russtyputter

Eh, just not doing a good job at explaining the situation, haha. Sorry- You deciphered it though! Thanks for the kind advice. I actually got it up over the slope of the hill today and got up on the flatter portion of the fairway so I didn't have to practice that shot in my scoring match. Woohoo! Can't count on luck always though.

My instructor (Glenn Monday - Author of "Know Your Swing") has me learning in our first lessons how to hit a draw shot. He said this is the first shot to learn and that all others will come easy. I used to have the idea that I should just aim straight and hit the ball straight but, now I realize that hitting inside-out and getting the ball to draw is a better approach to hitting more fairways and greens. - "Know Your Swing" pg 7 "You are eliminating the right side of the golf course. You are cutting out half of the potential trouble." I'm curious to ask him why the first shot he teaches is not a fade but, in his book he mentions most tour pros use an inside-out swing path and how important the draw shot is. I'm definitely going take his advice though as he has 40 years of teaching experience, has been amongst great names in golf (Bruce Devlin, Arnold Palmer, Fuzzy Zoeler and Gary Player to name a few) and was a top-5 nominee by Golf and Golf Digest magazine in 2009 as top instructor in the USA. I'm going to stick with working on my draw

Note: a better way to describe my problem is that my lie is at an angle and ball is below my feet - danger zone for me.

I live in El Segundo, CA which is by LAX and I typically play The Lakes which is just a 9-hole exec. I do enjoy Harbor Park in Wilmington as it is a regulation 9-hole with a 512 yard par 5 and Penmar in Santa Monica is a great par4 9-hole. The only 18 hole course I have played was Chester Washington which was a blast and a challenge.

Hello, The 9-hole course I play regularly has a particular hole which is basically an uphill fairway which is mostly on the right side of the hill and at an angle. It sort of bends up the hill so the fair closest to the green starts to flatten out. To get up to the flat part is about 260 yards which I never make the drive to and so I am ALWAYS stuck on the side of the hill. I struggle in this scenario (right handed so facing down the hill not up) because I start to grip up on the club and lean down, or grip down for more control and lean way down but, either way I feel like it's really hard to hit the ball flush and I typically hit it thin and it just rockets across the grass hopefully slowing down enough to get on the green but, in the case today I shot way over it. If I don't hit it thin then I usually slice into some bunkers. There have been a few occassions when I am on the side of the hill where by some miracle it gets up and down for my 50-60 yard approach. (Only driving about 210'ish) Any advice on side hill lies? Videos? tips? Much appreciated -Russ

Thanks for the video! I tried out the floaty today and I really did see a nice improvement. I didn't skull a single chip today! Wooo-hoo! haha. I was having trouble after watching Phil talk about H&H; (Hinge and Hold) but, this video resonated with me.

I played two rounds this morning at my local 9-hole (The Lakes in El Segundo, CA - Par 29) - The first one I played a 35 and the second one I played a 39. I think my main problem is ball position and setup. I sometimes have a slight feeling that my ball position is a little off but, due to the pressure of groups waiting behind us, I usually just take my swing and that's when I slice it or hit it thin and send it shooting over the green. I believe once I can figure out a method of consistent setup (distance from the ball, ball position, etc) I will play more consistantly and avoid a lot of mishits. I still have other flaws in my swing mechanics but, I don't feel it's too terrible.

I have a monthly pass for my local 9 hole executive course which is only a par 29 (1,327 yrds) and I shot a 37. I would like to shoot better but, I seem to have digressed over the last few weeks for some reason. :( Come to think of it.. as soon as I started hitting my wedges better I began to hit my long irons/FW Woods worse.

I'm a Software QA Analyst but, I'd rather play golf for a living.