Situational Shots

The ball is in the light rough.

The ball will not have as much spin as it would in the fairway.

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In this shot, we are standing below the green with a severe uphill slope.

Keep in mind that with this kind of slope the effective loft of the club is increased causing the ball to carry a shorter distance. Consider this uphill lie and the elevated green ahead and choose one or two clubs more. I chose one extra club because the uphill lie is not severe AND I would rather be below the pin on this green. It is a tough up and down from over this particular green so I would rather be short than long.

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To pick a good target for this shot consider your ball flight tendency, pin position and the possibility the ball might move curve slightly.

Consider your personal tendencies. An uphill lie can cause you weight to stay on your lower or back foot as you swing through impact. Often this will cause the swing path to move abruptly left causing a pull. A typical compensation for a pull is to block with your hands through impact and the ball may lose even more distance and hang right.(for a right handed player)If you force weight onto your forward foot you may hit a draw.

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Ideally, you want the clubface to rotate with your left or targetside arm.

For this shot, focus or picture impact where the center of the club squarely contacts the lower portion of the back of the ball.

• » Explanation and types of grips

Pick a target to match your tendencies and to accommodate for the pin position on the green.

Trust your new target and your club selection and make a confident swing.

• » Position of the club face during the swing

Pick a specific target and create an aim point. Aim the clubface first in line with your target, then align your body parallel to the target line.

With good body motion through the impact area the ball should come out high and drawing.

• » Correct alignment explanation

Place the ball in the middle of your stance and take a rehearsal swing to determine if your swing brushes the grass at center or slightly targetside of center. Adjust ball position according to where you brush the grass. The slope may tilt you too much on your back foot. Avoid that tendency by setting up with your weight evenly distributed on your feet.

Your outcome should be a high and drawing shot.

• » Explanation of the set up

• » Hip tilt/Back straight

Take your normal posture keeping in mind centered balance is key. Keep your weight under your shoelace area of your foot rather than on the toes or heels.

A balanced weight distribution at setup will help players have a stronger impact position and better ball contact.

• » Explanation of the set up

A balanced posture and natural armhang from your shoulders allows your arms and body to move the club back in proper sequence. Imagine standing in your golf posture holding a large beach ball or basket. Imagine handing that ball back to someone who is standing directly beside you. The sequence you experience is similar to the takeaway sequence in golf. Try it!

An in-plane takeaway will result in your club being square with your body and swing path for the first 1/4 of the backswing. This sets the stage for a smooth backswing all the way to the top.

• » Correct swing plane explanation

Because of the slope it is easy to slide too much weight laterally onto your back foot. The weight shift we are looking for is the result of your upper body turning over a stable lower body. Rotation is the key here since any lateral weight shift would result in loss of body balance. Again due to the slope you may feel your backswing is SHORTER than it would be from a level stance and it my feel as though your weight is "hanging left" or a bit targetside at the top of your backswing.

This position will lead to a powerful setup to start the downswing. Now, you should be on your way to hitting a beautiful high shot.

• » Swing syncronization explanation

As mentioned earlier an uphill lie makes it a bit tougher to transfer weight onto the forward foot causing weight to remain on the back foot. If weight stays back too long, the swing path travels left. In order to shift your weight back to the initial position, turn your hips and shoulders through the shot and focus on keeping the club on the same plane.

This downswing, which is a result of all the previous things working together, should lead to a high drawing shot.

• » Lower body stability drill

Remember to set up with your shoulders parallel to the slope, this will create an ascending swing through the hitting area. When you practice and are working on a specific technique your attention may be on your body, BUT WHEN YOU ARE PLAYING put your "mind's eye" on the function of the club. As your body reutrns through impact focus on the club swinging or sweeping up along the hill. The sence you will have is a sweep through the impact area rather than a "hit".

This position is the result of your setup and backswing. Your shot should be high, start right of the hole, (for a right handed player)and gradually draw in closer to the hole.

Notice that your back foot may not completely turn, a result of the uphill lie. Your whole body (arms, shoulders, back, chest, hips, and legs) should keep on rotating over a stable center.

At the finish position, your whole body will be facing your target.

Overcompensating at setup and adding too much weight to forward foot. If this happens your spine angle will be leaning too far targetside.

Descending motion at impact.

Several possibilities exist including hitting behind the ball or "fat". Another is a low diving shot which will travel farther than you planned. Either way you have a distance control issue.

Too big of a backswing to compensate for loss of distance due to increased loft at setup.

Loss of spine angle at top or loss of balance. Eeither way the forward swing will have to compensate for the error.

Depending on your forwardswing compensation a number of impact issues may result including fat or topped shots.

• » Effects of a close club face on the swing plane

In this shot, you should restrict your body rotation in the follow through.

For this shot, you should fully rotate your body in the forwardswing to hit the ball as straight as possible.

Big is better.

You can't overcome the distance loss created by the slope by taking a bigger backswing. Too big a backswing often causes a loss of spine angle which creates misshits at impact. Also too big of a swing motion creates balance issues when you are uneven lies.

Hitting the shot too low.

Ball too far back in your stance.

Place the ball towards the middle of your stance.

• » Hip tilt/Back straight

Hitting the shot to the left.

Not shifting the weight to the left leg.

Shift the weight to the left as you come into impact. Keep shifting into a full follow through.

• » Body pivot mistakes, sway and reverse pivot

Hitting the shot to the right.

Open clubface in the backswing.

Check that you see two knuckles of your left hand and let the clubface rotate with your left arm. Also allow your hands to release naturally through the shot.

• » Position of the club face during the swing

Set up with your weight fairly centered. The more weight you put on your back foot, (right)the higher your shots will fly.

This will help you have a square face in the backswing.

Place the ball in the middle of the stance.

This is a perfectly in plane swing.

If you hit one or more clubs, you will be ensuring that you get the ball to the hole.

The body does not stop turning until the finish position.