Uphill Lies
Playing golf anywhere at the Lake of the Ozarks you will encounter many uneven lies. Sidehill, downhill and uphill lies are so common around here I seem to take them for granted. Visitors from different parts of the country seem to really stuggle with these lies when they come to the lake. Today I will discuss what to do when your ball is on an up slope (uphill lie). Depending upon the severity of the hill you are on, more club may be needed. The increased loft provided by the slope means the ball should be launched higher and have a higher apex and will not roll as far when on the ground or green. When setting up, play the ball slightly more forward than normal and try to set your shoulders level to the slope you are on. If you don’t get your shoulders parallel to the slope you risk coming into the ball too steep and sticking the clubhead into the ground at impact. When hitting from uphill lies people tend to hit the ball left of their target because the club is released more on the upswing which makes the club face rotate closed faster. To compensate for this aim slightly right more than you noramally would.
In the left picture you can see that I’m aimed well to the right of the flag to compensate for the ball wanting to go left of the target. In the picture on the right you can see that I’m trying to set my shoulders parallel to the slope so I can swing “up” the hill.