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When coping with a downhill lie, do not guess on the right way to hit the shot. Use the following pointers from GOLF High 100 Trainer Josh Zander as a substitute.
Courtesy Josh Zander
Welcome to Shaving Strokes, a GOLF.com sequence through which we’re sharing enhancements, learnings and takeaways from novice golfers similar to you — together with a number of the pace bumps and challenges they confronted alongside the best way.
Hitting a downhill lie in golf is likely one of the most difficult shots in the game, irrespective of how expert the participant is.
Not solely are the toes uneven at handle, however gravity is working towards you, which means your body is literally being pulled down towards the entrance finish of the slope, which makes it more durable to keep up the correct steadiness to hit a stable shot.
For that motive, many amateurs chunk or skinny photographs off a downhill lie as a result of they only don’t perceive what changes they should make so as to hit a very good shot.
However with the assistance of GOLF Top 100 Teacher Josh Zander, you may make two easy setup tweaks that can permit you to hold your steadiness, keep a stable swing path and at last conquer the nasty downhill lie. Try his ideas beneath.
Navigating downhill lies
As talked about above, a part of what makes hitting off a downhill lie so troublesome is having your weight thrown off. In the event you strategy the sort of shot as you’d when the ball is on a flat floor, Zander reminds gamers that gravity will pull them towards the slope.
“After I discover myself on a extreme downhill lie, if I let my steadiness go, my physique will naturally go down this hill,” Zander says.
So Zander suggests making two straightforward changes at setup to permit your self to keep away from that from taking place. This offers you a greater steadiness and a greater angle of assault to accurately hit the ball.
“First, it’s good to transfer the ball ahead in your stance,” he says. “And quantity two, it’s good to pull your path foot again.”
The photograph beneath demonstrates the place the ball must be when hitting off a downhill lie.
Courtesy Josh Zander
“Now, why do I would like the ball ahead in my stance?” he asks. “We’ve [probably] all heard that we would like our shoulders with the slope, so for those who transfer the ball ahead in your stance after which go to hit the ball, you may see the way it will get my shoulders aligned down the hill.”
Subsequent, Zander reminds gamers that they should keep sufficient pace on the sort of shot. To assist do this, he says to drop that path foot again, which creates more room to rotate within the backswing.
The photograph beneath exhibits how this could look.
Courtesy Josh Zander
“I nonetheless wish to be highly effective off of this [downhill lie], so I would like to have the ability to make a pleasant, massive flip in my backswing. However the hill retains me from turning if I stand with a squared stance,” Zander explains. “But when I pull my path foot again, it offers me a a lot greater hip flip — which permits me to be extra highly effective.”
So once you’ve obtained a tough downhill lie, keep in mind to make some easy changes earlier than taking your shot. By merely placing the ball ahead in your stance and dropping your path foot again, you’ll have a greater likelihood of hitting it flush.
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