Picture this…You’re sitting on the right hand side of the fairway, of a dog-leg right hole and the pin is just hiding behind the trees. You have 160 yards to the pin and will need to hit a 10-15 yards fade to avoid the trees on the right. You’re a little worried because if you hit the shot straight, you’ll surely be in the trees to the left of the green.

You align yourself to perform your textbook fade, feet and body aligned on the initial direction of the shot, clubface aligned at the intended target. You swing; the ball starts left of your intended line and keeps heading left and finds its way deep into the trees… what happened?

You just hit a double-cross, even though you aligned everything to hit a fade, you somehow manage to hit the exact opposite. A double-cross can occur when trying to hit a fade or a draw, the reasons for this is rather simple. When trying to setup for a fade or a hook it tends to set your swing up on a path that will encourage a push for a hook, and a pull for a slice… and frankly, doing so is very helpful to promoting each type of shot. The real culprit here though, is the timing of the wrist release and your damn brain. As usual, the last thing that runs through your brain is where NOT to put the ball. Subconsciously, your brain only focuses on the destination; therefore, this last minute train of thought is disastrous. Your brains last act is to release your wrists early, leading to your hook and more time in the trees. Next time, focus on your initial flight path, and this shouldn’t be a problem.

To hit a fade properly you need to keep the clubface open coming into impact, which may take a conscious effort. If you’re wrists release too early and rotate prematurely, you’re surely to get a hook spin on the ball. To ensure this does happen, when setting up for a fade, try placing the ball slightly back of center in your stance. Also, as your swing through impact, really try and aim the clubface along your target line as long as possible.

When it comes to double-crosses when trying to hit a draw, your setup should encourage an in to out or push swing path. But you rely solely on your ball positioning (slightly further ahead than normal) and wrists to work the “draw” magic. You’re wrists need to roll over as you come into impact to encourage a slightly closed clubface at impact. If you’re wrists are even slightly out of place, your ball will start along your push swing path and continue to head right… and once again, you’ve hit a double cross.

The best ways to ensure you’re wrists are in the proper positions for hitting either a draw or a fade, is to practice, practice, practice. My suggestion would be to fiddle with your ball position as well… as it will have a large effect on the clubs positioning as your impact the ball.

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