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How to Hit Shots from Uphill and Downhill Lies
Players often hit all kinds of bad shots from uphill lies and downhill lies. But you don't have to.
Here is how you can hit shots from uphill and downhill lies.
Uphill Lies
Lots of golfers tend to stand against the slope or leave their weight on the back foot during their downswing.
But you won't hit good shots like that.
Instead, try to set your shoulders, waist and knees parallel to the slope. If you lean against the slope, you will hit it fat or pull it left. So go along with the slope.
The important key to hitting the shots from uphill lie is to swing along the slope. The ball will come out much higher than normal. So take one or more clubs depending on the lie.
Because of the lie, upper body will tend to be more active during the swing than your lower body. That's why you tend to pull the shots from this lie.
So be careful not to close the clubface at impact when hitting shots from uphill lie.
Downhill Lies
From downhill lies, you should pay attention to the slope and set your shoulders, waist and knees parallel with the slope as well.
Again, players tend to stand against the slope and set more weight on their back foot. But this will cause more fat and top shots.
So naturally set more of your weight on your front foot. This will make it easier to set your shoulders parallel with the slope. Also, pay attention to your spine angle as well. From downhill lies, your spine should be little more titled to the left than normal.
The tendency is to try to lift the ball into the air, but this will cause top shots.
So try to swing along the slope. Try to feel like you are going to hit the low shots. Expect the ball to come out low. Once it lands on the green, it will roll more than normal.
But scooping is the worst thing you can do from this lie. Try to hit it with a descending blow from this lie for crisp contact.
Shots from this lie tend to slice more than it hooks because the slope will make your body turn faster during the downswing and hold the clubface open at impact.
That's why it's easier to hit a fade than a draw from downhill lies. So you might want to aim little left of your target to allow for a little fade.
From uphill lie or downhill lie, it gets harder to keep your balance throughout the golf swing. So you want to swing easy to make sure your upper body won't become much more active than your lower body.
Hitting the Fade
From downhill lie, it's easier to hit it fat. But here is a good way to avoid hitting it fat.
By hitting a little fade, you can easily avoid hitting fat shots or top shots from this lie.
Here is how you can set up to the ball.
1. Open your stance a bit
2. Open your clubface and grip your club. Your clubface should be looking at the target
3. Swing along your feet line to hit the fade
By setting up like this, it gets easier to swing along the slope because your swing is now a little steeper than usual.