--- title: "Shots from difficult lies: slopes, rough, wet sand and buried balls" description: "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." url: https://www.teeup.es/en/blog/golpes-desde-lies-dificiles lang: en updated: 2026-07-22 --- # Shots from difficult lies: slopes, rough, wet sand and buried balls Published: 2026-07-22 · Reading time: 7 min ## 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](/en/blog/como-bajar-el-score-sin-tocar-tu-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](/en/blog/reglas-golf-que-de-verdad-usas). --- ### 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. --- Source: https://www.teeup.es · Sitemap: https://www.teeup.es/sitemap.xml · llms.txt: https://www.teeup.es/llms.txt · Agent guide: https://www.teeup.es/agent-instructions.md