Approach Play to Elevated / Lowered Greens?

[leezer99]

So, I was looking at this image and wondered what the best way is to play your approach to an elevated green versus a lowered green. Is the spin and velocity profile at θ' much different than at θ? I don't know the physics of it but to my wee brain, it would seem that at θ' the spin would be higher but velocity lower. At θ the spin would seem to be lower but velocity higher since it has more time to fall from its peak where it would be zero. Even the image below is off visually since we know the arc of the ball flight isn't consistent throughout. 

 

It's okay if you tell me I'm overthinking this. 😂

 

[Ty_Webb]

Spin will decay slightly over time, but not by a lot. The horizontal portion of the velocity will also decay due to air resistance. The vertical component will be increasing since the ball is accelerating due to gravity (albeit that the spin is creating lift, which will counteract that some). Neither of those has much of an impact of how the ball will react. The biggest difference is the vertical land angle. The angle theta prime (not sure how to show that on here) will be shallower than theta. That means the ball will stop faster at theta than at theta prime. The other thing is because there is still a horizontal component to the velocity, it will carry less far at theta prime than at theta. 

The effects of those two things work in opposite directions. Which one "wins" will depend on ground conditions, ball flight, spin, any necessary carry distances, etc. Fortunately the margins are fairly small so you can wing it with enough experience. The calculation of the carry distance change is what your range finder estimates when you have slope turned on.

[saevel25]

Yea, it's more complicated than your high school projectile motion equations. 

40 minutes ago, Ty_Webb said:

Spin will decay slightly over time, but not by a lot.

I am thinking it could increase under certain conditions. A gust of wind blowing in the same direction as the spin, causing more high and low pressure on the ball in a certain way that it increases the spin? 

41 minutes ago, Ty_Webb said:

The vertical component will be increasing since the ball is accelerating due to gravity (albeit that the spin is creating lift, which will counteract that some).

It has zero vertical velocity at its apex. So, it is all velocity caused by gravity for the vertical component. 

43 minutes ago, Ty_Webb said:

The biggest difference is the vertical land angle. The angle theta prime (not sure how to show that on here) will be shallower than theta.

Yea, landing angle is a big thing. 

It is parabolic. Your apex is 90 yards in the air. A 30-yard elevated green is 1/3rd that height. At the apex, your vertical descent angle is zero, it should be horizontal. So, you are going from zero theta to let's say 45 degrees. Even if it was linear, let's say you're landing angle is close to 30 degrees. That is less than a driver and probably is significant. 

Yea, it depends on how you hit it. Especially for downhill shots. If you hit a flighted shot, it might react more like a normal shot because of the lower launch and lower apex relative to your position. Versus a normal shot might come in at like 70 degrees, instead of 45 degrees. 

 

 

 

[leezer99]

54 minutes ago, Ty_Webb said:

Spin will decay slightly over time, but not by a lot. The horizontal portion of the velocity will also decay due to air resistance. The vertical component will be increasing since the ball is accelerating due to gravity (albeit that the spin is creating lift, which will counteract that some). Neither of those has much of an impact of how the ball will react. The biggest difference is the vertical land angle. The angle theta prime (not sure how to show that on here) will be shallower than theta. That means the ball will stop faster at theta than at theta prime. The other thing is because there is still a horizontal component to the velocity, it will carry less far at theta prime than at theta. 

The effects of those two things work in opposite directions. Which one "wins" will depend on ground conditions, ball flight, spin, any necessary carry distances, etc. Fortunately the margins are fairly small so you can wing it with enough experience. The calculation of the carry distance change is what your range finder estimates when you have slope turned on.

 

All great info. Thanks for the reply. 

[Archie Bunker]

Ask Bryson DeChambeau. I'm sure he has the answer somewhere in his notebook.😉

[GolfLug]

On 9/19/2025 at 7:29 AM, leezer99 said:

So, I was looking at this image and wondered what the best way is to play your approach to an elevated green versus a lowered green. Is the spin and velocity profile at θ' much different than at θ? I don't know the physics of it but to my wee brain, it would seem that at θ' the spin would be higher but velocity lower. At θ the spin would seem to be lower but velocity higher since it has more time to fall from its peak where it would be zero. Even the image below is off visually since we know the arc of the ball flight isn't consistent throughout. 

 

It's okay if you tell me I'm overthinking this. 😂

 

My two cents.. you are not wrong but you ARE overthinking it. The descent angle/spin variance is not high enough at either shelf to warrant anything other than a club adjustment for distance. Green speed/topography has far more influence on roll out.

Expect maybe a tiny bit more roll out at the higher shelf if you are a low spin player.

[Mystique]

On 9/19/2025 at 2:29 PM, leezer99 said:

So, I was looking at this image and wondered what the best way is to play your approach to an elevated green versus a lowered green. Is the spin and velocity profile at θ' much different than at θ? I don't know the physics of it but to my wee brain, it would seem that at θ' the spin would be higher but velocity lower. At θ the spin would seem to be lower but velocity higher since it has more time to fall from its peak where it would be zero. Even the image below is off visually since we know the arc of the ball flight isn't consistent throughout. 

 

It's okay if you tell me I'm overthinking this. 😂

 

 

 

I’ve played around with this a lot and honestly it’s less about overthinking the physics and more about how the ball reacts when it lands, for elevated greens I always feel like you need a bit more club and a higher, softer flight because you’re effectively taking away rollout and the ball lands steeper, while for lowered greens it’s the opposite, the ball comes in flatter with more forward momentum so you get that extra release. Your idea about spin and velocity isn’t totally off, but in real play the difference you notice most is descent angle and how much the ball stops or runs out. It’s kind of like going for something simple and direct instead of overcomplicating things, similar to how a no account casino lets you jump straight in without extra steps and see immediate results. That same mindset helps on the course, keep it simple and adjust for height rather than trying to calculate everything. Once you get a feel for it, it becomes more instinct than theory.

 

For me it’s still pretty straightforward, I don’t really think in terms of spin physics during the shot, I just adjust based on what I usually see on the course: when the green is elevated I always take at least one extra club because the ball effectively plays longer, the flight feels shorter, and it tends to land steeper and stop quicker with less rollout, especially if you hit it high; when the green is lower I do the opposite, take less club because the ball travels a bit farther, comes in flatter, and usually releases more after landing so I plan for extra roll; in terms of spin I don’t really feel a huge difference from elevation alone, it’s more about strike and trajectory, the main thing that changes is how the ball lands and how much it rolls out after that.