The Five Keys and the Secret to the Ball Below Your Feet
This is for me the most difficult shot in golf. Every golf course will have a slope and if the ball is below your feet adjustments will have to be made.
Picture One and Key One - Correct Grip placement. If the golf ball is further away from you the club must be held at its maximum length and Picture 1 displays myself holding the golf club at the top of the grip.
Picture Two and Key Two - Correct Posture. Now that the grip is in the correct position Picture 2 displays the correct posture. My knees are excessively flexed and my weight distribution is favouring the back of my heels which wouldn’t be ideal for a normal shot but for this shot I have to counter act gravity and the weight will have move towards my heels.
Picture Three and Key Three – Alignment. Some of you might already know what to do with your grip and posture but I’m not sure many of you know the correct alignment for the ball below your feet. With the ball below your feet the downswing strikes the golf ball at a very steep angle of attack and a steep down swing will produce a left to right shape. So the alignment will have to be adjusted. To establish correct alignment we need confirm the intended target. There is a flagstick directly below my eyes in Picture 3 and that is the target. It is not the flag left of my body. The two clubs on the ground represent the adjustment I need to make to allow for the left to right ball flight. I would expect the shot to move 10 yards left to right in the air.
Picture Four – Correct Ball position. Due to the steepness of the down swing the ball position should in the middle of your stance you are welcome to experiment and have the ball position further towards the back foot if you like.
Picture Five – Short Swing. The swing for such an awkward shot should be at all times short and you must swing in such away that it maintains your balance. Picture five displays the length of back swing as a ½ swing which would be ideal.
The Secret.
Club Selection.
I don’t want to come across as negative but this shot is difficult and success would be moving the ball forward towards the general direction of the target. This is where club selection is vital. Club selection should be decided with your head not your ego. For example you have 190 yards to the green do you take your five wood or rescue club and relive a shot you saw Tiger Woods perform last night on the U.S PGA Tour which doesn’t land softly on the green but becomes a medical emergency because you lost your balance and tumbled down the slope and impaled your self with your five wood all because your club selection was too ambitious!!!
Or do take the more sensible option and use a 8 or 6 iron and knock the ball 80 to 140 yards on to a flat part of the fairway and keep yourself in the game. Think about it!