How to Hit a Golf Ball When It Is Above Your Feet
One thing you learn on hilly courses is that golf rarely gives you a flat lie. In the first part of this series, we tackled how to play a shot when your golf ball lies below your feet. As one of the best golf coaches in Florida, I always take my clients on the course to experience uneven lies so they can make the proper adjustments. Now, let’s address the opposite challenge, a ball above your feet. The 2nd post in our “Mastering Uneven Lies” series, where we focus on those tricky slopes that test your balance and ball striking.
If you struggle when the ball is sitting above your feet on a sidehill slope, don’t worry, you’re not alone. Some golfers like seeing the ball above their feet. Why? Because it can straighten out a slice or fade. But if you don’t adjust to this type of lie, you can just as easily send your shot hooking well away from your intended target. With a few simple setup adjustments as well as using simple problem-solving skills, you can hit solid shots from this lie. While using the slope to your advantage. Let’s break down why this sidehill lie is challenging and how you can conquer it with confidence.
Why a Ball Above Your Feet Is a Challenging Lie
With a ball above your feet lie, you are essentially standing below the ball on a side slope. This situation creates a few important challenges:
- Natural Draw Bias: A ball above your feet will almost always want to fly right-to-left for a right-handed golfer. The opposite for the left-handed golfer. The slope introduces a draw or hook tendency, forcing your swing plane to approach the ball flatter than normal. While closing the clubface at a faster rate than normal. This type of lie also delofts the club face. All these ingredients can have your clubface more closed at impact than you’d expect. The higher the ball is above your feet, the more the clubface will close at impact. All creating the draw or hook bias your looking for from a flatter lie.
- Accuracy Concerns: That draw bias can be both a blessing and a curse. If you normally slice, a little draw is welcome. But a severe hook can be destructive. Without adjusting your aim, a ball above your feet can easily send your ball in a draw pattern that lands well away from your intended target. You must account for the curve to avoid trouble. Also, because the ball is closer to you when the ball is above your feet, it’s easy to catch the ground early if your setup is off. Chunky shots kill your distance and accuracy.
- Trajectory and Distance Changes: Expect a different ball flight trajectory than normal. Hitting a shot from a lie above your feet often produces a lower trajectory shot that has less backspin. A lower flight with draw spin means the ball will roll more when it lands. In most cases, a shot that draws will travel about the same distance as a normal shot. And if it doesn’t, the lower spin and longer rollout can make up for the carry distance of the shot. Or even add yards. But be cautious when expecting this to happen. Due to your need to properly balance this swing, you may initially hit this shot shorter than expected.
- Balance and Posture Challenges: Standing on a side slope can throw off your balance. When a ball is above your feet, the ball is measurably closer to you. In turn, forcing you to stand taller at address. If you set up normally, you’ll set up too far from the ball. Causing you to potentially lose your footing as you reach out to hit the shot. With many golfers struggling to maintain balance for a normal shot, understanding the need to stand taller to this shot assists you with maintaining your balance throughout the swing. Eliminating the thin shot, or even a whiff!
Key Setup Changes for a Ball Above Your Feet
To hit a solid shot with a ball above your feet lie, a few key setup tweaks will make all the difference. Here’s how to adjust your setup before you even swing:
Club Selection – Take One More Club for Control
Because this lie has the ball lying closer to you, you’ll need to choke up on the club, which reduces the distance the ball will fly. Making it necessary to hit one more club. An example is if the lie is 150 yards from your target and you normally hit a 7 iron 150 yards, you’ll need to hit a 6 iron instead.
There’s no need to swing the extra club with extra effort. You took the extra club to compensate for the need to choke down on the club. Just swing normal. And allow your decision to swing an additional club for the difference in distance to take care of itself. Doing so will also assist you with maintaining your balance throughout the swing.
Stance and Posture – Widen Your Base & Stand a Bit Taller
It’s not necessary to widen you stance. But some golfers do feel the need to do so.
