Tight lies are a popular topic at our golf lessons. Our students often ask about them. Hitting from a tight lie is among golf’s bigger challenges. Tour players find tight lies much easier to hit from than weekend golfers. That’s because the fairways on tournament courses are cut close, so PGA pros have a reasonably tight lie whenever they’re in the fairway. The closer cut lets them “pinch” the ball against the ground with more consistency and control. Tight lies help the pros hit those great shots you see on television with consistency.
Weekend golfers—even those with low golf handicaps—have a harder time with tight lies than the pros. That’s because weekend golfers tend to play them less frequently than the pros—unless they play a classic links course like Scotland’s St. Andrews regularly. A tight lie occurs when there’s little beneath the ball and the ground is firm. Tight lies are especially difficult for players who like to swing up on the ball. If you’re going to break 80 consistently and achieve a low golf handicap, you must learn to hit from tight lies.
Overcoming Your Fear
Many weekend golfers dread tight lies. If that’s you, you must conquer your fear of them to hit good shots from them. One way to conquer your fear is to have a “go-to” shot for these situations, such as the knockdown draw we teach in golf lessons. The knockdown draw is a lower trajectory, right-to-left shot that releases when the ball lands. (For lefties it’s a left-to-right trajectory.) Below are six golf tips we suggest at golf instruction sessions for a knockdown draw:
1. Take one club more than normal
2. Play the ball just forward of center
3. Aim right; swing down
4. Trap the ball against the ground
5. Swing from the inside
6. Plan to play the ball shorter
Take one more cub than normal when hitting a knockdown draw, so you can take an easier swing and grip down on the club. Taking a longer club makes up for the yardage you’ll lose playing this shot while gripping down provides better club control. Try to trap the ball against the turf on the downswing and aim right of your target. (Lefties should aim left.)
Crisp contact is a must on shots from tight lies. To ensure this, play the ball a little further back in your stance than usual, shift your weight slightly to your left side, and focus your eyes on the ball’s forward edge—the side facing the target. Set up so the forward edge is in relation to your stance. Stay focused on the forward edge throughout the swing. This almost guarantees hitting down on the ball. Commitment to the shot is vital. Take two or three good practice swings before hitting. Then visualize the shot. Imagine the ball traveling to the green. Plan for the ball to fly shorter than you’re used to and rollout to the target.
A Great Benefit
A great benefit of a knockdown draw, we tell students in our golf instruction sessions, is its forgiveness. To hit this shot, shallow out your swing, which creates room for error. Thus, you don’t have to hit the ball perfectly to make a good shot because the club stays down longer in the impact zone. To shallow out your swing, take the club back more on the inside. Dropping your back foot back an inch or two at address helps you set up on the inside.
If you’re serious about improving, practice hitting from tight lies. You may not face them as often as the pros, but you must conquer them if you’re going to score with consistency. Hitting good shots from tight lies helps you break 80 and chip strokes from your golf handicap.
