How I attack the slopes : From uneven lies, balance and arm-shaft angle are the keys - Brief Article

Unlike tee boxes and the practice range, fairways are rarely flat. That means, of course, that you're usually hitting your approach shots from uneven lies. One of the big differences between pros and recreational players is that the pros have learned how to handle these lies.

When the ball is above or below your feet, or you've got an uphill or downhill lie, the first rule of solid ball striking is to maintain your balance on your backswing and into impact. On steep slopes, you may lose your balance in your follow-through after impact, but that doesn't really matter, since you've already hit the ball.

The best way to maintain your balance into impact is to make a few small changes in your preswing setup--especially your spine angle--for each type of lie. In the swing sequences on the following pages, you'll see the setup changes I make on uneven lies, how they affect my swing, and how all that compares to the way I hit the ball from level lies.

Finally, there's one thing you shouldn't change on uneven lies: the angle between your arms and the clubshaft at address. If you keep that angle consistent, no matter what the terrain, you'll hit the ball straighter and more solidly.

In the photos that follow, I'm using a 5-iron, but the principles I discuss also apply to fairway woods, pitches, chip shots and even, to some extent, putts. Now turn the page to see how I attack the slopes.

What to do from sidehill lies

On these two pages, I'm hitting balls that are above my feet, level with my feet and below my feet.

The primary differences between these swings start in my setup. With the ball above my feet, I stand up straighter. With the ball below my feet, my spine angle is more bent over. This helps me keep my balance. Note that I bend at the hips, not at the waist.

My knee flex changes just a little for all three lies. I may have a little less flex when the ball's above my feet, and a little more when the ball is below them.

Note, however, that in my setup the angle formed by my arms and the clubshaft is the same with each lie. Some people tend to form a straight line with their arms and the shaft when the ball is above their feet. That changes the wrist break you make on the backswing and the uncocking on the downswing, which can result in mis-hits.

As you can see, the difference in spine tilt affects the plane of the swing. Because you have less tilt when the ball is above your feet, your swing plane is flatter. With the ball below your feet, and more spine tilt, your swing is more upright. This is clearly evident when the club is three-quarters back on the backswing and half-way down on the downswing.

At the top of the swing, my hips turn more when the ball is above my feet than when it is below. That, too, is because I stand more upright when the ball is above my feet, so I have more body rotation. When the ball is below my feet, the swing is more a simple lifting of the arms. For this reason, I get less power when the ball is below my feet, so I often take an extra club in that situation.

With the ball above my feet, I aim a bit right, because the ball is likely to be pulled left. Conversely, I aim a bit left when the ball is below my feet. Through impact, I maintain my spine angle and stay down and through the ball, with basically the same swing I use on any other shot. Again, the key adaptations come in my setup.

What to do from uphill and downhill lies

As with any unusual lie, you should take extra practice swings before you swing for real from sloped ground. The keys from uphill and downhill lies are shoulder position and weight distribution at address. Your right shoulder should be lower than normal on uphill lies; your left shoulder lower than normal on downhill lies. Uphill, your weight should be more on your right foot; downhill, it should be more on your left foot. Some players do the opposite, leaning into the hill. That leads to lost balance and mis-hits.

On the backswing uphill, keep your weight on the inside of your right leg. In the photos above, I think I have a bit too much lower-body turn on the uphill backswing, but I've still kept my weight inside my right leg. Downhill, I like the way I've restricted my lower-body turn. I'd do better if I had a similar restriction uphill.

At address and at the top, my head is behind the ball uphill, and ahead of it downhill. That's the way it should be if your balance is proper.

On uphill lies, I need to make a more aggressive move toward the target with my right knee to start down. That prevents me from hanging back, releasing my arms too soon and pulling the ball left. On downhill lies, I slow my right knee action and just let my arms drop down into the ball. Uphill, I open my left foot a bit to encourage that positive move toward the target on the downswing; downhill, I toe it in a bit to restrict my lower-body turn.

After impact I'm still swinging along the slope of the terrain. Obviously, the trajectory of the ball will be higher from an uphill lie and lower from a downhill lie, but unless the slope is severe, I don't let that affect my club selection. It's not necessarily true that you need more club from an uphill lie and less from a downhill lie.

My finish is balanced in all three cases here, but there's no problem if you fall back on the uphill lie or "walk through" on the downhill lie, since the ball has already gone--on target, if you've done it right.

COPYRIGHT 2001 New York Times Company Magazine Group, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group