Dealing With Down Slopes

In some of my golf tips I tell the story about playing a course which had severe fairway undulations. I could see where the course would be discouraging for recreational golfers. I seldom had a flat lie on the course. In fact, it was so hilly, I was almost always hitting from some kind of slope. More often than not, I was hitting down hill.

If you’ve ever played a course like this—and you probably have—you know how tricky hitting from a downhill lie can be. It’s especially difficult for recreational golfers, who are sometimes intimidated by a downhill slope and/or have little experience hitting from this type of lie. The resulting effort isn’t pretty and does nothing to lower the player’s golf handicap.

Hitting from a downhill slope is primarily a matter of making the right adjustments. I cover these in my golf lessons and golf tips but, obviously, there’s nothing like hitting from a down hill slope to learn how to do it.

Here are the 4 adjustments I recommend:

Tailor set-up for slope
Position ball back in stance
Swing with the slope
Chase ball down the slope

Keep two things in mind when faced with a downhill lie: (1) a shot from a down slope tends to fade right and (2) the slope affects the club’s loft.

The tendency to fade is a by-product of the slope. There’s little you can do about it. Even if you hit the ball perfectly, it will tend to fade right, so learn to deal with it as best you can, as I emphasize in my golf lessons.

Club loft is different. You can deal with it easily enough. On a steep slope, hitting a 7-iron becomes more like hitting a 5-iron, necessitating an adjustment in club selection depending on how far you are from the green. How much of an adjustment is hard to say. And golf instruction sessions don’t help, either. Only personal experience can tell you just how much to make.

Also, tailor your set up to the slope. That means making sure your spine is perpendicular to the slope and your weight on your front foot, a weight distribution you must maintain throughout the backswing. As a result, your shoulders will tilt downward to match the lie of the land. These changes ensure clean contact with the ball, positioned toward the back of the stance.

Another problem with downhill lies is trajectory. To generate height, hit down and with the slope, as if you’re chasing the ball downhill. Chase it for as long as possible by forcing your right shoulder to follow the ball to the target.

Also, don’t let the transfer of weight get out of control at impact. Stay as balanced as possible, finishing the swing with a nice, smooth follow-through. Clearing your left hip as you swing down and through the ball helps with the follow-through.

These changes in your set-up and swing, as I point out in my golf lessons, almost mirror those needed for uphill lies.

With uphill lies, the weight is on the back foot, the ball is positioned forward in the stance, and the tendency is to pull the ball left, which is caused by a golfer’s hands getting overactive through impact. Also, concentrate on making a wide takeaway. This change counteracts the tendency to narrow your backswing, which often occurs on an uphill lie.

Whether uphill or downhill, you must control weight transfer and you must swing down and with the slope. You also must control your head, keeping it behind the ball at the point of impact.

If you make the changes I recommend in this golf tip the next time you play a hilly course, you’ll find yourself hitting better shots from a sloped fairway. You’ll also find yourself developing more and more confidence playing a hilly course—and confidence never hurt anyone’s golf handicap.

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A Better Golf Swing Is Inevitable

A better golf swing is inevitable…for any golfer, with the right approach. It doesn’t matter age or ability. It’s a reality…and can happen very quickly!

To achieve a better golf swing, a golfer needs to realize just how physically demanding it is on the human body. You are swing an object (golf club) at up to 100 mph. This puts a tremendous amount of pressure on the joints, tendons, ligaments and muscles.

If these tissues of the body are weak, tight or brittle they will rupture and eliminate you from playing golf indefinitely. If it doesn’t, your performance will pay the price. The outcome either way is not what you want…but will happen without an emphasis on strengthening these areas.

Along with strengthening comes stretching. Stretching muscles to attain a better golf swing is common among most golfers. Although it is common, most golfers don’t stretch. Why? Because it is viewed as ‘work’. But if it were viewed as a form of golf improvement it would be a different story.

Swing mechanics cannot be improved if your golf specific strength and flexibility are ignored. It is an impossibility, unless you compensate for this lack of capabilities in your golf swing. Teaching pros are now starting to realize there is a definite connection between golf swing mechanics and fitness.

But that’s where the BIG gap is. Between instruction and physical fitness. This is the ultimate combination for total golf performance and I have been preaching it for several years now. When your physical capabilities are improved, your golf swing mechanics become much easier to achieve.

The next time you visit your teaching pro, to achieve a better golf swing, you’ll be able to do what he/she wants and the desired outcome will be achieved. This outcome is inevitable when you get your body moving better. Your golf swing mechanics fall into place.

It will only be a matter of time when all golfers will approach their golf improvement this way. It’s the only way that will warrant lasting results and ultimately a better golf swing.

Achieve Better Posture and Improve Your Next Round

Golfers struggling to improve their performance on the course must typically focus on the fundamentals to get to a more consistent level of play. Often one of the most overlooked areas of play is the postural address or setup position of the swing. Most people are aware of the importance of their setup routine; however, many overlook the less addressed area of posture.

Proper posture and foot placement allows you to maintain your balance throughout the swing. Balance throughout the swing allows you to hit the ball squarely in the center of the clubface. Also proper body alignment can help to create a setup that leads to control. Postural alignment is an integral part of the quality of your golf swing.

Good postural alignment helps you create power and control the direction of the shot. Key pre-swing elements such as ball position and body alignment create the conditions that lead to control. The body angles that you create at address directly influence the path and angle on which you swing the club. They influence the body positions and movements; thus your setup directly affects all elements of the swing.

A physical fitness assessment can give you much information on achieving good posture throughout your swing. Don’t overlook the advantages of muscular strength and flexibility when considering the golf swing. These advantages can make the difference between playing great golf and constantly struggling to maintain your current level of play.

By identifying areas of weakness, you are able to direct your fitness regimen to retrain old muscle habits, improve muscle memory, coordinate spinal movement and thus improve your posture. Concentrating on the muscles that control the spine angle, your center of gravity and balance, you will improve the muscles necessary to correct current swing faults. This will obviously lead to better golf performance.

Retraining posture through correct technique, proper exercises and stretch routines can be perhaps the best thing you can do to improve your game.

The Journey Begins

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton