hitting on a downhill lie!

[mcfc_nick]

how do you hit the ball correctly when hitting from a downhill lie? its annoying me so much! we have a par 5 (the 3rd) where there is a ditch running about 50 yards from the green and i am not the longest of hitters so i lay up every time! the only problem is i havent been thinking about my lay up the last 5/10 times ive played the hole and ive been leaving myself on a downhill lie every time (not just a tiny bit downhill but pretty steep), so i get up there and for the last few rounds ive then duffed my 3rd shot into the ditch and always taken 7 or 8! it annoys me so much as i hate hitting a good drive and lay-up and still walking off annoyed with myself!

[denver_nuggs_15]

Take practice swings on the hill to determine where your club will bottom out and hit the ground. Play the ball in that spot relative to your stance. Basically, the steeper the hill, the farther back in your stance you should play the ball.

[Dub]

I feel your pain.

My home course has a par 5 (Pine View #7) that has a very generous fairway, however I love driving down the left side where there are numerous rolling mounds.

If I'm lucky I'll land on an upslope on these mounds where I can absolutely launch a 3 wood...sometimes the lie will even allow driver to be used. It is super cool watching the ball soar off these mounds and float towards the green.

This is, of course, with a good bit of luck on the drive. There is an equal chance that it will land on a downslope. In these situations I simply play it as a 3-shot par 5.

When dealing with downhill lies, I try to always set up and take a full speed practice swing or even two. I generally play the ball further back in my stance and use a more lofted club. My goal is for solid contact and maintaining my stance/balance more than aggresive swinging.

I'm wide open for suggestions.

[PiKapp23]

First step is to get your shoulders parrallel to the slope if at all possible, then treat it as a flat lie, swinging along your shoulders with your normal swing. The only other change I usually make is to play the ball back in my stance a little bit. When you get your shoulders level with ground this becomes a much easier shot. It will still come off a little lower, so it might be necessary to club down a bit, but that's something you'll usually figure out more from experience than someone telling you.

[$2 Nassau]

Ugh, I struggled with this yesterday a bit. I just don't think through the shot thoroughly and end up taking the same club that I normally would for that distance. It was 9 iron disance on a steep hill and I hit a 9 iron(dummy!), ball came out very low, ended up over the green. Looking back I probably should have hit SW.

[Leftygolfer]

What a tough shot. The ideas above are spot on. The only thing I have to add is taking a smaller backswing and keeping it short. It is so easy to hit it fat. I also open the stance and club face to help get the ball up. Just a tiny bit. A really hard shot for sure.

[ted dibiase]

get your shoulders parallel with the ground and then play the ball back in your stance. How far back in your stance typically is determined by the steepness of the hill. Your ball is typically in line with your spine. As you adjust your shoulders to be parallel with the ground your spine angle moves. Make sure your ball position moves in relation to the movement of your spine angle.

There was a tidbit about these shots on the golf fix a few weeks ago. It is probably on the golf fix website if there is one.

[iacas]

  denver_nuggs_15 said:

Basically, the steeper the hill, the farther back in your stance you should play the ball.

Michael Breed disagrees with you: he says for downhill shots the ball should be farther forward in your stance.

After thinking about it, and trying it out, I agree with him. More information here: http://thesandtrap.com/forum/showthread.php?t=26105

[CG031]

  iacas said:

Michael Breed disagrees with you: he says for downhill shots the ball should be farther forward in your stance.

I've tried both ways, and I get mixed results with each.

My problem with forward is that I get more height, but I tend to hit it heavy...almost always. I usually make a better pure strike in the middle or back of my stance, but then I get no height on the ball and it's like a line drive, LOL. Either way, I think you have to stick with a method and whatever works for you go with it.

[mcfc_nick]

cheers for the advice people!

[iacas]

I think it works like this.

If you maintain the same spine angle relative to pure vertical on a downslope, moving the ball back works.

If you maintain the same spine angle relative to the ground beneath your feet, moving the ball forward works.

It all depends on where your sternum is... and I've personally had more success lately with the latter.