The battle to hit good shots from an upslope is not only a physical one, but a mental one as well. You need to be in the right mindset to deal with this type of shot, as it is a bigger challenge than playing a similar shot off of flat ground. If you are thinking negatively before hitting this kind of shot, you will be making the situation even more difficult than it already is.
The first thing to know about the mental game in this situation is that you need to think positively. You have to embrace the challenge rather than being annoyed by it. In other words, you can’t let the frustration of drawing a tough lie get in the way of performing at a high level. Sure, you would rather have your ball on flat ground than on an upslope – so what? There is nothing you can do about it now, so there is no point in complaining. Just get down to work on the task at hand.
Of course, this is good advice for golfers to use in just about any situation. Too many golfers waste a lot of mental energy during the day just complaining about things they have done wrong, or bad breaks they have received. That is the wrong way to think about golf. This is a difficult game by definition, and it is going to require you to deal with plenty of adversity along the way. The best golfers tend to be those who embrace the challenge of the game with open arms. If you don’t like having to deal with things such as uphill lies, there are plenty of other games you could play to occupy your time.
Another part of the mental game puzzle is lowering your expectations. Yes, you should be thinking positively when getting ready to play from an upslope, but you also need to be realistic about the challenge you face. This is a tough shot, and you can’t expect to be perfectly accurate. So, to improve your odds of success, pick a bigger target than you would normally use from the distance at hand. Don’t take on the risk of aiming your shot near a hazard or deep bunker. Instead, play to a safer part of the course and give yourself more of a chance to get through the shot successfully. You will feel more confident over the ball knowing you have selected a big target, and you will be able to get away with more mistakes.
Your mindset is always important in golf, but it is even more important when you are dealing with a tough situation. Thinking properly while playing from an upslope is going to help tilt the odds a little bit in your direction. Clear and patient thinking will lead to the selection of forgiving targets as the execution of quality swings.
