DRIVING · DRILL GUIDE
Shot Shaping
A draw, straight or a fade is called at random: hit one drive, tap what it did, and the next shape comes up.
Free in your browser. Also on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch.
WHY IT WORKS
The problem, and the fix
Most golfers have one driver shape and hope. When the hole bends the other way, or trouble sits on your usual side, there’s no other shot to reach for. Without a second shape you aim away from trouble and still curve into it, or give up distance steering the ball.
The goal: Curve your driver on purpose: a draw, a straight one or a fade, whichever is called.
Because the call changes every drive and is never the same twice running, you can’t settle into one swing. You have to set up for the shape each time, the way you would on the tee.
How it works
From the first call to your first logged drive.
- 1The app calls a shape at random: Draw, Straight or Fade, never the same one twice running. The band shows it with how it curves for your hand, and the picture shows the drive from behind the tee.
- 2Hit one drive at it.
- 3Tap what the ball did. The shape called is the dark green button, marked “as called”.
- 4Optional: with a launch monitor or simulator, set the spin axis on the slider under the buttons, or type it with the keyboard button, before you tap.
- 5The next shape comes up straight away. Keep going until you finish.
SEE IT IN ACTION
On iPad, iPhone and the web
Shot Shaping looks the same everywhere: in your browser on a phone, a tablet or a computer, and in the iPhone and iPad app. On a wide screen it uses two columns, so the buttons stay in reach.
THE RESULT BUTTONS
Tap what the ball did
The buttons sit left to right the way the ball curves, with the key “← curved left · curved right →”. For a right-hander the Draw is on the left; set your hand in Settings and a left-hander’s shapes, buttons and picture turn round to match. The buttons that weren’t called are shaded by how often your recent drives finished there.
On a keyboard, press 1, 2 or 3. Undo takes back the last drive, Skip calls a new shape without logging anything, and Finish ends the session.
- 1Draw: curves right to left for a right-hander, left to right for a left-hander.
- 2Straight: no curve, at the flag.
- 3Fade: curves left to right for a right-hander, right to left for a left-hander.
Progress, settings and badges
How often you hit the shape called over your last 50 drives, your hardest shape, “By shape” (for each call, what you hit instead when it didn’t come off) and, when you record it, each shape’s average spin axis and its range. The graph has a row per shape: each drive is a mark, and one that didn’t come off is joined to a ring at the shape called. Every session has its own page too.
You play: Right-handed or Left-handed. Record spin axis (on to start). Straight window, ±2° to start (0.5° to 6°). Keep the screen awake (website), and Discard session while one is going.
Five of its own: First session, 100 drives, 500 drives, 5 in a row (as called in one session), and Shot maker (50% or more as called in a session of at least 10 drives).
Coaching tips
The slider runs −10° to +10° in half degrees, as the monitor shows it: negative curves left. The keypad takes up to ±45° for a big hook or slice.
A spin axis on its own decides the shape: within the straight window it’s straight, past it the way it curves. Set one past the straight window and only the shape it means can be tapped. A shape you tap or say always wins.
Set up for the shape before you swing. The hardest shape shows in Progress, so you know which one to work on.
SOUND AND HANDS-FREE
Keep your hands on the club
With Sound on, the app says each call (“Fade.”). Spoken cues are off to start: turn them on in Profile, or with the drill’s Sound button for one session. Turn on Hands-free in the drill and say what the ball did, with the spin axis if you like. Things you can say:
Hands-free works in browsers with speech recognition, such as Chrome and Safari, and in the iPhone app. You can always tap instead.
Questions
Do I need a launch monitor?
No. The spin axis is optional for every drive. Without a monitor, turn Record spin axis off in Settings and judge the curve by eye.
I’m left-handed. Does it still work?
Yes. Choose Left-handed in Settings: a left-hander’s draw curves left to right, and the picture and buttons mirror to match.
What counts as straight?
Tap Straight when the ball didn’t curve. With a spin axis alone, anything within the straight window (±2° to start) counts as straight.
Does it work on the Apple Watch?
Yes, as one tap on the round pad: the shape that curves left on the left, the one that curves right on the right, Straight in the middle.
Can I turn the animation off?
Yes: Profile ▸ Animations. With it off (or with Reduce Motion on your device) nothing moves, and the next target shows straight away.
Ready for Shot Shaping?
Open it in your browser and hit your first called shape. Practice as a guest, or sign in to sync with the iPhone app.
By David Golfs · Questions? david@davidgolfs.com