There Are Always "Special Situations"

BEST TIP: With bad lies, forget distance and
concentrate on good contact.

Sweep the ball off "fluffy" lies.

Hitting into the wind, move ball back in stance, take more club, make
three-quarter backswing and swing easy.

With sidehill lies, aim to right of target when ball is above feet. Aim to left
of target when ball is below feet.

For downhill lies:

play ball back in stance

lean a little left at address

set your shoulders parallel to the slope

keep the clubhead low to the ground past impact

ball tends to go right.

For high iron shots, play ball forward one inch. Hands should be even
or slightly behind ball, weight on back foot.

For "flyer" lies, take one less club.

When you have a bad lie, forget distance and choose a club that will
maximize your chance of making good contact.

When pitching from an uphill lie,
play ball in back half of stance.

When hitting from hardpan:

-- play ball in center of stance

-- keep most of weight on left side

-- keep hands ahead of ball at impact

On "digable" hardpan, play ball back two inches from center, use an
almost wrist-free swing and hit ball and ground at the same instant.
The ball will go lower with more roll.

When you need to hit the ball a certain distance, but the normal arc of a
ball might bring it into a tree, take a lower-lofted club and choke up on
the grip.

For uphill lies, play ball off inside of left foot with most of weight on left
foot. The ball will tend to go left.

Use only 80% of effort on all hilly shots.

When ball is in a sand divot, play it back in your stance, stand tall, take
one extra club and swing easy.

On tricky downhill pitches, use your most lofted club, play ball back
slightly in stance, set perpendicular to slope, draw right foot back and
swing along slope.

When hitting from deep grass, choke down on the club and play the ball
back farther in stance.

When you're between clubs, use the stronger club and choke down on
the grip.

When you want to keep the ball low:

-- play it in the middle of your stance.

-- take half your normal backswing.

-- make a limited follow-through.

-- sweep the ball off the ground with no divot.

-- don't swing hard.

When the ball is in deep greenside grass, use your most lofted club, a
light grip, an open stance and a long swing.