Aiming Your Golf Shot When The Ball Is Above Your Feet (Video) - Lesson by PGA Pro Pete Styles
Aiming Your Golf Shot When The Ball Is Above Your Feet (Video) - Lesson by PGA Pro Pete Styles

If you are now in a position where the ball is above your feet, but you’ve made some relevant adjustments and you are now confidently, you are consistently striking the ball from this awkward lie, the next thing we’ve got to consider is the direction the ball is going to fly and therefore the direction that we need to aim the ball in.

Generally speaking when the ground is like this, the ball is above your feet, you are standing here, the ball will curve from right to left. If you ever get mixed up about, is it right to left or left to right, just think if you stood back behind and threw the ball onto the slope it would roll down the hill this way. The ball will do exactly the same as that but in the sky and the steeper the angle of a slope the more the ball is going to curve. So think of it that way to understand which way the ball will curve and by how much. So the ball above my feet is going to move from right to left, so I can make a relevant adjustment in terms of my alignment, am I to aim to the right-hand half of the green then hit the shot expecting to see the ball drawer into the middle and all things being even it would probably follow that pattern, but we also have to consider what is the golfers natural shape. So if I am a natural drawer of the ball, I normally move the ball from right to left in the air added into that the right, the left on the slope, suddenly it is going to start to curve quite a long way I might have little draw that turns into a bit of a bigger hook. I need to allow for that in my alignment. Quite importantly if I am a fader of the ball, I move the ball from left to right in the air, then I add in the slope, the slope is going to move the ball right to left, I normally move the ball left to right. This ball is going to fly quite straight, because my natural shape and the slope kind of cancel each other out if you like. So we end up with a quite straight ball flight. So you have got to understand what is your natural shape, what is the shape of the slope going to do, add the two together and then you can work out your ball flight. The other consideration is just the little bit more course management related, it is understanding where the danger is. If I am playing into a green that has a pond on the left hand side and I know this slope is going to curve the ball from right to left. I’ve got to be really careful about the fact that I don’t want to aim at the middle of the green knowing that the slope is going to pull the ball into the pond. So I might aim extra especially far to the right to really help with that curving of the ball but make sure it curves to the centre of the green and not into danger, not into trouble. So just way up the amount of slope your normal shape and the course management aspect of what is on the green, that should encourage you to hit the right directional shots with the right amount of curve to make sure you can hit the green from this ball above your feet lie. 2016-10-05

If you are now in a position where the ball is above your feet, but you’ve made some relevant adjustments and you are now confidently, you are consistently striking the ball from this awkward lie, the next thing we’ve got to consider is the direction the ball is going to fly and therefore the direction that we need to aim the ball in.

Generally speaking when the ground is like this, the ball is above your feet, you are standing here, the ball will curve from right to left. If you ever get mixed up about, is it right to left or left to right, just think if you stood back behind and threw the ball onto the slope it would roll down the hill this way. The ball will do exactly the same as that but in the sky and the steeper the angle of a slope the more the ball is going to curve. So think of it that way to understand which way the ball will curve and by how much.

So the ball above my feet is going to move from right to left, so I can make a relevant adjustment in terms of my alignment, am I to aim to the right-hand half of the green then hit the shot expecting to see the ball drawer into the middle and all things being even it would probably follow that pattern, but we also have to consider what is the golfers natural shape. So if I am a natural drawer of the ball, I normally move the ball from right to left in the air added into that the right, the left on the slope, suddenly it is going to start to curve quite a long way I might have little draw that turns into a bit of a bigger hook. I need to allow for that in my alignment.

Quite importantly if I am a fader of the ball, I move the ball from left to right in the air, then I add in the slope, the slope is going to move the ball right to left, I normally move the ball left to right. This ball is going to fly quite straight, because my natural shape and the slope kind of cancel each other out if you like. So we end up with a quite straight ball flight. So you have got to understand what is your natural shape, what is the shape of the slope going to do, add the two together and then you can work out your ball flight.

The other consideration is just the little bit more course management related, it is understanding where the danger is. If I am playing into a green that has a pond on the left hand side and I know this slope is going to curve the ball from right to left. I’ve got to be really careful about the fact that I don’t want to aim at the middle of the green knowing that the slope is going to pull the ball into the pond. So I might aim extra especially far to the right to really help with that curving of the ball but make sure it curves to the centre of the green and not into danger, not into trouble.

So just way up the amount of slope your normal shape and the course management aspect of what is on the green, that should encourage you to hit the right directional shots with the right amount of curve to make sure you can hit the green from this ball above your feet lie.