How To Escape Awkward Lies (This Is How You Keep Your Card Clean)
Top 50 Coach Ged Walters with some simple advice on how to get up and down from awkward lies
No matter how well you play from tee to green, the chances are you'll need to scramble well a few times over the course of a round to keep your score intact.
The difference between scratch golfers (and pros, obviously) and mid- to high-handicap players isn't just that they get up and down more often - they have a really good understanding of how to make the simple changes required to play awkward shots.
BALL SITTING DOWN
When the ball is nestled down, open the clubface slightly and focus on maintaining loft through the shot.
If you do that, it will allow you to take the slightly longer swing required to create the speed you need to get the club to go down deep and cut through the grass.
With regard to ball position, much will depend on your greenside lie. If the ball is sitting down, as it is below, you can set it more centrally in your stance.
Opening the face will allow a longer swing with more speed
BALL SITTING UP
If it is sitting up, your ball position will need to go more towards your back foot so you then strike it a bit earlier in the swing arc to achieve more central contact on the face.
The feet should aim a bit left of target so the hips are slightly open, but with the ball sitting down, maintaining ribcage rotation is key.
The chest opens, the body keeps moving, and the arms and hands don't flip the face.
Notice how the wrists are still quite quiet here
You can see that the wrists are still quite quiet (above). There is a release, but it's not an excessive one as with the flop shot.
The unhinging of the wrists can be quiet with this shot, as you have preset your loft and angle of attack at set-up.
DOWNSLOPES & UPSLOPES
Set the knees, hips, and shoulders parallel to a downslope
From a downslope (above), your knees, hips, and shoulders should all match the slope so the pressure stays forward.
Use more loft, as the ball will come out lower, and have it closer to your back foot, as the club will want to hit the highest point of the ground.
You need a lot of wrist movement in the backswing but, again, you must stay connected, with the ribcage leading the arms to keep everything moving down the slope.
From an upslope, you should set your stance a little bit narrower but keep your weight forward.
Again, you will need a little bit of ribcage rotation. At impact, just let the club ‘deaden' into the hill to pop the ball up into the air.
If you throw some balls down around the green and take these short game tips on board, you'll start to relish the challenge of getting up and down - and that's when your scores will tumble.
