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Shots from difficult lies: slopes, rough, wet sand and buried balls

Ball above your feet, uphill, downhill, deep rough and bare lies. The six lies that turn up in every round and the specific adjustment for each one.

Teeup Golf Team

July 22, 2026 / 7 min read

Shots from difficult lies

On the range every ball sits on a flat mat. On the course almost none do. That mismatch explains why so many people strike it well in practice and badly in a round.

The good news: every difficult lie has a specific, predictable adjustment. There is nothing to improvise. Here are the six you will meet in every round.

The general rule that applies to all of them

Before the specific cases, four principles that always apply:

(01) A shorter, more controlled swing. From a bad lie, 100 % of your speed is the enemy. Three-quarters and a clean strike.

(02) Grip down the handle. A shorter grip gives control and compensates for slopes.

(03) Adjust the target, not the swing. Almost every sloping lie produces a predictable curve. Aim allowing for it instead of trying to fight it.

(04) One more club than the distance calls for. Bad lies always cost distance. Always.

(01) Ball above your feet

You are on a slope and the ball sits at knee height or higher.

What happens: the club arrives flatter and the face is closed relative to your line. The ball goes left (for right-handers). Almost without exception.

The adjustments:

Grip down the handle. The ball is closer to you than normal.
Aim right of the target. The steeper the slope, the further right.
Three-quarter swing, flatter and controlled.
Weight slightly towards your toes, because the slope pushes you back.

(02) Ball below your feet

The opposite: the slope falls away towards the ball.

What happens: the club arrives more upright and the face is open. The ball goes right.

The adjustments:

Flex your knees more and get lower. It is the lie that demands most balance.
Hold the club at full length, right to the end of the grip.
Aim left of the target.
Short swing. This is where most people lose balance and thin it.
Weight on your heels.

(03) Uphill lie

The slope rises towards the target.

What happens: the slope adds effective loft. The ball comes out higher and shorter, and tends to go left.

The adjustments:

Set your shoulders to match the slope, not the horizon. It is the key adjustment and the one almost nobody makes.
Ball slightly forward in the stance.
Weight on the lower foot (the back one).
Take one or two more clubs. The distance loss is real and substantial.
Aim slightly right.

(04) Downhill lie

The slope falls away towards the target. The hardest of the four.

What happens: the slope removes loft. The ball comes out lower and flies further, with little control, and tends to go right.

The adjustments:

Set your shoulders to the slope again.
Ball back in the stance.
Weight on the lower foot (the front one).
Take one less club.
Follow the club down the slope in your finish. Try to lift the ball and you hit it fat or thin. The loft gets it airborne on its own.
Aim slightly left.

(05) Rough

Not all rough is the same. The first job is reading the lie.

How the ball sits	What to expect
Sitting up on top of the grass	Almost like a fairway. Beware sliding under it
Half buried	You lose control and distance. One more club
Buried	Goal: get back to the fairway. Forget the green

The phenomenon to know: the "flyer". When grass gets between the face and the ball, spin almost disappears. The ball comes out uncontrolled and flies much further than intended, then doesn't stop on the green. It is what produces those shots that finish ten metres long for no apparent reason.

General rough adjustments:

Clubface slightly open: the grass tends to close it at impact.
Ball a little back, to attack it more steeply.
Firmer grip than usual. It is the one situation where you hold on tightly.
Steeper, committed swing. No lunging, but no slowing down either.
In deep grass, wedge it back to the fairway. Heroics from thick rough is where most shots in a round get lost.

(06) Bare lies, wet sand and buried balls

Bare lie (hard ground, no grass): the margin for error disappears because there is no grass to forgive a slightly fat strike.

Ball back, hands ahead.
A clean, descending strike. Do not try to sweep the ball.
A wedge with lots of bounce makes it harder: use one with less bounce if you have the option.

Wet or compacted bunker sand: the sand is firm and the club does not dig the same way.

Close the face a little more than usual.
Enter closer to the ball, around 3 cm rather than 5.
Less swing than you would need in dry sand: the ball comes out faster.

Buried ball in a bunker (fried egg):

Face square or slightly closed, not open. Here you want the club to dig.
Enter just behind the ball with commitment.
Accept that the ball will come out low and run a long way. The goal is to escape, not to get close.

The decision matters more than the technique

The most expensive error with difficult lies is not technical: it is attempting the shot you would play from a fairway.

A good lie lets you attack. A bad lie forces you to take the safest exit. And that decision is worth more shots than any setup adjustment:

If the lie is...	Your target should be
Good, gentle slope	The normal target, with the relevant adjustment
Average (medium rough, steep slope)	The middle of the green or the fairway, never the flag
Bad (buried, bare, severe slope)	Back to the fairway in one shot

Developed in how to lower your score without changing your swing. And remember that declaring the ball unplayable costs a single stroke and is sometimes the best play on the hole: the golf rules you actually use.

How to train it

Nobody practises this and it comes up in every round. Ten minutes per session is enough:

Find a sloping area on the practice ground and hit five balls from each of the four sloping lies.
In the practice rough, five balls from thick grass with a wedge, aiming only for a clean escape.
In the bunker, five deliberately buried balls with a square face.

The Teeup Academy has these drills with scoring, because it is the block where work shows up fastest: almost nobody trains it.

Frequently asked questions

Which way does the ball go with the ball above your feet? Left, for a right-handed player. Aim right to compensate.

And below your feet? Right. Aim left, flex your knees more and make a short swing.

How many clubs do I take on an uphill lie? One or two more. The slope adds loft and costs a considerable amount of distance.

What is a "flyer" in golf? A ball that comes out of the rough without spin and flies much further than intended, because grass got between the face and the ball.

How do you get a buried ball out of a bunker? With a square or slightly closed face, entering just behind the ball with commitment. It will come out low and run: the goal is escape.

When should I give up on the green? Whenever the lie will not allow a clean strike. From deep rough or a buried lie, the target is the fairway.

Difficult lies are not improvised: each one has its adjustment and its predictable curve. The only thing to decide in the moment is how much ambition the lie will allow.

The Teeup Academy has the drills, and the app has the course network to test them.

Download the Teeup app and book your next round.