One of the key traits that separates tour players from average golfers is their ability to adapt. Whether it’s adjusting to changing weather conditions or tweaking your setup on the fly to navigate challenging lies, there’s rarely a situation that can throw them off their game.
It’s a skill many of us don’t truly appreciate until we find ourselves in a tough spot. However, it’s not an instinctive ability you’re born with, it’s something these players have honed over thousands of hours on the range — and you can develop it, too.
You just need the right fundamentals and a little practice.
Take chipping on severe uphill slopes, for example. While these lies often pose a challenge for amateurs, GOLF Teacher to Watch, James Hong, says that mastering a few fundamentals and making two setup adjustments, will help you tackle these shots with confidence—as he demonstrates below from this tricky greenside lie at Cabot Citrus Farms.
When you find yourself on a severe uphill lie with the ball above your feet, you might worry about stubbing it, pulling it into trouble or even going right under the ball if the rough is thick enough. And with good reason — these are some of the most common mistakes players make from this position.
So what should you do? Hong says to take it step-by-step. This will help you make the right adjustments for the shot without overwhelming yourself with too many swing thoughts.
Step 1: Aim right of your target
Hong explains that severe, sloping lies can affect the angle of the clubface. When a ball is way above your feet, he says, this will cause your clubface to point left of the target line (for right-handed players). To account for this change in clubface angle, Hong says to aim right of your target.
Step 2: Anchor your base
Severe slopes can cause us to feel unstable in our swings, which usually leads to improper form and poor contact. Which is why you need to create a solid base for your swing. To do that, Hong says to take a wider stance.
If this wider base causes you to feel limited in your rotation, try flaring your front foot, like Hong does in the clip above. This will allow you to make a bigger turn without narrowing your feet and falling out of balance.
Widening your stance also brings you closer to the ball. To compensate for this adjustment, grip down slightly on the club, as Hong demonstrates in the video above. This will help you maintain control and achieve clean contact.
Step 3: Play the ball back
To prevent yourself from hitting the ground before the ball — leading to those dreaded chunked or stubbed shots — you’ll need to adjust your ball position.
“I’m putting the ball in the middle to slightly back in my stance,” Hong says, “and, if you’re someone who is very handsy, you’re probably going to want to put the ball even further to the right [back in your stance].”
Playing the ball further back in your stance promotes a steeper angle of attack, helping you to make clean, ball-first contact.
Step 4: Practice
The only way to truly execute this shot with confidence during your round is to practice it when the pressure is off. Next time you’re at the range, drop a few balls from a similar spot and play around with your ball position and swing.
As shown in the video above, the lie Hong is hitting from forces him to nearly stop at impact — a reflection of how dramatically certain slopes can affect your motion. Each slope presents its own challenges, and the more time you spend practicing from these uneven lies, the better you’ll feel when you face them on the course.
