Can you make curves easier?

I regularly use SnagIt Editor and there is a little tool in there that allows you to create curves very easily.

You just draw a line from point a to point b then it puts control points in for you to drag and drop until you have the curve you desire. I find the pen tool in the graphics applications very difficult to work with and have not yet successfully drawn a curve. I end up plotting a path each time. It takes longer than using the tool in Snagit.

I have spent a lot of time trying to master the pen tool for drawing curves but never seem to get what I want. I have read the instructions over and over again but always end up with a great arc and not the type of curve I want at all.

The SnagIt Editor tool is so easy to master I cannot understand why it is so complex in graphics packages. I just want to draw a straight line and bend it into the curve I want.