Side Hill Lies And How To Play Them:
Side hill lies come in two varieties. Right to left (with the ball above or higher than your feet), and left to right ( with the ball below or lower than your feet). Each lie causes a different ball flight and needs some different setup adjustment to successfully hit a good shot.
Ball Flight: The key here is to remember which lie causes which flight direction. There are two simple ways to remember without having to memorize the riddle, and surely not get them mixed up when playing and hit the dreaded and likely deadly double cross — the ball going exactly in the opposite direction as planned.
Ball above feet: ball flies right to left. Ball below feet: ball flies left to right. I guess you just figured it out The ball curves the same as the last direction mentioned. But in the event that that still may be confusing, I have a sure, can't miss, never make a mistake direction determiner: your compass to the ball flight predictor.
Stand behind the ball, looking at your target. Now, look at the slope of the hill your ball is on. The direction or curve of the slope is the direction or shape of your ball flight. A slope is going to cause your ball to curve left if a slope is curving to the right.
Ball Position: You can adjust the ball position to help reduce the expected curve to hit a straighter shot. On the ball above feet, move it a little back. Hitting it sooner will help reduce pulling it left. With the clubface likely closing down, the flight will be lower and the ball will likely run out more. Using less club is a good decision. Conversely, on the ball below feet, move the ball a little forward. Hitting it a smidge later helps the face square up to reduce blocking or slicing it. Using more club is needed as swinging with the hill tends to add loft.
Posture: Ball above your feet means the ball is closer to you. You will need to stand a little taller with less knee flex, and choking down on your club is good to help hit it solid. Ball below your feet means the ball is farther from you. You will need to stand closer and have more flex in your knees.
Let's examine a key move to get perfect posture for these different lies.
Setup Key: Once you figure out your distance from the ball, just stand up fairly straight, then do what I call the Accordion Effect to find your posture. The accordion effect means that you bow at the waist and then drop your shoulders while simultaneously flexing your knees downward, until you club reaches the ball. This equal moving of the shoulders and flexing knees squeezes the hips outward, creating the perfect counter balance. You get perfect balance for the lie.
For the ball above feet lie, you will be taller with less flex in your knees for a normal level lie. For the ball below your feet, you will have much more flex in your knees. You may even feel like you are squatting down and may fall down. These opposite postures in knee flex provide the setup needed for a balanced swing from side hill lies.
Alignment: Ball above feet needs to be aimed right of the target. Ball below feet you aim left.
Club Selection: Ball above feet, with the tendency to pull or hook, and going farther, less club for the distance is needed. Ball below feet causes a push or fade. Because the more than normal flex in the knees makes this swing more awkward and less powerful, you need to use more club.
Swing Thought: Ball above your feet causes a flatter swing, more around you. With the hill pushing you away from the ball, as you transfer your weight swinging your arms up to your finish, you will likely fall backwards. Ball below your feet will likely cause you to fall forward toward the ball.
For both lies, you need to take a few practice swings in the correct posture to sense and feel the timing needed to be level, still and solid at impact, and incorporate it into the real swing.
Lastly, the final swing thought is that you must swing smoothly, focusing on maintaining your knee and spine angles. Changing either of these angles dooms your shot.
Power Level: Swing smoothly and easy. Solid contact, accuracy, and controlling your ball flight are what you want.
The Surge's Super Secret Shot for Ball Above Feet Side Hill Lie:
Playing this secret shot only applies to those of you who have the ability to work the ball. That is, the ability to curve it as you desire.
I have played this secret shot for years when I have the ball above my feet. Over the years of teaching top amateurs and PGA Tour professionals, I have found a few that played this lie the same as me. Those that didn't really liked the secret when I showed it to them. They liked it because it gave so much more control and accuracy, actually reducing the pull or hook to a straight shot.
The problem in playing for the ball above feet shot to pull or hook is that no matter how well you execute it, you can never accurately judge and trust that you will get just the amount you played for. Get too little left and you are bunkered right. Way too much, over cook it as it is called, and you can be off the planet left.
The secret for the ball above feet lie is to cut it or even try to fade or slice it. The swing to hit this shot contradicts the slope, thus negates it and the left ball flight. You just aim straight at the target. A successful shot will fly straight as a bullet. This takes away the fear and problem of hanging it right or pulling it too far left. Straight is great, right down the fairway or on the green.
Final Thought: The main key to successfully hit any side hill lie is that once you are set in your posture, you must maintain you knee flex and spine angle. Changing either or both of them is fatal. Since the world is not made of flat lies, even in Florida, learning how to hit these side hill shots is necessary for playing successful golf. You can usually find these lies on the side of your practice ranges. If not, you have to find a way of getting some extra shots in out on the course. Playing early in the morning or late evening is usually a slow time to get in these extra practice shots. And when you hit the green, be sure to fix all your ball marks.
Thanks and talk to you soon,
Don Trahan
“The Swing Surgeon”