A Simple Guide to Understanding Uneven Lies
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A SIMPLE GUIDE TO UNEVEN LIES
The most common questions I get asked and why I love playing lessons and workshops so much are about how to play out of various lies
The lie has perhaps the greatest impact on what you can and cannot do with a shot. It, to a degree, determines your options
Golf is funny because it’s the only sport where we practice somewhere other than where we play. The driving range, as useful as it is, does not simulate the conditions you’ll find on the course
Even if you’re lucky to have access to a good grass driving range, you’ll likely be unable to practice uneven lies or out of various turf conditions
This guide is to help you understand how to navigate uneven lies
Get Properly Fit
This should go without saying but for those of you who still need to hear it… If your clubs don’t fit you properly, you’re swimming against the current in a game that’s already hard enough
If you’re really good, you can make anything work. But if you want to play your best, you need clubs that fit you properly. And getting a rental set every time you play isn’t helping either. You can’t build a consistent game when you’re always changing your equipment. And don’t get me started about “playing whatever ball I find” 🤦♂️
Lie Angle
When clubs aren’t fit properly the lie angle of the club will be incorrect. Lie angle is the measure of the angle between the shaft angle and the bottom of the club.
When fit properly, good swings will yield good results. The club will square to the ball and the turf properly yielding a consistent and predictable start line and ball flight for every club in the bag.
If not fit properly, good shots may start offline even if they were solid strikes. And the amount the ball will start offline varies depending on which club it is, making it difficult to be consistent, explaining why so many players have clubs they favor.
Improperly fit clubs require a player to compensate in their swing to get good results which, don’t get me wrong, can be done, but why make this game harder than it needs to be?
A club that is too upright will cause the ball to fly with hook spin, start left of the intended target line (for righties), have a flatter launch angle, lower peak height, and a shallower angle of descent. Players are also at a greater risk of shanking the ball
A club that is too flat will cause the ball to fly with fade spin, start right of the intended target line (for righties), have a higher launch angle, greater peak height, and a steeper angle of descent. Players are also at a greater risk of digging the toe into the ground, the club twisting in their hands, and losing massive distance
Club Length
The length of the club affects the lie angle. A club that is too long will have an upright lie angle while a club that is too short will produce a flat lie angle
Clubs come from the factory with standard lie angles at standard lengths unless ordered custom to your specs. The industry “standard” right now is a 62* lie on a 7-iron at 37” in length.
I say “standard” in quotations because everyone does things slightly differently but for most of the major brands, the above dimensions will be within 1* and ½”
These specs can be modified but remember that changing one thing changes everything so if you don't know what you're doing, talk to a fitter
Static vs. Dynamic Fittings
Static measurements are things like your height, and how high your hands hang above the ground. These measurements are what industry standards are based off
Generally speaking, a person who is 5' 7" - 6' 0" will fit into standard-length clubs with a 37" 7-iron with each iron being 1/2" either longer or shorter in relation to that 7 iron.
And a player with wrists that hang 34" above the ground will have standard lie angles with a 62* lie on their 7-iron with each club being 1/2* more or less upright in relation to that 7-iron
But even if your measurements tell you one thing, the most important thing is that your equipment fits your swing.
Now yes, your body will determine your swing, but even then, not everyone swings it the same way. I’ve fit plenty of people who get the best results from clubs outside their static measurements
It takes the skill of a highly accomplished fitter to read between the lines and fit the equipment to the player which is what happens during dynamic fittings
They are called dynamic because now it’s time to fit the club to the player and see how the ball flies. “In theory” XYZ is the best thing for Player A. Test it against a baseline and see if it really is better. Tweak and make changes based on the results to find optimal performance.
Swing Weight
You can adjust a club's length but in doing so you will also change the club's swing weight.
Every club has 2 weights: A static weight, and a swing weight
Static weight is how much the club weighs. Most iron heads in the industry weigh within a few grams of each other. The weight of the shaft, and grip will vary from player to player depending on what best suits their swing
Swing weight is a measure of how much of the head a player can feel. The heavier the head feels in relation to the rest of the club, the heavier the swing weight. A sledgehammer would have an incredibly high swing weight whereas a fishing rod would have a really light swing weight.
Once a player finds the right head, shaft, and grip combo for them, the process isn't done yet. Some players have a preference for how heavy the head feels and final adjustments may be made to get it to the player's preferred feel.
Stock equipment comes from the factory at various swing weights depending on the model of the club. These swing weights are typically how the club was engineered to perform best.
Club fitting is the science and art of taking a club that was designed to function optimally when hit by a robot, and adjusting it to work optimally for the human using it.
