Grooved Golf Swing - How To Use Your Tight Lies To Work The Ball

By Bill Maitland

What is a flier? What is a flier lie? You know most of us set our ball up to run the danger of a flier lie and are totally ignorant of the fact.

A flier on the golf course is a ball hit from the rough or longer grass. There is grass between the club and the ball and therefore most of the control over the shot and the ball is lost. The ball comes out of the rough with very little spin on it. You know when you hit a ball thin, that is half way up the ball with the leading edge of the club, (the very bottom of the club head), you see it travelling at a great rate of knots towards the green, towards the pin, then past the pin and away over the back of the green. The feeling of disappointment is intense isn’t it?

Well, on days when it is wet and we are allowed to move our ball to an improved position from where it stops (called a preferred lie), we are, nearly all of us, guilty.

Guilty of what? You ask.

Guilty of falling for the mistake of setting our ball up for a flier.

We all set our ball up on a tuft of grass. We think that this will make us hit a better shot.

Actually, out on the fairway, it seems that we do hit a better shot. The ball goes a long way. What we don’t know is that we do not have maximal control over the ball. We are creating a flier lie.

On our approach shots to the green, the flier will become more noticeable. The ball will go a little further than wanted and even run off the back of the green. The chip shot will fly much further than required.

For every golf shot, the shorter the grass, and the drier the ground under the ball, the more accurately you can hit your ball.

To improve your shot making, hit balls from this sort of lie. From the short grass. Don’t prop them up on tufts of grass. This applies to the practice fairway too.

Place your ball on the back edge of where your divots have been taken, and continue to sculpture the ground with more divots. You will become more accurate in your ball striking and you will see the benefit of hitting down on the ball from short grass. From this short grass, you can experiment and learn to hit fades and draws. It is so much harder to hit these from a ball raised on a tuft of grass.

One more tip.

When playing in the wind, use a less lofted club. No, this is not to hit it under the wind. The reason is that in the wind, especially in the wind, a less lofted club gives you more control over the starting direction of the ball.

Note, I said starting direction.

If you want to hit a very accurate shot, the same principle applies. You want to get great accuracy with the starting direction of the ball.

How often have you hit your pitching iron – a full pitching iron – into the green only to see your ball fly well off line? This is because, as I have said, the more loft, the less control over the starting direction of the ball.

So instead of hitting a full pitching iron, hit a ¾ nine iron.

To qualify this last tip.

There are times when you may be in doubt as to which club to use to get to the hole. You know a full pitching wedge will get there. However, so will a ¾ nine iron. Tip: go for the ¾ nine iron.

Bill Maitland is a thinking, inventive golf guru. He thought out and developed simple techniques and tips which enabled him to lower his handicap from 25 to 18, then from 18 to 15, and finally from 15 to 12. He is a passionate golfer, and delights in helping others with their game should they want his help. To receive a valuable weekly golf tip go to his web site http://www.onlinegolfershandbook.com and subscribe to his free Hole In One News Letter. You will be so glad that you did.

Author of On Line Golfers' Hand Book. An e-Book that takes you step by step to being the best golfer that you can possibly be. The basics in great detail. To learn about his tips and simple techniques and order his book, visit his web site

www.onlinegolfershandbook.com

sign up for his free news letter and receive a wealth of great tips every time. He really tries to tell you everything and leaves nothing out as so often happens. When you sign up, receive his free chapter from his book on bunker play.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bill_Maitland