Not too long ago, I discussed hitting shots from uphill and downhill lies. The adjustments are relatively straightforward. How about sidehill lies? Same thing. The adjustments are straightforward when you understand what’s going on. With a little practice, you can get a grip on the likely outcome and handle those shots with no problem. Ball Above Feet The most important thing to remember when the ball is above your feet is that the orientation of the club (for a right hander) is now such that at address the club face is pointing left of the target. Don’t believe me? Take out a short iron or wedge and hold it so the sole is flat on the ground, as if someone were addressing a ball. Point the club face square to a target. Now rock the club so that the grip is closer to the ground and the sole of the club is no longer flat on the ground, but only the heel is still on the ground (as if the imaginary person is trying to
Uneven Turf – Downhill and Uphill Lies
Fewer and fewer golf courses these days are relatively flat. In fact, the ones are mostly flat are those that were probably just cut out of the landscape before it became normal to sculpt the land more. And, if you live in an area where the land is naturally hilly, then even old courses will be undulating. That means that it’s very important to understand how to hit shots from uneven lies. Even a perfectly struck drive will very rarely end up on flat ground. That’s one reason (among a few) why some players hit the ball well at the driving range and then aren’t as precise on the course. The adjustments aren’t terribly complicated. Understanding how to modify your setup and swing and what the shot tendencies are will help make your results more reliable from uneven lies. Uphill Lies With uphill lies, The main thing to remember is that when you set up to the ball, try and set the angle of your shoulders to the angle of the slope so your shoulder
The “No-Backswing” Swing
Uh oh, another golf swing revolution. Golf Digest has cornered that market on the stack and tilt swing, so Golf Magazine came out with a revolution of its own in the September 2007 issue. This time, it’s the “No-Backswing” swing. The concept has been developed and studied by Top-100 teachers Dr. Jim Suttie and Dr. T.J. Tomasi. This isn’t a new idea. When I was first learning the game almost 15 years ago, a pro demonstrated this to me as a drill to get the feeling of swinging down from a proper position. However, Suttie and Tomasi have taken it to another level, including a study of its effectiveness. The basic premise is that about 70% of swing faults of around 90% of golfers occur in the back swing. Those faults compound because they build on top of each other. A flaw during the back swing is very difficult to recover from. The answer: start the swing at the top. Of course, the “No-Backswing” is somewhat of a misnomer. After all, the club has to
Adding Consistency With a Stable Right Knee
One problem I’ve struggled with in my swing is a little too much lateral movement, both in the back swing and in the down swing. When there is a lot of lateral movement (a small amount is normal), the bottom of the swing arc moves. That leads to inconsistency because I then have to try and return the low point of the swing to the correct spot to make crisp contact. If I shift too far right and then not enough to the left to counter it, I hit the ball fat. If I shift too much back to the left, then I come down to the ball at a steep angle and smother it. It becomes one big inconsistent mess. It’s magnified because I’m a big guy and don’t have a really speedy action in my hips, so if I get too far right, it’s hard to get back to the left in time. I discovered something at the driving range recently that has really helped me to cut down on this problem. I
Drawing and Fading
Being able to curve the ball either way, in a controlled manner, is something that every golfer should try to add to his or her bag of tricks. Course designers often design holes to be played a certain way, and having the ability to shape your shots to suit the hole is a big bonus. There’s not much to being able to hit a controlled draw or fade, but it’s much easier to accomplish if you have the ability to hit the ball relatively straight. If you have an uncontrollable slice, then you might have difficulty drawing the ball in a controlled manner, or even at all. The best bet is to kill your slice first, then work on draws and fades. If you’re ready to tackle shot shaping for the first time, you’re probably going to be amazed at how easy it really is. To produce a draw for a right hander, you simply address the ball aiming right of the target with your club face slightly closed, and take your normal straight-shot swing.
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