July 13, 2018 12:25 pm

By Jon Woodroffe – Master Professional, World of Golf London

Though this may surprise you, playing from an uphill lie is probably one of the easiest shots in golf. When your ball is positioned, as you see in picture 1, the thing to remember is that you do not need to change your golf swing. All you need to do is make some small adjustments to your club selection and address position.

The first thing about the uphill lie is that the ball is going to go up and up. It will gain considerably in elevation and because of that you will lose distance. You must make up for this, by using a straighter faced, or less lofted, club.

Then you follow these simple rules. Position the ball nearer the higher foot at address. The steeper the slope, the more towards the higher foot the ball should be placed.

Then, get your shoulders and hips parallel to the slope, as in picture 2. I always think of the old Subbuteo football toys. Remember how they were on a plinth and if you tipped them one way or another, they would still be parallel to the plinth? So, keeping your shoulders and hips parallel to the slope, means that you then just go ahead and make your normal swing and see the ball lift off from there.

As ever this is a difficult shot to practice at the golf range but if you just remember those 3 rules you won’t go far wrong.

1. Ball positioned nearer the higher foot
2. Shoulders and hips parallel to the slope
3. When going up the hill, go down the numbers of the clubs

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