I'm no TT Staff Member, but i do have a lot of insight.

When, I myself, is looking for a specific "baby" curve, mine is a fade, i really never try to do much in my setup. I practise my stance as if i was shooting a straight shot, straight feet, knees, hip and shoulders and make my consistent and normal swing path and see what curve I have got that particular day. And then on the course, aim left or right according to which shot shape you had when you warmed up.

If you then wanted to take some length distance of the ball/club, i would then use my stance to fade or slice it, or if i wanted some few extra yards, then draw it or hook it.

When using shot shape as a factor of the result of the swings distance, traj, etc. then i would totally aim with my feet, and the draw or fade it in to the straight line. When using shot shape to control distance, then you should worry about the clubface and stance.

When you are hitting a shot to your exact distance, you shouldn't worry about making a big shot shape, just aim a little left if you are fading the ball a little. The big shapes, and setting up with your feet and clubface, makes the shot much more difficult, and brings a lot of factors of failure in to the game.

But when talking about minor change, i would set up normally with my feet, and if I want a little draw, then mentally prepare for it, think of the feeling that the clubhead is falling behind your back and after impact stretch your hands and clubhead to the right of the target. When it's about small/minor changes in the swing path, etc. use your feel, that is crucial to a great golf game. Train it, trust it.

As T does right before a shot, he's really overdoing the fade-motion, to get the fade shape, and so should you. That is preparing your body and mind for a draw or fade, so when making a slight draw, try to overdo the draw motion in your preshot rutine, and feel the club coming from the inside and out.

And when it comes to deciding if you want to change your trajectory and shape in a minor way, all it comes down to is what you are comfortable with when you're playing decent, because it is so important to have a "go-to" shape that you know, that you always can rely on.

Kristian

Personally, I would stay w/ the baby fade.  You can control it a bit more and you'll hit more fairways and greens.  Here's a little tip you can try and JN has done it for years.  To hit that nice, little fade, do this.

1. Aim slightly left of your target.

2. Open the clubface slightly.

3. Take your normal swing and release the club after impact.

This has worked for me as of late and it's a thing of beauty to watch the ball come back to the target after it leaves the clubface.  Most of your professional golfers out there are playing a fade these days.  Hope this helps your decision.

In my humble opinion - DO NOT CHANGE A THING - play the fade and enjoy it, revel in it, it is controllable and a much safer bet than messing with your swing to try to hit a draw. 

If you really want to play a draw for certain shots, just close your stance a bit, aim a bit right and let it rip.

Matt,

What is your natural shot shape? What have you historically hit?

I think of MK. Go with what you are naturally comfortable with.

Swing changes can be very difficult. The road is littered with tinkerers.

With that said, you are obviously a great player (71 is a great score) and depending on what your ambitions are you can either stay with what you have or see a PGA Professional that you respect and that shares your mindset etc and then embark on any changes.

Good luck Matt.

Matt,

Did you make an equipment change at all?

Did your alignment change at all? Aiming more to the left beginning mid-season? Did alignment creep open?

Did your grip get a bit weaker?

How is your divot path? It probably was historically slightly in to out is it "down the line now" or "slightly out to in"? 

Are you subconsciously "steering" the ball or "holding on to it"?

Given your natural shot is a draw there is something that changed. It probably is something minor but minor things can grow a bit. Since you are a good player your mind is correctly something probably.

Were you working on something before this fade started?

It could be very simple. Maybe jsut getting ahead of it a bit.

Given what you wrote I would probably dig into it a bit more just so a potentially bad habit doesn't grow. I would probably ask someone to take some video and take a look. Also study your divots and go over all your fundamentals just to amkes ure nothing is off.

Best of luck and keep us posted.

Ensure sufficient shoulder rotation on the horizontal plane to close the club face through the ball. Ensure your head remains just behind the ball with weight shift through the shot. Close the club face very slightly on address. Roll hands to close the club face just a bit sooner through the shot.