#17 Toughest Shot In Golf

We continue the countdown to  #17 of the 20 Toughest Shots In Golf. There is a corresponding drill afterwards.

Toughest Shot #17 – Ball Above Your Feet

This shot seems easy at first. But it’s harder than it looks. The reason: gravity. It plays a key role in hitting this shot—as it does when hitting a ball below your feet. Here, gravity pulls your body downward, making it hard to stay in your posture when taking a full swing. If you come out of your posture, you’ll hit the shot fat or slice it.

Below are six keys to hitting a ball above your feet:

1. Match your stance to the shot
2. Lineup with the intended target line
3. Choke down on club
4. Aim right of the target
5. Stand tall throughout the swing

When the ball’s above your feet, you must shape your swing to the slope’s angle. Making three key adjustments to your normal setup and swing helps do this:

First, match your stance to the slope’s angle. But be careful. Gravity tends to pull you toward the ball when hitting this shot. This can cause you to shift your weight forward, resulting in a fat shot. To stop this from happening, place your weight over the arches in your feet—and keep it there. Also, line-up your shoulders, hips, and feet with the intended target line, not the flagstick

Second, choke down on the club. This shortens the club so it bottoms out in line with the angle of the slope. The steeper the slope, the more you want to choke down. Again, be careful. If you don’t choke down enough, you’ll hit the ball right.

Third, aim right of target. The hill’s slope causes the ball to curve as it comes off the clubface. How much depends on the slope’s severity and the club in hand. A short iron points much farther left from the same lie than a mid-iron or a long iron, so it curves less.

Keep two rules of thumb in mind when deciding how far to hit it right:

• With short irons, aim your shoulders, hips, and feet about 10 yards to the right of where your clubface is pointing.

• With mid and long irons, aim your body to the right about 5 yards.

Also, stand tall throughout the swing. If you keep your posture and spine angle constant until after impact, you’ll hit the ball solidly.