I once had a golf student that I took out on the course and I told him “whenever you think you should chip it, you should probably putt it.” The bottom line is that you want to get the ball on the ground as soon as possible. If you can putt it, you should putt it. If you can’t putt it, you should chip it. And if you absolutely can’t chip it, then you might have to pitch it. It should be the last option though.

Here’s the reality. Most amateur golfers if they are just off the green and they have a decent amount of green to work with, they are probably going to go to their golf bag and grab their wedge and their putter. If you are a higher handicapper or you don’t play a ton of golf, your wedge more often than not will get you into trouble. If you hit it well, most of the time it will not be exceptional. When you don’t hit it well, it can often be catastrophic. In order to hit the shot well, I need to have good technique: weight forward, hands forward, square club face, etc as well as the experience and skill to make decent contact (not to mention the mental fortitude to hit the shot under pressure).

On the other hand, if I grab my fairway wood or my putter and hit the same shot, the only thing I really need to focus on and figure out is how hard to hit it. So that means that all I need to practice is how hard to hit it. Even myself, who is fairly skilled, knows the technique, and practices, I still will always opt to take the shot that requires the least amount of skill especially if the stakes are high. In order to play your best golf, you need to play to your skill level. You should also be practicing the shots that require the least amount of skill.

I have played with a lot of higher handicappers and I can’t tell you the number of times they have hit their tee shot into the woods. All they would need to do is punch out of the woods in order to make a bogey and they can’t seem to get out of the woods. These are easy shots and you should be able to execute these shots most of the time.

And always remember around the greens, the less loft you use, the less skill you need!

In today’s blog post, we are talking about uneven lies! If you have gotten super comfortable hitting balls on a driving range or a practice mat, you know that when it comes to playing in a practical setting, you are unlikely to encounter perfect lies 100% of the time. While it’s really important to hone your skills when it comes to your full swing, it’s also really important to understand that managing this course is another huge component to lowering your scores and reducing your handicap. So here’s a complete (yet concise) guide to helping you deal with uneven lies.

Sidehill lie - ball below feet

While left handed golfers make up about 10% of all golfers, I personally don’t like to say “just do the opposite of the right handed golfer”. Because it’s important to understand the difference for right and left handed golfers, I have broken it down to more easily understand (hopefully).

• Sidehill Lie - Ball Below Your Feet

  • For a right handed golfer:

    • Club face will point to the more to the right

    • You will need to aim further left of the target

    • Normal Ball position and grip

  • For a left handed golfer:

    • Club face will point more to the left

    • You will need to aim further right of the target

    • Normal Ball position and grip

• Sidehill Lie - Ball Above Your Feet

  • For a right handed golfer:

    • Club face will point to the left

    • You will need to aim further right of the target

  • For a left handed golfer:

    • Club face will point right

    • You will need to aim further left of the target

• Uphill Lie

  • This will increase the loft of the club and the ball will go higher in the air

  • Play the ball in normal ball position or slightly further forward in your stance.

  • Match your shoulders to the slope of the hill

• Downhill Lie

  • This will decrease the loft of the club and the ball will go lower in the air

  • Play the bal further back in your stance

  • Feel like your spine is more upright; matching your shoulders to the slope - this will help you hit down on the ball

Uphill lie

Mike showing how the Pitch Assist training aid can show you exactly what your club face is doing. Here, he shows the club face pointing to the left on a side hill lie where the ball is above your feet.

As always, try to find a place to practice these shots. We don’t often get to practice these shots at the driving range or practice facility so it’s important you practice them when you get a chance.