Do bad lies hurt you? Many golfers struggle with bad lies. While they don’t seem like threats, they can cost you strokes. That, in turn, can pump up your scores. If you’re serious about whittling down you’re golf handicap, practice hitting from bad lies.
The golf drill below helps you beat bad lies:
1. Bad Lies Golf Drill
Find an area that offers as many different kinds of bad lies as possible. Look for a spot with slopes, rough, short grass, and sand. Next, take five golf balls and drop them in the most challenging lies you can find. Make sure you have as much variety in bad lies as you can.
Dealing with different bad lies is just what you need to sharpen your ability to beat them. Now, practice hitting chips and pitches from these lies. The idea is to create muscle memory and build your confidence hitting from less than perfect lies.
Finding the perfect area for this golf drill is a challenge. But do the best you can. Conquering bad lies is critical when trying to go low. Master this skill and you’ll improve your short game—and your scores—dramatically. Plus, you’ll be that much closer to breaking 80.
2. Hit Pinpoint Chips from Deep Rough: 6 Golf Tips
If you’re like many golfers, you miss your share of approach shots. These misses can find the deep rough and cost you strokes. Chipping from this bad is dicey. Hitting the shot too easy leaves you stuck in the grass. Hitting the ball too hard can skull it past the hole. Either way, you’re adding strokes to your score.
Below are six keys to tackling chips from deep rough:
- Adopt an open stance
- Play the ball in the middle
- Open the clubface
- Pick up your arms quickly
- Let the club sink into the grass
- Keep your follow-through short
If you’re close to the green and the rough isn’t too high, you can pop the ball onto the green. It’s a dicey shot, but it works. If you’re father from the green, however, and the grass is thick and tall, you can punch the ball onto the green. You have to take another approach. Here’s how to from deep rough with an iron:
- Use a sand wedge for this shot. It’s leading edge cuts through the grass.
- Adopt an open stance with your feet close together and play the ball in the middle of your stance or slightly back. Make sure you open the clubface before taking the club back.
- Select a spot where you want the ball to land. Then, set the clubface down in the grass just behind the ball. Now, pick up your arms quickly while maintaining a slight wrist cock, and keep your follow-through short. This move pops the ball up so it lands softly on the green and rolls to the hole.
The key to this shot is playing it as if it were a sand shot. In other words, you need to use the leading edge of the SW to cut through the grass. Opening the clubface before going back in your swing helps you do that.
Also, try choking down on the wedge. Dropping down to an inch or two above the grip helps. Holding your SW a little firmer also helps. Mastering this shot cuts strokes from your score and helps you go low.
3. Conquer Bad Lies with These Golf Tips
Ever hit an almost perfect drive only to have it find a bad lie If you’re like me, you’ll find those bad lies no matter where they are. Golf tip articles and videos don’t always cover how to beat bad lies. These articles provide great keys to hitting common shots.
But if you’re serious about breaking 80, then you need to know how to beat bad lies. Below are golf tips on beating the most common bad lies you’ll find on courses. Learning to hit from them pays shaves strokes off your scores and golf handicap. So, practice hitting from bad lies seriously.
1. Hitting from Mud
This bad lie is unique. The fear of kicking up the mud and getting sprayed with it encourages you to swing tentatively and miss making ball first contact. That, in turn, can cause you to mis-hit shots and boost scores. Here are five golf tips on hitting from the mud:
- Make sure you play this shot aggressively
- Shift your weight to front foot to encourage ball first contact
- Don’t play the ball too far forward in your stance
- Maintain your wrist cock as long as possible
- Focus on maintaining a downward angle of attack
No other bad lie offers a challenge like mud. Follow our golf tips above, and you’ll conquer this challenge and cut strokes from your scores.
2. Hitting from a Divot
Hitting from a divot is dicey. If you use your typical setup and swing, you’ll thin the ball. The problem: Your normal swing doesn’t dig down deep enough to hit the ball solidly. Make the six adjustments below and you’ll make solid contact every time:
- Use a club with slightly less loft
- Lean your body forward
- Play the ball back in your stance
- Keep your hands ahead of the ball
- Strike down hard at the ball
- Make ball first contact
These adjustments ensure a steeper angle of attack into the ball. And focus on making ball first contact. It’s critical to hitting a shot solidly from a divot.
3. Ball below your feet
Be careful with this shot. It’s harder than it looks. If you play it using your typical address position and swing, you’ll toe to the side. You also have to watch your balance and posture with this shot. Here’s how you beat this bad lie:
- Use a longer club than normal
- Take a slightly wider stance
- Shift your weight to your heels
- Push your backside out to keep weight back
- Position the ball in the middle
- Keep your head steady throughout
Don’t try to do too much with this shot. It’s harder than it looks. Also, slow down your tempo and play conservatively. It will save strokes.
Also Read:
Proper Golf Stance Seven Pro-like Checkpoints
Seven Golf Instruction Books on Putting You Must Read
Use the Golf Tips in this Drill to Beat Greenside Bunkers
Sticking it Close Saves Pars and Birdies, Helps You Break 80 Next Time Out
4 Powerful Golf Tips on Hitting Pinpoint Wedges that Can Cut Strokes, Lower Golf Handicap
4. Ball above your feet
Gravity plays a keep role in playing this shot. It pulls your body downward, making it hard to stay within your posture. Coming out of your posture, however, costs you. You’ll end up hitting the ball fat or slicing it, adding strokes to your score.
The golf tips below can help you make solid contact when hitting from this bad lie and save strokes:
- Match your stance to the shot
- Line up with the intended target line
- Choke down on your club
- Aim right of the target
- Stand tall throughout the swing
Two additional golf tips to keep in mind when hitting this shot are (1) Aim your shoulders, hips, and feet about 10 yards to the right of where your clubface is pointing, with your short irons, and (2) Aim your body to the right about five yards with mid and long irons.
5. Buried Lie in a greenside bunker
Many consider this shot among the hardest in golf. It’s not as common as some of the other bad lies we’ve discussed, but it’s common enough. Using your typical bunker setup and swing doesn’t work for everyone when hitting this shot. If they don’t work for you, try the approach described below to play this troublesome shot.
- Use a club with a lot of bounce (SW/LW)
- Open the face about 30 degrees
- Position the ball forward
- Place your weight on your front foot
- Make a steep downswing
- Swing hard to generate the right swing speed
Using the golf tips above will pop the ball up and land it softly on the green. With slightly longer shots, you can use a 9-iron or PW for this lie. But you need to make sure you can clear the bunker’s lip with your shot. If you can’t, stay with an SW or an LW.
Hitting from a bad lie isn’t always as easy as it looks. But staying within yourself when hitting these shots and using the golf tips discussed above can help you hit these shots solidly, saving strokes. If you’re serious about breaking 80 consistently, you’ll need to learn how to conquer bad lies.