Weights can be added inside iron and wedge hosels, and movable weights in woods can easily tune up or down how heavy the head feels
Keep in mind however that this also changes the ball flight so see a professional club fitter for help because if you’re not sure what you’re doing, you can lose performance
Above / Below
The only flat spots on a golf course are typically tee boxes and the driving range. Everything else has slope and elevation change
It’s important to get fit properly because that gives you the best possible baseline. From there, it’s up to you as the player to understand how the conditions will affect each shot, and every shot is different
Just like in club fitting, when the ball is above your feet, the ball will tend to produce hook spin and you run the risk of the toe digging into the turf causing twisting and massive loss of distance
A ball that is below your feet will have fade spin and you run the risk of hitting the ball thin or shanking the ball which has an unpredictable ball flight
How much your ball will be affected depends on the severity of the slope and the loft of the club. Clubs with more loft are affected by the ball being above or below your feet to a greater degree than clubs with less loft
If a club had 0* of loft, it wouldn’t matter how much above or below the ball was, the starting line would always be straight. But clubs with higher loft such as a lob wedge with 60* will see large variations in the start line depending on the severity of the slope
Uphill / Downhill
When the ball is uphill, loft is effectively added to a club, increasing spin, raising the launch angle, increasing peak height, and sharpening the landing angle.
Unless a player is good enough to purposely reduce spin on the ball to increase ball speed, shots are typically going to come up short because all of a sudden your 8 iron has become a 9 iron due to the up-slope
When the ball is downhill, loft is effectively taken off a club, reducing spin, lowering the launch angle, reducing peak height, and shallowing the landing angle.
Typically the ball won’t carry as far as it normally would but it will likely run out to a greater total distance than you might expect. The severity of the slope will determine how much the ball releases and needs to be accounted for
Combinations
It works exactly how you think it would. If the ball is above your feet and uphill, it’s going to fly high and have some hook spin and if it’s below your feet and downhill, the ball is going to squirt out low with fade spin.
Every shot you hit will be different and the slopes need to be taken into consideration. The wisdom of reading lies takes experience.
This is why I’m such a fan of doing playing lessons and workshops because in a very short amount of time, I can impart decades of wisdom into a few hours so you have the understanding of how to read the situation
Turf Conditions
Now that you understand how slope affects your ball flight and why it’s so important to get fit properly for clubs, let’s talk about how turf conditions also play a role in understanding uneven lies
Up until this point we’ve talked about how your ball flight would be affected if every shot were hit off a mat, tee, or turf. But on the course, there’s grass, sand, and water, and they all affect your shot
Grass
When your ball is in the fairway, you have the best chance of making clean contact which will yield a predictable ball flight. Under these conditions, you can adjust for the slope and you’re good to go.
As soon as stuff gets in between the club and the ball, however, things change. Depending on how much debris gets between the club and the ball, the club will lose speed and the ball will fly with less speed, lower spin, launching lower, and landing flatter with more release.
Different grasses behave differently. Bent grass is different than bermudagrass which is different than seashore paspalum.
They have different blade characteristics, root structures, and grains. How the club will interact with the turf and how it will affect the ball flight will vary depending on where you are in the world.
Sand
How you interact with the sand depends mainly on how far away from the hole you are.
If you’re in a fairway bunker, you want to pick the ball clean and touch as little sand as possible so you don’t lose any ball speed. This clean contact also ensures you can spin the ball and hold the green
If you’re in a greenside bunker, you want to hit the sand before the ball to control how the ball lands. You can take a little more sand and let the ball plop out and release (chunk n' run) or you can take less sand and get the ball to zip up and stop (nip n' zip)
The same concepts that apply to slope apply in all turf conditions, even the sand, so factor them in when visualizing your shot
Water
If your ball is fully submerged, you probably need to take a drop. If it’s only partially submerged, you can opt to play it similarly to a greenside bunker shot
Be sure to commit to the swing as the water is going to slow your club down
Hitting your ball out of the water is rare. Where you’ll encounter water more often during a round is through rain, dew on the grass, or wet spots from maintenance.
When water gets between the club and the ball, spin is reduced. This reduction in spin tends to lead to straighter and longer shots, with the ball tending to fly wherever the face is pointed, but the trade-off is less control
Conclusion
Judging different lies is both a science and an art form.
Sure, we could measure every single aspect of a shot and calculate perfectly how the conditions will affect it and let a robot hit it in the hole. But we aren’t robots. We’re humans, and humans are inconsistent.
Golf is a game of misses. Whoever misses the best wins. Understanding how slope and various turf conditions will affect your shot is important. And having properly fit clubs as a baseline to build your game around is paramount.
So next time you play, think it through. The shot you have in front of you is more than just a distance. Take your time, set the ego aside, and make your best judgment. But most importantly… once you do… commit
MOVE BETTER - PLAY BETTER
COACH BLAINE ⛳🏌️♂️
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