How to Hit from a Downslope – Downhill Lie
- Key Objective: Account for the fact your front foot is lower than your back and that ball will fly lower than normal (and roll more).
- Position the Ball Back a Little. The downhill lie situation provides a fertile ground for all sorts of mishits. ...
- Take a Wider Stance. As with other shots from uneven lies one of the main challenges will be in keeping balance. ...
- Match the Slope of the Hill with your Shoulders. If you were to set up normally and position your spine perfectly vertical you may find it very difficult to complete ...
- Use One Less Club. Your tweaking your setup in the previous step will have consequences on the ball flight produced with your club.
How to hit a golf shot from an uphill lie?
a little bit of an uphill lie. So a lot of people pull out a 3-wood when they should never pull out a 3-wood — it’s a tight lie, it’s a little downhill, de-lofted, they hit a bad shot, it ...
How to hit the hardest shot in golf?
■ Use an early wrist break on the backswing. This is called more of a “v-shaped” backswing, allowing the golfer to come down on a steeper angle of approach. ■ Swing down and hit three inches behind the ball. You might have to swing harder to extricate the ball from its buried condition.
How to play tight lies in golf?
- Move the golf ball back in your stance. This will set your hands in front of the ball.
- Swing down more on the ball. This will give the golf ball backspin.
- Keep good tempo.
- Take more loft. Go to a hybrid instead of a longer iron.
How to hit a side hill lie?
- Make sure the face is clean and dry
- Open the blade slightly, but not too much
- Set the wrists quicker on the backswing to increase the AoA
- Keep the rear shoulder moving through impact to keep the arms going
Where should the ball be placed on a downhill lie?
The ball should be closer to your higher foot and weight should favor your lower foot. With a downhill lie, you want to aim left of the target as the ball will tend to leak right. This happens because you're extending your arms down the slope and leaving the clubface open at impact.
How do you hit a steep downhill lie?
6:3513:16So again feet narrow weights forward shoulders sloping down alright that's the initial setup hereMoreSo again feet narrow weights forward shoulders sloping down alright that's the initial setup here and what you're gonna do here also is open up the club face.
How do you play a hill lie in golf?
2:1813:02Position stand taller so it's not a chance now to sit really low in your legs it's a chance to standMorePosition stand taller so it's not a chance now to sit really low in your legs it's a chance to stand much taller. And also to grip down slightly on the golf club to adapt to that slope.
How do you hit a downhill lie with a wedge?
0:362:45We're trying to stop it based on solid contact number one and number two having an ample of thatMoreWe're trying to stop it based on solid contact number one and number two having an ample of that amount of spin. So clean the lob wedge. Face. Pressure down the slope.
How do you hit a 3 wood from a downhill lie?
0:091:22The 3-wood is going to feel like hitting a driver at least right now so it's going to be a challengeMoreThe 3-wood is going to feel like hitting a driver at least right now so it's going to be a challenge to get the ball in the air at all with this club on this downhill.
How do you hit irons on uphill lies?
0:031:25I want you to take a nice wide stance have a good solid base we're going to put our weight kind ofMoreI want you to take a nice wide stance have a good solid base we're going to put our weight kind of centered on our left leg. But then we're going to tilt our shoulders.
How do you chip uphill lies?
0:273:34On the downhill chip we would want to go with the slope for sure because if we kept the way back weMoreOn the downhill chip we would want to go with the slope for sure because if we kept the way back we thin it but on the chip.
How many steps should you follow when doing a downhill lie?
The motion of your swing with a downhill lie should follow two basic steps.
How to match a slope?
Shoulders match the slope, lead toe flared out slightly, ball back just a bit in the stance, pressure slightly forward, not too much wrist hinge. This should all help you swing along the slope.
What does it mean when you swing the clubhead along the slope line?
When you swing the clubhead along the slope line, you are essentially treating the hill as though it is a flat plane. And the more you’re able to manipulate the setup to mimic a golf shot made on a flat surface, the likelier you are to accomplish the same goals you achieve in all your flat-surface shots. Goals like clean contact and distance control.
How to neutralize slope in golf?
To put it another way, try to match the angle of the slope with your golf swing. This is how you neutralize the slope.
How to get a good angle on a golf swing?
To find a good angle, you might want to start in regular setup position, with your toes pointed straight ahead in the same direction your body is facing. From there, rotate your lead toe about 45 degrees in the direction of the target.
Instructions
Alter your stance when you are over the ball on a downhill lie. Your left shoulder needs to be below your right shoulder, and most of your weight should be over your left foot so you don't lose your footing when you swing.
Tips & Warnings
Don't try to overpower the ball with a downhill lie or your could lose your balance and stumble.
About The Author
Steve Silverman is an award-winning writer, covering sports since 1980. Silverman authored The Minnesota Vikings: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and Who's Better, Who's Best in Football -- The Top 60 Players of All-Time, among others, and placed in the Pro Football Writers of America awards three times.
How to hit a golf shot from a downhill lie?
How to Hit a Great Golf Shot from a Downhill Lie. The slope of the ground under your feet is a big part of the challenge you face on any given golf shot. When the ground is level, you should have a much easier time staying balanced and striking the ball cleanly . With that said, most golf courses aren’t flat!
