on how to shape her driver in each direction.

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The power fade

With left-to-right her natural shot shape, Davies says her formula is simple: she aims her feet left of the target, her clubface at her intended target

The power draw

Though the first two elements remain the same — this time aiming her feet right of your clubface and swinging along that line — Davies being a natural fader of the golf means she adds another swing thought: The feeling of hitting a tennis-style forehand with her trail hand. She wants to feel like she’s imparting topspin on the ball. To amplify this effect, she tees the ball a little higher, which helps her hit more up on the ball, in a more in-to-out direction.

Luke Kerr-Dineen

Golf.com Contributor

Luke Kerr-Dineen is the Game Improvement Editor at GOLF Magazine and GOLF.com. In his role he oversees all the brand’s service journalism spanning instruction, equipment, health and fitness, across all of GOLF’s multimedia platforms.

An alumni of the International Junior Golf Academy and the University of South Carolina–Beaufort golf team, where he helped them to No. 1 in the national NAIA rankings, Luke moved to New York in 2012 to pursue his Masters degree in Journalism from Columbia University and in 2017 was named News Media Alliance’s “Rising Star.” His work has also appeared in USA Today, Golf Digest, Newsweek and The Daily Beast.