You pull your drive to the left on a difficult par 3. When you find your ball, you’re hung up on the downside of a steep hill in deep rough. Hitting from a downslope is tough enough. But add deep to the rough and it becomes the third hardest shot in our Toughest Shot list. The key to hitting this shot is making the right adjustments to your stance and swing.
Below are six keys to this shot
1. Select a higher lofted club
2. Set your body level with the slope
3. Play the ball back in your stance
4. Set your weight back a bit
5. Use a slow, smooth swing
6. Step over the shot
The slope moves the bottom of your swing arc back, making it easy to hit the ball fat or thin. The rough exacerbates any swing errors you might make.
Use a higher lofted club than normal for this distance. The slope reduces the clubface’s loft, so the ball comes out lower than normal. If you usually hit an 8-iron from this distance, use a 9-iron instead or even a PW.
Take your typical stance, but play the ball back an inch or two from where you’d normally play. This moves the ball right where the bottom of your swing arc is, making up for the slope. To maintain your balance, shift your weight to your back foot a bit. And drop your shoulders so your spine angle is perpendicular to the slope.
Make a slow, smooth swing so you can maintain your balance. You might also have to restrict your body turn and swing more with your arms. Step over the shot (or down the hill) as your club passes through impact.
The ball comes out lower with a lot of spin on it with this shot, which means it will travel farther than normally with the club you’re using. Also, a shot like this imparts left to right spin on the ball. So you may have to aim slightly left of your target. Opening your stance a bit helps.