If you feel the need to do so, realize you’ll be restricting your ability to make a proper weight shift and rotate through the shot. A wider stance will help you stay balanced on the slope. As well as requiring less knee flex as you would normally need
You may also fee that your chest is more upright than normal for this lie. With less weight on your toes than normal. Both feelings are okay and confirm that the ball is above your feet as well as confirm the other adjustments you’ve made so far in your set up. If you feel the need to slightly alter how tall your chest is to the shot, back away from the ball by no more than ½ inch. When you do so, you’ll also feel your feet return to a more normal feeling you experience when hitting from a flatter lie.
The bottom line of this point is to set up in a manner that allows your lower body to function as normal as possible, while maintaining balance throughout the swing. Swinging on a flatter plane while standing closer to the ball.
Ball Position – Play It in the Middle of Your Stance
I have a steadfast rule for any abnormal lie: move the ball to the middle of your stance.
With the ball above your feet, playing this shot with the ball position being in the middle of your stance ensures you make ball-first contact. If the ball is too far forward in your stance with the ball above your feet, your swing and the club will likely bottom out behind the ball, causing a fat shot. By positioning the ball in the center, you catch it at the low point of your swing arc, which is exactly what we want.
Making rehearsal swings from a similar lie position can assist you with understanding ball position for this shot. As you make the rehearsal swings, pay attention to where your golf club grazes the grass. That divot or brush mark is your swing’s bottom point. If you see it happening behind where you’d normally place the ball within your stance, you’ll need to move it back in your stance.
Aim and Alignment – Allow for the Draw
Don’t fight physics! Embrace it! And aim to play for the predictable draw shape of this shot!
For a right-handed golfer, this means aiming a bit right of your final target. The opposite is true for left-handers, aiming slightly left of your target. How much you aim off your target depends on how severe the slope is. And how much draw you anticipate. Gentler slopes you’ll need to aim just a few yards off your target. While more steep slopes require you aim significantly to the side your target to allow for the bigger curve the slope produces.
The important thing is to aim the leading edge of your club to your intended target. And then set up your body to the club. As we’ve explained within other blog posts. Doing so effectively gives the ball ample room to curve back toward the real target. If the ball flies straight instead of drawing, your miss will not be too far off target. Many recreational golfers underestimate how much the ball will curve and in turn miss-aim with these types of lies. Trust that the slope will cause a draw and set up accordingly.
Practice Swings Are Your Pathway to Making Clean Contact
As previously noted in this blog post, take a moment to make a couple of practice swings on a similar slope. You can do so right beside where your ball lies if there’s room. Or find a spot with the same lie.
The goal is twofold:
- To brush the grass to identify where your club will hit the ground.
- And feel your balance on the slope.
Those rehearsal swings will tell you a lot. Use these swings to dial in the perfect address.
Rehearsal swings should assist you with determining proper balance, good posture, and how much room you’ll need between you and the golf ball. A few good practice swings can boost your confidence for the real thing. As well as helping you commit to making the setup adjustments needed to make this shot as easy as others.
As you make your rehearsal swings, don’t forget to visualize your shot. Picture the ball starting on your intended target and drawing back to your final target. This positive visualization makes it easier to trust your swing when it counts. By the time you step up execute the shot, you should have a clear image of the shot and a sense that “I’ve got this” from your rehearsal swings.
Swing Execution: Stay Balanced and Swing Smooth
Once you’re set up properly, your key swing thoughts are to stay smooth and balanced. With a ball above your feet, making it easy for your equilibrium to keep you balanced allows for the smoothness of your swing to happen. Unless you decide to overswing.
Here’s a few ideas to keep you balanced and smooth through a shot where the ball is above your feet:
Maintain Your Forward Balance
As you swing, focus on keeping your weight balanced as if you’re attempting to lean into the hill in front of you. It’s common for golfers to subconsciously lean back with the slope. You must resist that urge.
