Keys to Handling the Flyer Lie (Video) - by Pete Styles
Keys to Handling the Flyer Lie (Video) - by Pete Styles

Now, you may often hear on the TV when you're watching golf that the commentators talk about, "Oh, we've got a flyer there. He must've got a flying lie and the ball flew over the back of the green" often results in a bad shot where the player strikes the ball as they would like but then the ball comes out as a flyer and it would generally clear the green. It might land on the green but it has very little back spin and rolls over the back.

So what is a flyer? Well, basically flying lie is where the golf ball and the club have a little layer of grass in between them. So the ball might be sitting on a long fairway or in the semi-rough on a little area of grass. Maybe just a few blades of grass certainly wet grass get stuck between the club and the ball. It results in a club that can't impart much backspin on the ball. So the ball comes out a little bit quicker. It flies a little bit hotter and when it lands, it just shoots over the back of the green.

So a couple of things you could look for when you're assessing the shot to see whether you might be getting flyers. Just certainly have a look down nice and close at the back of the ball. See where the grasses are growing in between where the club would swing and where the ball would sit, and see whether there's going to be grass there when you get there. If the club or the ground is quite wet, that's going to cause you problems.

So before every shot, give the club a good dry down. Even if you take a practice swing and you get moisture on the club face, wipe it off on the towel. You'll often see golfers just wipe it across the trouser like just to clean it and then play the shots. So you've got a dry club – hopefully the ball still quite clean and dry. Not too much grass between the club and that should result in a better contact.

If you don't think you're going to be able to get away from the flyers, and it's always going to fly because of the grass, you need to change the way you play it. You can change the club selection. Club down one. Take an eight instead of a seven. Aim to land the ball at the front of the green knowing that it won't spin that much. It's going to roll a little bit further than you would normally expect.

One last thing would be play the ball back in your stance a little bit. Play it slightly nearer to the right side just behind the center. That would encourage you to hit down a little bit more. It is a good way of increasing back spin. If you play it off your front foot and sweep it up in the air, you're asking for trouble that will fly over the back of the green for sure.

So if you think you're prone to a flyer, do as much you can to minimize it. Nice dry golf club, pull back in the stance, use the right club to land the ball at the front of the green, and expect the ball to release quickly up the green and hopefully that will minimize your chances of putting a flyer straight through the back of the green.

 2012-05-09

Now, you may often hear on the TV when you're watching golf that the commentators talk about, “Oh, we've got a flyer there. He must've got a flying lie and the ball flew over the back of the green” often results in a bad shot where the player strikes the ball as they would like but then the ball comes out as a flyer and it would generally clear the green. It might land on the green but it has very little back spin and rolls over the back.

So what is a flyer? Well, basically flying lie is where the golf ball and the club have a little layer of grass in between them. So the ball might be sitting on a long fairway or in the semi-rough on a little area of grass. Maybe just a few blades of grass certainly wet grass get stuck between the club and the ball. It results in a club that can't impart much backspin on the ball. So the ball comes out a little bit quicker. It flies a little bit hotter and when it lands, it just shoots over the back of the green.

So a couple of things you could look for when you're assessing the shot to see whether you might be getting flyers. Just certainly have a look down nice and close at the back of the ball. See where the grasses are growing in between where the club would swing and where the ball would sit, and see whether there's going to be grass there when you get there. If the club or the ground is quite wet, that's going to cause you problems.

So before every shot, give the club a good dry down. Even if you take a practice swing and you get moisture on the club face, wipe it off on the towel. You'll often see golfers just wipe it across the trouser like just to clean it and then play the shots. So you've got a dry club – hopefully the ball still quite clean and dry. Not too much grass between the club and that should result in a better contact.

If you don't think you're going to be able to get away from the flyers, and it's always going to fly because of the grass, you need to change the way you play it. You can change the club selection. Club down one. Take an eight instead of a seven. Aim to land the ball at the front of the green knowing that it won't spin that much. It's going to roll a little bit further than you would normally expect.

One last thing would be play the ball back in your stance a little bit. Play it slightly nearer to the right side just behind the center. That would encourage you to hit down a little bit more. It is a good way of increasing back spin. If you play it off your front foot and sweep it up in the air, you're asking for trouble that will fly over the back of the green for sure.

So if you think you're prone to a flyer, do as much you can to minimize it. Nice dry golf club, pull back in the stance, use the right club to land the ball at the front of the green, and expect the ball to release quickly up the green and hopefully that will minimize your chances of putting a flyer straight through the back of the green.