Has this ever happened to you? Prior to playing a round you are on the driving range and every shot you hit is solid going the right distance. Your excitement level elevates as you anticipate a very good round. You step to the first tee box and hit a solid shot right down the middle that rolls to the left side first cut of rough. From that point on you proceed to hit fat, thin and topped shots from a variety of lies.
You mentally review your round from the 19th hole and realize you did well off the tee box where you had a nice flat lie. Where you struggled was on hillsides and generally all uneven lies. This may just be a refresher for many of you as we review how to play from uneven lies. Some of you may pick up something new that you can remember as you stand over a shot on an uneven lie.
Ball Above Your Feet
Start out by choking down on the club. You will need less club length so as not to ground the club into the turf. Set up your stance to aim to the right of the target. The ball will naturally follow the direction of the slope meaning for a right handed player the ball will go to the left. Compensate for this by aiming to the right of the target. Keep more weight on the balls of your feet. Utilize a more upright posture than normal. Finally, use less club to reduce the hook.
SWING
The more lofted club you use for this shot, the further the face will point to the left. Using a lower lofted club will point closer to the target at address and reduce the amount of hook on the shot. This lie shifts the ball closer and higher to you than normal, which will steepen the swing plane, causing you to hit too much ground. At impact, feel the club just brushing the top of the grass. The slope, and a flatter swing plane, will create a right-to-left flight.
Ball Below Your Feet
Grip up on the club to use the full length of the club. Because the ball is below your feet the ball follow the slope and will tend to go to the right so set up to aim to the left of the target. Your weight should be more on your heels for stability. Increase your knee flex to allow your swing plane to be lower. Use more loft than you normally would to reduce any slice.
SWING
This is by far the hardest of the four uneven lies. Why? In this situation, your swing needs to be more upright than normal WITHOUT changing your posture or knee flex during the backswing. Opposite of the other lie, the ball is now further away, making is easier for you to thin or top the shot. Keep your chest down and keep your knee flex throughout the swing, including the finish. Use a club with more loft to help increase backswing on the ball which will reduce the amount of slice. Play for a left-to-right shape and stay down.
Ball On An Uphill Lie
Getting the ball into the air is usually not a problem from an uphill lie. But because the ground you’re standing on is sloping upward, you will need to change your stance, alignment, and swing accordingly. You also need to consider the distance a shot travels when it is hit uphill.
When the ball is positioned on an uphill lie, you need to make the adjustments. Stand with your shoulders and hips parallel to the upward slope. If you are right-handed your left shoulder will naturally be higher than your right shoulder. You don’t want to keep your shoulders level or tilt them in the opposite direction of the slope. If you do so, you will likely lose your balance during the swing, and the club might hit the ground first, likely causing a fat shot.
Position the ball more toward your front foot. Balls hit off an uphill slope tend to go left, so aim to the right of your target. That happens because it’s difficult to turn the lower body properly on this type of lie, therefore your arms and hands get ahead of your body earlier than normal, which causes the clubface to close.
Use a less lofted club than you normally would for the distance. The ball will naturally fly higher because of the uphill slope. Grip down on the club. Feel as if you are swinging along the slope—don’t hit into it. Your backswing should feel like it is going down the slope, while your downswing is moving up it.
When judging the distance you have to hit the ball in this situation, expect a higher trajectory and less roll. To adjust for that, be sure to pick a landing area close to your target.
Ball On A Downhill Lie
Your ball may come to rest in a downhill lie. Because the ground you’re standing on will be sloping downward, you will have to alter your normal stance, alignment, and swing, plus take into account the distance a shot from this lie will travel.
When the ball is positioned on a downhill lie, you need to make the adjustments. Stand with your shoulders and hips parallel to the downward slope. Your right shoulder will naturally be
higher than your left shoulder. You don’t want to keep your shoulders level or tilt them in the opposite direction of the slope. If you do so, you will likely lose your balance during the swing. You might also top the ball, since your shoulders won’t be level with the downhill slope and the club might bottom out early, hitting the top of the ball on the upswing instead of catching it cleanly.
Position the ball more toward your back foot. Balls hit off a downhill slope tend to go right, so aim to the left of your target.
To help increase the trajectory of the ball, use a more lofted club than you normally would for the distance. Expect the ball to roll farther than normal because the ball will fly lower than normal from this lie. Be sure to pick a landing area short of your intended target to allow for the extra roll.
Grip down on the club. Take a limited backswing—approximately three-quarters of a full backswing. Feel as if you are swinging the club up the hill on the backswing and down the slope on the downswing.
Conclusion
Of course these are the four basic uneven lies. You may need to apply tips from a combination of the four such as a downhill and ball below your feet. I think one of the most important pointers to remember on the lie types is where is the ball likely to go and to compensate for it.
Please let me know if you found this helpful with a comments you may have.
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