How to play golf from a downslope?
Step #1 – Make a Soft Swing. You don’t want to be swinging as hard as you can when trying to play from a downslope. This is related to the topic of balance as mentioned above. When you swing particularly hard, it’s difficult to keep your balance.
How to keep your head down when hitting a golf ball?
If your head comes up as the club nears impact, even just a little bit, you’ll hit the shot thin. To help keep your head down, pick out a specific spot on the ball and watch that spot with your eyes. Depending on how the ball happened to stop in ...
How to adjust golf swing on hill?
As you take your stance, lower your left shoulder (for a right-handed golfer) to roughly match the angle of your shoulders to the slope of the ground. This is an extremely important adjustment that should help you swing down the hill and make good contact with the ball.
How to control body weight when playing golf?
By turning down the effort on your swing, you should have an easier time controlling your body weight from start to finish. Of course, if you swing softer, you’ll need to use a little more club than normal to accommodate for that softer swing. Fortunately, shots from downhill lies are often shots that play downhill overall, ...
What happens if you lift up before hitting the ball?
At the same time, if you lean back into the hill a little bit, you’ll catch the turf before the ball, and the shot will come out very heavy.
Can you go wrong in a backswing?
Specifically, you might fall into the trap of lifting up out of your stance shortly after you start the backswing. In other words, you may have set your shoulders to match the slope, but you can undo that setup if you lift up in the backswing and give away the angle.
What is downhill lie golf?
Nail the fundamentals and they'll cause you a lot less misery. Downhill Lie Compensations. The downhill lie is one of the trickiest spots on the entire golf course.
How to play a golf shot?
Play the ball from the middle of your stance. No matter which club you are holding, you should try playing your shot directly from the middle of your stance. Moving the ball too much in either direction away from the middle of your stance is going to make it difficult to remain balanced. You'll need some lateral movement in order to reach the ball if it is not in the middle of your stance, and lateral movement is your enemy on this shot. You are trying to simplify things to the greatest extent possible here, and hitting your shots from the center of your stance is a good way to do that.
How to get solid contact with a golf club?
If you can swing the club head down on a path which follows the slope of the ground, it will become much easier to achieve solid contact. Pulling the ball to the left. In addition to having trouble hitting the ball the right distance, you may also struggle to get the ball on line when hitting from a downhill lie.
How to get better at hitting the ball?
Play the ball slightly farther back in your stance than usual. This will help keep the ball down and improve your chances of making good contact. The ball will often fly right of where you've lined up , so aim slightly left of target. Swing with a smooth tempo – overswinging will throw off your balance.
Why does the ball come out when you hit a flat lie?
This happens because the lie is going to cause the ball to come out on a lower trajectory than normal. For instance, if you hit a seven iron, which may be the correct club for the distance from a flat lie, the ball will come out like it has been struck with a six iron.
What happens when you top the ball in golf?
If you allow yourself to lean back away from the target in the downswing, the club is going to shallow out too early. When that happens, there are only two possible outcomes – you will hit the turf prematurely and hit a fat shot, or you will miss the turf and top the ball. When you top the ball, it will scurry along the ground and likely wind up in a bad spot. Not only is this kind of mistake going to hurt on the scorecard, it will likely be a bit embarrassing as well. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, this is another point that comes back to balance. Improve your balance and the issue of topping the ball from a downhill like should become a thing of the past.
What happens if you lose balance on a golf slope?
If you lose your balance by leaning down the slope, the club will probably swing over the top of the proper line and your shot will be pulled to the left in the end. As is always the case in golf, balance is extremely important when swinging on a downhill lie.
How to make a golf shot downhill?
Actually aim to account for the shot movement. If you are planning an uphill shot, aim more left if you are a right-handed golfer. Establish your stance/balance by feeling more of your weight on the lower (downhill) leg. Finally, take your shoulder line and make it parallel to the slope. If you’re hitting downhill, your lead shoulder will feel lower than your trail shoulder. Here’s a small summary.
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What do PGA coaches do?
PGA Coaches give countless clinics and academies every year covering the details surrounding a successful approach to a downhill or uphill lie. Every golfer should print out this page or take a picture with their phone of the following chart.
How to play flat lie golf?
With your feet together, sole the clubhead flat on the ground behind the ball —this sets your shaft angle at address. Then, while holding the shaft in place, tilt your shoulders until your upper body is parallel to the slope. The more you’re able to match, or fit, your body to the slope, the more the situation will play like a flat lie.
Why is it called an uphill lie?
If there’s a more favorable lie among all the rest, however, it’s an uphill lie, because the slope acts like a launching pad to lift your ball into the air. This is especially helpful if you struggle to get the ball airborne when you have a longer, lower-lofted club in your hands.
How to get more loft on a golf shot?
The slope adds loft to the shot—sometimes too much loft. To compensate for the higher trajectory, take one more club than you normally would (that is, an 8-iron instead of a 9-iron). Aim a little right of the target, since the ball will tend to move to the left.
How to set your shaft angle?
And don’t plan for much roll, because the ball will carry high and land softly. 2. Match the Slope. With your feet together, sole the clubhead flat on the ground behind the ball —this sets your shaft angle at address.
