Apart from the whole being a rich-and-famous professional golfer thing, Tony Finau is actually pretty relatable to the rest of us.
He’s a family man and the PGA Tour’s resident nice guy who learned to control a wild streak in his game which, for the early part of his career, led to him hitting what he admits was a “slice” off the tee. It took some time, but he straightened that slice and turned it into a power fade. It helped transform his game
And this drill helped him do it.
Finau’s fade drill, explained
Tony Finau's start line drill. He uses this to stop his power fade becoming a wipey fade.
Goal is to send his ball between the two sticks, a little left of his target, and let the ball fade back.
Failed on the first attempt (started too far right), perfect on the second. pic.twitter.com/b6rYbDNzBs
— LKD (@LukeKerrDineen) May 1, 2023
Finau made a series of technical changes too, of course. He strengthened his grip along with some other fundamentals, and worked hard on stopping the clubface from rolling open on the takeaway.
But one of the biggest changes Finau had to make was “recalibrating” his sight lines, as he writes:
People see my swing has changed a lot, and they ask me what was the toughest part. Boyd (Summerhays, Finau’s swing coach) and I worked hard on the setup fundamentals, which naturally began to change my swing mechanics. I started seeing less curve immediately. The funny thing is, I was able to adapt my technique quicker than my eye. I’ve had to get used to new sightlines when I play. For so many years I was watching my tee shots slide hard to the right. I used to think I was hitting a draw at times, and the ball was still curving to the right! I still prefer to play a little fade, but I’ve had to recalibrate my visuals.
One of the ways he practised that recalibration, was by setting up two alignment sticks in the form of a gate. They were aligned just to the left of his target. His goal was to send his ball through the uprights, and let it fade back. If it hit or flew outside the right-hand alignment stick, that meant his indented fade was a slight push-fade. If it collided with or flew to the left of the left-hand stick, that meant the drive was a little too slicey for his liking.
It’s an incredibly difficult drill, and one you can try at home. Place the two sticks just to the left of the target for a fade, or just to the right for the draw. With a bit of practice you’ll see your start lines start to get tighten. And just like Tony, dial them in so your drives are flying just the way you like them.
