OK, so you’ve got an uphill lie. It’s not the trickiest shot out there, but it’s also not the easiest one either — so let’s not make it more difficult than it needs to be.
While every golfer would love for every shot to lie flat in the fairway, when you’re faced with an uphill lie, there are a few tricks to making sure you strike the ball squarely on the clubface, helping you avoid either the toe or heel.
This was Arnold Palmer’s foolproof formula for tricky, uphill pitch shots
The first thing you should know is that the upslope can act as a launch pad, ensuring your ball gets into the air. But the key is focusing on your setup — which is what GOLF Top 100 Teacher Trillium Rose walks you through in the video above.
How to hit from an uphill lie
As Rose says in the video, in order to make great contact with the ball on an uphill lie, “one thing for you to remember is your ball position.”
To figure out where the ball should align, Rose suggests taking a few practice swing, trying to determine where your club bottoms out with the turf. This is highlighted in the image below.
Rose adds, “I can see that club made contact further back in my stance than I normally would have put this ball.”
Understanding where the club made turf impact, Rose now has a clear idea about where to setup. In this case, she’s going to position the ball towards her back foot, allowing for a smooth swing through the ball.
“I’m going to set up so that the ball is back in my stance, right where that practice swing was. That’s going to give me a great chance of making good contact.”
So before walking up to a shot with an uphill lie, be sure to compose yourself, take a few practice swings, and make a mental note of where your club is interacting with the grass. From there, you can setup properly and hit a proper shot.