Instruction
Remember,
with uneven
lies you have no
choice but to
work with the
slope and adjust
accordingly.
your knee fl ex during the swing because
gravity is trying to pull you down the
hill. It’s strange but it’s the same idea as
a bunker shot, try and stay in the squat
position with good knee bend through
the entire swing. This will defi nitely
help you achieve center face contact on
the club face. You can also cheat and
have a little more weight on the heels at
address. This swing will also be steeper
than normal; this will lead to less club
face action and a shot that will tend to
squirt to the right. With all uneven lies
it’s very hard to swing at top speed and
make solid contact, but especially with
the ball below your feet; try and swing at
about 70% power. You may have to club
up accordingly.
UPHILL LIE
I think most people realize that the uphill
lie is going to add loft to whatever club
you are using, so take more club than
you’d use for a normal shot for this
distance. But, there are also a few tips
that need to be used for this lie. First,
is to play the ball a bit more forward in
GolfPlus
your stance and keep your shoulders
parallel to the slope; level shoulders will
equal fat shots. Also, remember that
your hands and arms are going to try and
turn quickly and close the club face, so
anticipate the ball fl ight going left and
aim a bit right.
DOWNHILL LIE
For the downhill lie it’s the exact opposite
of what we just covered for the uphill.
Move the ball back in your stance a bit
and at impact the club is actually going to
be de-lofted plus the ball will go farther
and a bit lower than normal. Same idea
with the shoulders, keep them parallel
to the slope. Lastly, this shot tends to
have less clubface rotation so the ball
will generally head right. Take this into
consideration with your alignment.
Remember, with uneven lies you have
no choice but to work with the slope and
adjust accordingly. A smooth swing at
about 70% power will go a long way to
help with solid contact and hopefully lead
to the next shot that is on level ground.
DECEMBER
2018
37