Uphill lies video

Barney Puttick has some simple tips to help you strike the ball more sweetly from those tricky uphill lies.

Master-Uphill-lies

Barney Puttick has some simple tips to help you strike the ball more sweetly from those tricky uphill lies.

Try these tips if you struggle to strike it purely from uphill lies and you find it hard to judge distance control.

There are two key things to factor in before you even play a shot from an upslope. First of all remember the slope will add a lot of loft to the face so you need to club up to get the ball to the flag.

The other thing to take into account is that as you come through the ball you won’t be able to get onto your left side as much as when playing from a flat lie.

As a result the ball will tend to draw so allow for this when taking aim. When you set up to the ball one of the keys is to get your shoulders parallel with the slope.

Do this by lowering the forward leg with more knee bend. Think of a camera tripod on a slope where you have to adjust the legs to make it stand up.

This is what you are trying to achieve with your legs. You can apply the same idea to a down or side slope. This will help to offer added stability and will also help you to produce a clean strike.

 Top tips

  • Remember the slope will add loft to the club, so club up to get the ball all the way to the flag.
  • As you come through the ball you won't be able to get onto your left side as much as you normally would from a flat lie.
  • The ball will tend to draw, so factor this in when you aim.
  • Try to get your shoulders as parallel to the slope as you can when you set up to the ball at address.
  • Low the forward leg with more knee bend. Try to picture a camera tripod on a slope where you have to adjust the legs to make it stand up level.
Thomas Patrick Clarke
Sports Digital Editor


Tom Clarke joined Golf Monthly as a sub editor in 2009 being promoted to content editor in 2012 and then senior content editor in 2014, before becoming Sports Digital Editor for the Sport Vertical within Future in 2022. Tom currently looks after all the digital products that Golf Monthly produce including Strategy and Content Planning for the website and social media - Tom also assists the Cycling, Football, Rugby and Marine titles at Future. Tom plays off 16 and lists Augusta National (name drop), Old Head and Le Touessrok as the favourite courses he has played. Tom is an avid viewer of all golf content with a particularly in depth knowledge of the pro tour.