In this week’s JFGA Performance Code – Roy (Jason Floyd Golf Academy Instructor) talks to us about one of the challenges that often makes moving from range practice to course play difficult – Sloping Lies.

Practicing on a range is a great way to improve repeatability but that experience can often throw many off as they struggle to adapt to real course conditions.

Courses around the world vary and ground conditions also vary greatly. The contours and gradients of the ground offer different lies with slopes and angles that can make playing more challenging. 

It’s therefore important during practice to do it in a randomised manner and include as many variables from the golf course. 

In our blog this week I am going to discuss the four main sloping lies. Understanding these are an essential part to better On Course Performance.


1. UPHILL

When approaching an upslope, it’s important to use a longer club because the upward angle of the slope tilts the clubface back, adding loft. 

Push the hips up the slope to allow the shoulders to get more parallel to the slope. If the shoulders are too level, your angle of attack will be too steep making controlling strike very difficult. 

Going uphill, we tend to hit the ball left because our hands and arms are releasing at a higher rate through impact, and that causes the clubface to close. This is due to gravity working agains the body action. 

Flair your lead foot and aim your body to the right to compensate for this. 


2. DOWNHILL

When playing a downslope, take less club because the hill delofts the clubface. Position the ball back a little and, as with the uphill lie, set the shoulders parallel to the slope. 

If we don’t angle the shoulders, the body will be tilted back relative to the slope resulting in hitting the shot heavy i.e. hitting behind the ball. 

Typically the ball will shape to the right as your body will work quicker than the arms due to gravity. To compensate for this, aim to the left.

Note that the ball will also land at a flatter angle and run further when it hits the ground. You need to account for this during your analysis of the shot (Think Box)


3. BALL BELOW

One of the most challenging things about dealing from this lie is getting down to the ball and staying there through impact. The tendency of the body is to pull up or move onto the toes too early. Both lead to poor contact.

To compensate we have to take a wider stance, squat down and focus on maintaining your flex in the knees.

Because of this exaggerated squat position, rotation during the swing is restricted. Take one more club to account for the reduced clubhead speed. 

Your setup and  swing will tend to be more upright. The face angle is tilted more to the right. To account for this you can simply aim more to the left, however, on extreme downslopes there is a risk that the heel will hit the ground and quickly shut the face at impact. You need to be able to understand and predict which is most likely to happen. I recommend that you practice from various levels of ball below the feet to understand this area of the game. 


4. BALL ABOVE

This lie brings the ball closer to you making you stand taller. Adjust by gripping lower down the club.

From this upright posture, the swing will be flatter and more around the body. This creates more hand and arm rotation through the shot, with the clubface closing at a faster rate on the downswing. This means that the club face is only square for a fraction of a second. With this in mind a more central ball position for all shots is beneficial. The tendency with the ball above your feet is to hit it to the left. Due to the fact that the plane of the face is tilted to the left we need to aim right to compensate.

In conclusion, you will now understand what the lie will do to the dynamics of the club and how to adjust. Build these points into your pre-shot routine lot reduce your proximity to the hole and improve your score.

Next month in my blog I will be discussing Escapology. Make sure to follow us on instagram @jasonfloydgolfacademy for all the dates Performance Code news.


For more information about the Jason Floyd Golf Academy, Golf Programmes – contact us on info@jasonfloydgolfacademy.com or call us on +34 607 042 134.