If you do fall back with the heel towards your heels, chances are you’ll rise as you swing and contact the top of the ball. Or potentially swing over top of the ball. Keep your athleticism intact and feel like your swing is maintaining balance. Doing so, your lead shoulder and lead hip might feel like they’re slightly higher as you rotate through the shot. If you maintain your posture and balance, you’ll deliver the club to the ball at the correct angle.
Swing Smooth with Less Effort
It’s vital to resist the temptation to swing hard. Uneven lies punish a wild, all-out swing.
Instead, swing with a smooth, controlled tempo. Most golfers find it easier said than done. But when you can create a repeatable swing that feels like it is about 70% to 80% of your normal effort, things start falling into place for you when a ball is above your feet.
Taking an extra club eliminated the need for your swing hard. Swing this club with a normal swing is enough to reach the distance needed for this shot. You don’t need to smash it. You’ll find that a smooth swing on this type of slope does produce more consistent distance control versus you swinging hard and losing your balance.
Realize that a flatter swing must be swung smoother to maintain your balance. As you take the club back, let it follow the slope naturally. With a ball above your feet lie, this means you’ll have a more rounded, baseball-like backswing. You should have felt this when you executed rehearsal swings. Swinging normally and smoothly with a ball above your feet is a great way to feel who you can flatten your swing when not in this position. As compared to the over-the-top swing you may be trying to fix.
Plan for a Shorter Follow-Through
Uneven lies tend to make the body work harder to balance throughout a golf swing. And in turn, shortening a follow-through to prevent you from falling down a hill with gravity. The body uses your extremities to create that balancing act. And your arms are the chief means to do so.
Don’t be surprised if you finish with your arms and hands a little lower than normal. It’s your body’s way of keeping you balanced. Counterbalancing by using what appears to be a “sawed off” finish. It’s better to strike the ball solid and finish slightly differently than normal versus completely missing the ball. Or falling off-balance during the swing an hitting an errant shot.
Swing through the ball as far as you comfortably and resist the temptation to strike your “finish pose” when you’re done. And if you take a small step toward your target as you finish, that’s another sign that your body is maintaining your balance to produce the best swing possible with the ball above your feet. Be content with a well-balanced swing that produces a good shot, even if your finish isn’t picture perfect.
Setup Summary for a Ball Above Your Feet Lie
For easy reference, here’s a rundown of the adjustments to remember when you encounter a ball above your feet situation:
- Club: Take one more club than usual (e.g. use a 5-iron instead of 6-iron) so you can swing smoothly without losing distance.
- Grip: Choke down on the grip to shorten the club and prevent digging into the turf.
- Stance: Widen your stance slightly for stability and favor the balls of your feet (weight toward your toes) to counter the slope.
- Posture: Stand a bit taller (less knee bend) but maintain your hip tilt – this matches the slope and keeps you balanced.
- Ball Position: Play the ball in the middle of your stance to ensure ball-first contact on the slope.
- Alignment: Aim your body and clubface slightly right of the target (for a right-hander) to allow for the inevitable draw/hook spin.
- Practice Swing: Make a couple of rehearsal swings to find where the club bottoms out and adjust your setup if needed by a small amount. Use these swings to feel your balance as well.
Conclusion
Uneven lies like this may seem daunting at first, but they’re entirely manageable with the right approach. When you find yourself with a lie with the ball above your feet, think of it as your best friend because it encourages the draw you’re looking for. This means straighter shots!
By aligning correctly and setting up well, you’re simply letting physics work for you instead of against you. Remember, confidence is huge. Take those practice swings, visualize the shot shape, and remind yourself that you’ve accounted for the curve. Then step up and execute with a smooth, balanced swing.
The next time you find your ball on a sidehill with the ball above your feet, you’ll know exactly what to do. Follow these steps and you’ll start hitting these shots solidly. And if you need assistance with these shots, consider attending a Florida golf school for seniors directed by one of the best golf coaches in Florida. Contact us by clicking here for more information about how you can conquer the ball above your feet lie!
