This has been a subject that has been requested and is a vital area to understand and then work upon once you start to play on the course. We all generally practice from flat lies whether it be at the driving range or on a grassed area, however the reality is you will very rarely find a completely flat lie on the course so let’s remember to include this within our practice routine.

We need firstly to understand how the slope affects the ball flight so here are some major points to consider:

• The ball will fly higher and stop more quickly
• The distance achieved will generally be reduced due the additional height and increased loft of the club so take a longer club for the shot in hand. This calculation will take time and experience to factor in other areas such as wind strength and severity of the slope
• The ball will generally curve to the left in the air

To play this uphill lie shot it is critical to remain in BALANCE both at set up and during the swing as this can throw our centre of gravity off and cause mis timed strikes. There are two ways to play this uphill golf shot but I will focus on the standard shot where we are working with the natural contours of the slope and loft of the club.

Sarah’s Suggestions for an effective set up

Favoured set up position for uphill lie golf shot

1. Play the ball slightly further forward in your stance

2. Ensure the weight is positioned slightly on your non-target foot  (right for a right-handed golfer)

3. Let you body follow the contour of the slope so is perpendicular

4. It will be difficult to transfer the weight to the target foot hence the hands will become more active so if we aim our body slightly to the right of our target this will compensate for the right to left ball flight

5. Don’t try to “lift” the ball as in figure 2 below as this will cause inconsistencies in the strike

Fig 2 “Falling back” causing inconsistent strikes

6. Try to follow through as in fig 3   and remain in BALANCE.

Fig 3 “Balanced follow through”

I hope this has helped you to understand the basic changes required to help master your uphill lie shot so you can practice effectively assisting with your confidence!

I will be covering a series of articles on this subject so if you like this then you are more than welcome to e-mail or forward to your friends, but you will need to sign up on my journal page to receive into your inbox. The newsletters are a separate e-mail and can be signed up for in my “Bio” page.