Dustin Johnson explains real reason why he switched to a fade from a draw five years after employing Butch Harmon

Add as preferred source on Google

Dustin Johnson clearly isn’t the player he once was anymore.

However, young kids of today have to realise just how good Johnson was in his prime.

The 40-year-old’s game reached a whole new stratosphere after he employed Butch Harmon as his coach in 2010, and he continued working with him up until 2017.

Somewhat sadly, Johnson is said to be coasting on LIV now, with his hunger to win big championships having diminished.

Johnson has admitted to being lazy at times in the past when it comes to practice, but that never stopped him from becoming the best player in the world for a sustained period of time.

In fact, he was ranked as the world number one for a total of 135 weeks up until July 2021.

And now Johnson has lifted the lid on a key change he made earlier on in his career that enabled him to become so dominant.

Dustin Johnson explains why he switched to a fade from a draw

When Johnson burst onto the PGA Tour in 2008, he was clearly a precocious talent.

He hit the ball longer than anyone else, and he endeared himself to golf fans with his laid back demeanour.

However, the 40-year-old reached another level entirely seven years after getting his PGA Tour card.

And DJ attributed that to the fact that he switched up from hitting a draw to a fade five years after he started working with Harmon.

“I used to play a draw, I used to draw everything. I wouldn’t hit a fade unless I had to go around a tree or something. From the middle of the fairway, I would never hit a fade. I started working with Butch and started working on fades but still, for the first five years, I wouldn’t hit a fade, I would just turn it. It got to the point where I was just getting ready for the season and the new drivers and equipment, I was having trouble drawing it, and just started playing a fade. For me it was just more, I went out, I wasn’t driving it good hitting a draw, so I tried hitting a fade, hit it really good, and just kept playing a fade.”

So Johnson said he started hitting a fade five years after he started working with Harmon.

That means that the two-time major champion began fading the ball consistently from 2015 onwards.

So how do his records before and after the switch to the fade compare?

Dustin Johnson’s fade won him two majors

The man from South Carolina clearly became a much better golfer after changing the shape of his shots.

Here’s how his numbers on the PGA Tour compare from before and after 2015.

Johnson joined LIV Golf in 2022, and he hasn’t been the same player since.

That said, he’s clearly very happy with his life right now, and that’s all that really matters isn’t it.

What should never be forgotten though is just how good Johnson was in his prime from 2016 through to around 2020.

And it seems like he has Harmon and the switch to fading the golf ball to thank for that.