Shanking wedges off sidehill lies (Ball below feet)

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By SRyan

  • 1 Like
  • 5 Replies
  1. SRyan

    SRyan

    Hope one of you out there can be of some help here, cause its really starting to scare me. Every single time I am faced with a shot that is below my feet especially on a tight lie, and I have a wedge in my hand, I end up shanking the ball on my mishits. Every single time! I recently picked up the game again after being away for 17 years, I got my handicap down to a 3 currently and this is really the only shot I'm having major problems with. Thank god it only happens maybe once every 2-3 rounds. I feel extremely awkward ( I'm a very tall player, 6'4 to be exact.)

    I invested some money into some impact tape so I can go out on the course and see where my mishits are happening on a consistent basis to do my best to figure this out myself.

    When I stand over the ball with the ball below my feet the first thing that drives me nuts is how the toe of the club is higher up in the air than the heel. I don't like the look of it.

    Secondly if the lie is below my feet I many times feel like I am closed to the target and I get stuck when the ball is below my feet, and I don't release my body through the ball properly. Its something that I am really having a hard time dealing with currently.

    Anyone care to help and recommend a drill or two that I can work on from uneven lies? My goal is to be confident enough where I am happy to put the ball in the middle of the green when I am faced with a 100 yard shot from an uneven lie in the fairway when the ball is below my feet. Its a round killer and I want to fix it.

    Could one of the reasons why this is happening is that there is too much forward shaft lean at impact during this shot? Maybe there are even a few stretching exercises I can work on in the gym for added mobility to possibly help me when I am faced with this shot?

    Thank you for your time, and have a wonderful day.

  2. Deno

    Deno
    New Jersey

    Military
    Not an easy shot at all. Personally, I open my stance and club face facing more uphill like a bunker shot and take one club more. Opening the face will fade the ball and opening stance will keep the sole of the club more level with the grade.
  3. Evan S

    Evan S

    I'm not gonna give you to much or any mechanical tips but one thing is for sure that you got to practice it at the range or if there is not a spot to work just hit two balls if you're just messing around while hitting on the course and it happens next time. Also it all mental you got to get over the fact that this shot is hard for you because the golf game is all between your ears.
  4. Brian H

    Brian H

    The best advice I've received when dealing with this, (XXXXXX), shanks....try to hit the ball with the toe of the club. Fortunately, I haven't had to use this remedy recently but it did work when I was struggling.
  5. Mike M

    Mike M
    Marblehead MA

    It's happened to me twice this year, once with a GW the other time with a SW. What I did the next time I pulled either of those clubs from a similar distance was to back away from the ball slightly, and not crowd it as much. My thinking was that I must have crept in a little closer than usual,thus hitting the dreaded hosel rocket.
  6. Diego D

    Diego D
    Miami, FL

    I can feel your pain. It has happened to me before.

    What worked for me is that I ceated a checklist for executing this particular shot. Once I had a checklist with specific checkpoints, I took a 'small' bucket of balls on course and actually practiced this shot until I got it right.

    "The End Justifies the Means."

    I am a double-digit handicapper and I was able to figure it out. When you are in competition or just playing social rounds with friends and you have to execute this shot, get your brain out of the equation.

    Good luck! Keep us posted.


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