Playing from uneven lies
Posted by Jordan Caron on April 8th, 2010
It’s the best golfing week of the season as today is the start of the 2010 Masters. Tiger returns to action and it’ll be interesting to see how sharp his game is with all the time off and of course the distractions of the last few months. Augusta National may be one of the finest golf course designs on this planet and each year the course always excites fans and players with it’s sheer beauty and architectural values.
For those who have only seen the golf course on TV fail to understand just how undulating the course is. Players are faced with many uneven lies throughout the round and without a way to play these shots, they would not be able to contend come Sunday. Now even though we’ll not be playing in a Masters anytime soon, I want to give everyone a few tips on how to play from uneven lies.
I will discuss how to play uphill and downhill lies first.
Uphill
When the ball is on a uphill slope you want to make sure to have your shoulders and body is perpendicular to the slope. So your shoulders are tilting upwards much like the slope of the hill and most of your weight is on your back foot. Also be sure to play the ball a little forward in your stance and take the club head back low on the back swing.
Downhill
The same principles come into affect when playing off a downhill as an uphill lie. Make sure your shoulders and body are now going with the down hill slope of the hill and have your weight on your front foot. Play the ball of the back of your stance and take the club head away on more of a steeper plane so that it doesn’t get caught in the hill.
Side hill – ball above your feet
Much like uphill and downhill lies, we want to make sure we swing the club with the slope of the hill. With this lie we want have the weight closer to the toes of your feet so you don’t fall backwards. From this lie the ball with will tend to draw so make sure to play for that when you are aiming.
Side hill – ball below your feet
This is the hardest off all the hilly lies. The main thing here is to stay down on the ball so your center of gravity is important here. You want to really be sure to bend your knees and keep them stable because they will be the only thing to save you from keeping your body down throughout the shot. The weight of your body should be closer to the heels of your feet to keep you from falling forwards with the slope.
When gripping the club make sure you grip close to the bottom of the golf clubs grip. This will keep your lower to ground and closer to the ball so that your not standing too tall over the shot. From this lie the ball with tend to fade so once again be sure to play for that when you are align to the target.
If you’re a member of a club I suggest heading out to a hole that has hilly lies to practice the tips I have given. If you don’t have that luxury, pay a cheaper green fee and head out to a course later at night when it’s quiet and do the same.
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