Hitting off Sidehill Lies

Hitting off a tee or from a perfect flat fairway lie is hard enough, but what about when you get on a hilly golf course and the only flat lies you get are on the tee. Most golfers struggle with uneven lies and you can remedy this problem with the correct set-up. When the ball is above your feet on a right-to-left side slope, the ball is not only higher, it’s closer to you. Therefore, you must choke down on the club slightly to make sure you don’t hit the ground behind the ball. Since the ball will not go as far, you may need to take an extra club in order to reach your target. Also, the ball will tend to hook to the left (for right-handed golfers), so adjust your alignment to take this into account.

When the ball is below your feet, it’s very important to make sure your knees are flexed. The ball is farther away and you should grip the club at the end and make sure you maintain your knee flex throughout the swing. The ball will tend to slice to the right so take this into account when aligning yourself to the target.

On hilly golf courses, you may be facing numerous sidehill lies throughout the round, and if you make these adjustments, I’m sure you’ll have much greater success tackling these difficult shots.

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