We should understand about using a shallow angle of attack when playing from a soft lie. But how do you make that happen? It isn’t necessarily the easiest task to just change the shape of your swing in the middle of a round. However, you need to develop this skill if you want to be able to handle a variety of situations on the course. In this section, we are going to provide you with three tips to help you shallow out the bottom of your swing. Those tips are as follows –
Choke down on the grip. This is always the first adjustment you should make. By choking down on the grip just an inch or two, you are automatically going to make a shallower approach to the ball. You simply won’t have as much club to work with, meaning you won’t be able to force the club head down as far into the ground. This would be a problem when trying to hit a regular shot from the fairway, but it is perfect for a situation where you have a soft lie. It is important to note that you should not move the ball back in your stance when playing this kind of shot – if you do, you’ll wind up hitting down on the ball anyway, which is what you were trying to avoid.
Stand slightly farther away from the ball. By backing up by an inch or two, you are going to naturally round out the shape of your swing. You won’t be able to swing down on a steep plane, because you will be too far away from the ball to do so. When you do back up away from the ball, make sure to stay down in your stance throughout the swing, and don’t lose the flex in your knees. If you stand up out of your stance, as many amateur golfers do from time to time, it will be nearly impossible to reach the ball at impact. Stay down, maintain your posture, and watch the ball all the way through the strike.
Use your right hand actively. In order to hit down through the ball at impact, you need to keep your left wrist flat and your right hand out of the action for the most part. Not surprisingly, when you want to shallow your swing and avoid hitting down, it will be a good idea to use a little more right hand. On the way down toward impact, fire your right hand and feel like you are using that hand to ‘help’ the ball off the ground. This is not something you would want to do when playing from a clean lie, but it is a good option when soft ground is waiting under your ball.
Before you try to produce a shallow golf swing on the course, work on these techniques on the driving range. Even hitting just a few shots this way during each practice session will allow you to make impressive progress in a short period of time. The goal here is to create enough confidence to allow you to use this type of shot effectively during the middle of a round. If you don’t practice, you will never have the belief in your ability that is necessary to pull this off.
