Many golfers will say the game of golf emulates life. One of those life lessons we hear is that common sense is not that common. I hope I can give you some easy-to-remember common sense golf advise to play better from various slopes. This is for full swing shots and for shots in and around the green.
When you properly strike a ball off any slope, it will tend to fly in the direction of the slope. Uphill lies will go higher and thus shorter, while downhill lies will promote a lower trajectory and thus longer shots. Side hill slopes will move the ball left or right based on the direction of the slope.
For a side hill lie where the ball is below your feet, the ball will tend to move right of the target, so adjust your alignment. Because the ball is below your feet and farther away from you, consider using a longer club and flex your knees a little more at address to compensate for this awkward lie. The longer club will also assist you in not over-swinging.
When the ball is on a slope above your feet, the ball will fly left, so aim a little right of your target. Because the ball is closer to you, use a shorter club or choke up on your grip. A shorter club will go a shorter distance, so select one with less loft. Because the ball is higher than your feet, address the ball by being taller at the knees.
Downhill – the ball will fly low, so select a more lofted club. Uphill – the ball will fly high, so select less loft. On both of these lies, address the ball by standing with the slope so your shoulders are more parallel with the slope. Uphill – the weight will fall to your trail foot and downhill the weight will fall to your target foot. Stand naturally with the slope.
When it comes to your golf swing don’t try to make the perfect golf swing you would use off of a flat piece of ground. The slope and severity of the slope is going to dictate your set-up and your swing. You just want to make a balanced swing motion the best you can. This will often mean a smaller swing without your perfect finish.
Ball placement relative to your stance is where golfers are always calculating what to do. But this is where common sense really should take over. Take
STEEPNESS OF THE SLOPE. THE ANGLE OF THE SLOPE WILL LAUNCH THIS BALL
VERY HIGH.
a balanced practice swing from the slope. See where the bottom of your swing is and adjust your ball’s position relative to this path so the ball would be contacted near the beginning of this pathway. Adjust your ball position based on the practice swing and swing away.
If this stuff was not common sense before, I hope it is now. Golf with a smile. 🙂
