How To Pitch From Muddy Lies

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How to pitch from muddy lies

It's a shot that many of us fear as it can bring the duff and the thin into play.  watch this video and you'll soon be more confident playing from muddy lies.

Many amateur golfers find it tough to get that clean, ball-first contact. However, getting your set-up right will make the shot a lot easier. With most short game shots, the bounce is usually your friend, but this is one of the exceptions. 

Instead, you want to make sure you are using more of the leading edge, so you contact the back of the ball. When you use too much of the bounce off muddy and wet lies, the club will just dig into the ground and the ball will go nowhere.

Ball position

The ball position needs to be just back of centre and with your chest bone a good few inches ahead of the ball, as this dictates the low point in the swing. Most golfers get their wight stuck on the back foot on these sorts of shots and that brings the low point back, making it very easy to hit the ground first.

Finish through the shot

Another factor is the length of the follow-through. If you have a longer finish, you tend to release more of the bounce. When you have a shorter finish with more pace, it allows the hands to stay a bit further in front of the clubhead and get that ball-first contact.

With the strike, it will go lower and the ball will be fairly hot, but that is the sacrifice you are making to improve the quality of the strike. If that sounds hard to picture, make sure you watch the video above.

Tight pin

When the pin is cut tight or you need to fly the ball over a bunker, you have a few different options. If that’s the case, you are forced into going for something a little more risky, like the flop shot. Consequently, one of the most important things is to get the club selection right.

A club like the TaylorMade Hi-Toe 3 wedge is perfect for this shot as it is really shaved down on the toe. This means the bounce in the toe area has been reduced so you can get it sitting flush to the ground, which really helps you make clean contact.

Toe lower than the heel

By addressing the ball with the toe lower than the heel, it allows you to swing the toe across the ball. As a result, you should be able to nip under it and get the desired height. That's how to pitch from muddy lies. Watch the video to see just how simple this shot can be.