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As any golfer will know, not all your shots on the golf course are going to be off level lies. This tip explains the adjustments you will need to make in order to counteract these odd stances. These changes will create playable golf shots which can save strokes during play.
When the golf ball is above or below your feet or on an uphill or downhill lie, maintaining balance is a must. If you can achieve balance in your set up and maintain this throughout the swing, your ball striking will improve on these shots.
BALL ABOVE FEET
The swing in this situation will be flatter. This will feel more like a baseball type of swing where the ball is far above your feet on a side hill lie.
Move your hands down on the club handle to shorten the club. You want to compensate for the fact that the ball is closer to you than it would be from a level lie.
Take a club less than the distance you normally would hit because of a lower hooking trajectory of the shot
Align yourself a bit right of your target since the flatter swing plane causes a closing clubface which results in a draw or hooked shot.
Play the ball a bit further back in your stance which could counteract the tendency to hit this shot heavy (behind the ball).
BALL BELOW FEET
The ball below your feet on a side hill lie will tend to fade off to the right. This tends to be a challenging shot for most players because of the difficulty maintaining address posture, resulting in a low slice or topped shot.
Bend slightly more than usual when addressing the ball, flexing the knees and tilting more from the hips;
Make sure your weight doesn't move on to your toes;
Aim fairly far to the left, allowing for a loss of distance you need to take plenty of club;
Swing normally and within yourself, concentrating on good balance;
The swing plane on this shot will tend to be more upright.
l Next week in part 2 of 'The Truth About Lies', I will explain how to deal with uphill and downhill lies.
