US MASTERS SPECIAL – HOW TO PLAY THE GOLF BALL ABOVE YOUR FEET
April 4, 2014
The US Masters is now upon us, we can expect to see beautifully manicured fairways framed with amazing colors as the flowers will be in full bloom, super fast greens that make even the best putters seem foolish upon occasions. One thing that is always difficult to see on television is the severity of the slopes around Augusta. Augusta National is a very hilly golf course which demands that the players make adjustments in order to allow for the way in which the ball flight will be changed.
In this article I am going to be talking about the ball that lies above the level of your feet.
Firstly it is important to understand how the slope will affect the ball flight. When the ball is above the level of your feet it will naturally turn to the left for the right handed golfer. The reason for this is that when the ball is above your feet the clubface will be more closed.  FACE TILT!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have an experiment for you to do, I want you to pick up a golf club and hold it at chest high! Now imagine a line coming out of the face, I show students this by putting some sticky tape on the face and sticking a tee peg to it.  You will see that the face points to the left, and the more loft you have the more to the left it will point. Also because of this more upright posture your swing will be flatter and around the body, which encourages the clubface to close faster on the down swing.
As with all shots the set up is crucial. Firstly aim to the right to allow for the curve to the left, the amount of allowance depends on the severity of the slope.   The higher the ball above the feet, the more you aim to the right. The ball is actually closer to you because of the slope so you have to stand taller and in most cases choking down the handle making the club shorter is advisable. Also to help your balance it is worth putting slightly more weight into your toes as gravity will want to pull you down the hill into your heels.
When swinging just ensure to maintain balance as the set up will do the majority of the work.
Share With Friends
I often hit inside, making the ball fly right off the toe.