Posted in Pro Tips by Jon Bird on 22nd July 2008
Most golf courses are anything but flat. One of the minor challenges that golfers face is to play lies from the various potential slants, either uphill, downhill, or on the side of a hill. Today we take a peek at one of the potential side-hill lies.
When on a side-hill where the ball is above your feet (side-hill uphill), if you take your normal stance and swing there will be a natural tendency to pull the ball, hitting left of the target if right-handed and to the right of the target if you are left-handed. In addition, because of the uphill nature, most players will hit the ball higher than normal. Therefore, many players lose some distance also because of the increased height to which they hit the ball. Lastly, because the ball is in fact closer to you than on flat ground you will tend to hit the ground first and dig deeper into the turf than normal.
As simple adjustments, do two very minor things. One, line up to compensate for the natural tendency to pull. Aim to the right edge of the green if right handed, to the left edge if left-handed. It will take you a few swings to learn just how far right or left you should aim.
Second, take at least one additional club to compensate for the increased height and reduced distance, then choke down on the club slightly so that it is not quite as long as normal. You will need the extra club due to the increased height to which the ball will go and the choking down is to help you prevent from chunking your shot.
Many times, I go two additional clubs because of the choking down and a desire to swing easier to be sure that I still feel comfortable with the shorter club. Again, taking too large a divot will kill the shot so be sure that you do everything you can to maintain your balance. For that reason, I try to swing easier than normal.
