Judging the Lie: Part One

• Posted on Grant
• in Course Management, Golf Fundamentals, Short Game
• on October 14, 2013
• 2 Comments.

What’s one of the most important aspects of the short game? It’s judging correctly how the ball is going to come out of its lie. What’s the most overlooked aspect of the short game? You guessed it – I believe it’s judging the lie.

I have seen many golfers make perfectly good swings only to hit terrible shots because the lie wouldn’t allow them to make solid contact. This happens because they play the ball too far forward in their stance when the ball is sitting down. After the bad shot, I see the golfer get mad and start blaming his/her swing mechanics which were not the cause of the poor shot.

Below are two pictures of me setting up to a shot out of the rough from 30 yards. The first is how to play the ball out of a “fluffy” lie (when the ball is sitting up in the grass). The 2nd picture shows how to play the ball when it is sitting down.

Out of the fluffy lie, I can play the ball in the middle or even forward in my stance. However, when the ball is sitting down in the grass, I must play the ball back in my stance off of my right foot. Also, notice how the butt end of the club is pointed in the same spot at address – at my left, front belt loop. It’s the constant spot where I always point the shaft when I address the ball. This way when I move the ball back in my stance it de-lofts the club and exposes the sharp leading edge to the ground.

This topic is so important to lowering your scores. I am going to discuss it more in my next post!

GB