Shane Lowry Downhill lie chip

Never duff or thin a chip from this tough lie ever again

Shane-Lowry-downhill-chip

European Tour champ Shane Lowry shows you how to master the chip from our downhill lie. The secret lies in how you position your weight.

Amateurs usually make this shot harder than it needs to be through a poor set up position. They will fight the slope and do anything they can to help the ball up in the air, which makes it almost impossible to make good contact with the ball. Set-up as always is crucial in pulling off this shot and the most important thing is to go with the way the slope is pushing you, don’t fight it.

No – The tendency here is to want to help the ball in the air because the ball will naturally come out lower from this lie. But if you do this by having your weight back behind the ball, you’ll end up either duffing the shot or knifing the ball over the back of the green.

Yes – Your address position needs to match the angle of the slope. So from a downhill lie, your weight will feel like it’s on your left leg for a right-handed golfer. The elevation will come from the fact you’re using your most lofted wedge with a slightly open clubface.

Shane-Lowry-downhill-lie-chip-pic

A good image in your mind to create more consistent results is to align your shoulders parallel to the slope. This will naturally get you in a good position. Place a club across your chest and feel that your shoulders marry up with the orientation of the feet. So in this case, the grip end of the club will be higher than the other.

Notice how coming into impact my left knee is flexed more than my right. This shows how my weight has stayed with the slope, allowing me to make solid contact with the ball. You may even find you take a step down the slope after you hit the ball but that’s ok, it shows that your weight has been positioned correctly.

Joel Tadman
Technical Editor

Joel has worked in the golf industry for over 12 years covering both instruction and more recently equipment. He now oversees all product content here at Golf Monthly, managing a team of talented and passionate writers and presenters in delivering the most thorough and accurate reviews, buying advice, comparisons and deals to help the reader find exactly what they are looking for. So whether it's the latest driver, irons, putter or laser rangefinder, Joel has his finger on the pulse keeping up to date with the latest releases in golf. He is also responsible for all content on irons and golf tech, including distance measuring devices and launch monitors.


One of his career highlights came when covering the 2012 Masters he got to play the sacred Augusta National course on the Monday after the tournament concluded, shooting a respectable 86 with just one par and four birdies. To date, his best ever round of golf is a 5-under 67 back in 2011. He currently plays his golf at Burghley Park Golf Club in Stamford, Lincs, with a handicap index of 3.2.


Joel's current What's In The Bag? 

Driver: Titleist TSR3, 9° 

Fairway wood: Titleist TSR3, 15° 

Hybrid: Titleist TSi2, 18° 

Irons: Ping i230 4-UW

Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM8, 54°. Titleist Vokey SM9 60° lob wedge, K Grind

Putter: Evnroll ER2V 

Ball: 2023 Titleist Pro V1x