This article was machine-translated from the Korean original. Read the Korean original
The ball is lying on the hill next to the green. The ball is higher than where you are standing.
The green is right in front of me, but when I hit it, it hooks sharply to the left and goes over to the other side.
This isn't about skill; it's something the terrain tells you to do. It's simple once you realize it.
01Why do we go to the left?
If the ball is higher than your feet, you end up holding the club at an angle.
| What | how |
|---|---|
| The club lies down. | The face is heading to the left. |
| The swing turns sideways. | It swings like a baseball bat. |
| The two overlap. | The ball curves to the left. |
The steeper the slope, the worse it is. At knee height, it goes 2 to 3 meters to the left out of 10 meters.
02Change only three things
- Grip the club short.Since the ball is on top, swing that much shorter. Leave a hand's length at the end of the grip.
- Look to the right of the goalSince I know I'm going to the left, I'll go to the right in advance.
- Make the swing smallIf you swing hard, it coils more. Just swing with your shoulders.
03Why does holding it short come first?
If the ball is higher than your feet and you grip the club too long, the club will dig into the ground first.
Then it's a ditch effort.
Grip the club shorter as the ball rises above your feet.
About a handspan at the knees, and two handspans at the waist.
If you grip it short, the ball won't go as far, so you can use a club one club longer.
04How do you set the face?
There's one more thing here. If you keep the face slightly open, it counteracts the leftward curve.
- Turn the face slightly to the right before gripping.
- Hold the grip in that position.
- If the order is reversed, it returns to the original state during the swing.
The sequence is the same as opening the face in a bunker ([[LINK:L05]]). You open it first and then grip it.
05Conversely, if the ball is lower than the foot
Only the direction changes in the same spot.
- Go to the right.The face is pointing to the right. Look to the left and hit.
- Bend your knees more.Do not bend your waist; lower yourself to your knees.
- Hold the club long.Since the ball is down, it is that long.
- Maintain the posture until the end.If you wake up, it's top ball.
Standing up is the most common mistake. Since the ball is low, your body keeps straightening out.
Keep your knees at that height until you hit it.
06Getting a feel for how far to the left
You don't need to calculate it precisely. You can just consider it roughly like this.
| slope | From a 10-meter chip shot |
|---|---|
| ankle height | About 1 meter to the left |
| knee height | 2~3 meters to the left |
| waist height | 4 meters or more · Here, just head towards the safe side |
If it is above waist height, do not aim for the pin.
It's better to send it to the center of the green and finish it in two putts.
07On days when things aren't going well, just roll the wheel.
If you keep having trouble with chip shots lofted from slopes, putting is also an option.
If there is only short grass to the green, you can roll it with a putter. We covered this in [[LINK:L13]].
It's hard to hit well on a slope anyway.
Choosing to eliminate the worst saves the score.
In the next part, I will discuss how differently a ball rolls on wet and dry greens.
