How To Hit Golf Ball Below Your Feet (3 Tips)

Any round of golf brings many challenges and variables. From course conditions, wind conditions and even the various lies that golfers are challenged with.

Of the different lies that you might face:

• Uphill lie
• Downhill lie
• Ball above your feet
• Ball below your feet

We believe that the golf ball below your feet shot is the most difficult lie.  While none of the lies above are easy, the ball below your feet brings about a difficult challenge.

There are three primary goals of any shot:

• Make quality contact
• Control your start line
• Control your total distance

Based on these 3 goals, we will provide 3 tips to help you manage the ball below your feet lie in golf!

How To Hit Golf Ball Below Your Feet (3 Tips)

1. Slightly bend more in your knees
2. Take practice swings to determine ball position
3. Aim left
4. More club, less swing
5. Manage expectations

Tip #1: Slightly bend more in your knees

With the ball lower than normal, the golfer needs to make a slight adjustment to ensure he or she is closer to the ground without overreaching.  We need to hit the ball on the center of the face to control the over distance and ensure quality contact. 

The last thing we want to do is blade the ball, which is an increased possibility the more the ball is below our feet.

Tip #2: Take practice swings to determine ball position

I would recommend this on any difficult lie.  Take at least 2-3 practice swings to locate the low point of your golf swing.  Without taking massive divots from the course, this helps you gain confidence, identify the low point and determine the best location for the ball in your stance. 

You will often see professionals rehearse their short game swings frequently when faced with a difficult lie.  We can replicate this challenge when we have an awkward lie from the rough or fairway even on more full swings.

Tip #3: Aim left

The tendency when the ball is below your feet is to lose the ball to the right.  If you are a better golfer, you might naturally make some compensations, so be careful not to aim too far left.  Aim just far enough left and hit a slight push fade towards the center of your target. 

We want to control our start line and practicing from these lies can be helpful during practice rounds or if you can find a practice facility that enables you to practice awkward lies.  Getting comfortable hitting balls from difficult lies will build confidence over time when faced with these shots during a round of golf.

Tip #4: More club, less swing

Take more club and either shorten or swing or slightly decrease your swing speed.  Whatever is your adjustment to help you maintain balance to ensure quality ball striking.  The tendency here on these shots is to lose slight balance right before impact, causing poor contact which leads to some bad results. 

Our recommendation for these difficult lies is to always take more club and take a nice balance swing, which sometimes requires a less than full swing.

Tip #5: Manage expectations

With all shots in golf it is important to manage our expectations.  It is even that much more important when we have a difficult lie like the ball below our feet. 

Here are some key stats to keep in mind if you are growing frustrated with your lack of execution with any portion of your game.  Some of these stats might help put your shots into a better perspective and stop beating yourself up after every shot you hit or every putt you miss!

• The average proximity to the pin from a 100 yard shot in the fairway on the PGA Tour is 18 feet.
• The average proximity to the pin from 125-150 yards from the fairway on the PGA Tour is 23’4”
• The average proximity to the pin from 150-175 yards from the fairway on the PGA Tour is 28’6”
• The average make percentage from 8 feet on the PGA Tour is 50%

I find myself repeating these numbers frequently to my playing partners who tend to have too high of expectations for their current skill level.  The game becomes much more fun when you manage your expectations and realize that some of your shots are actually quality shots according to some key stats from the PGA Tour!

Related Posts:

• Uphill Lies (3 Tips)
• Downhill Lies (3 Tips)

Next Steps: Take Action

Find a way to practice these difficult lies and take some notes of the following:

• What was your typical ball position adjustments?
• Did you take extra club and how did you cut down your swing?
• Did your golf ball have a tendency to miss to the right or to the left?

These types of practice sessions and note taking opportunities help us build our adjustments needed to be ready for these situations during a round of golf.

My Secret To Golf Improvement

Let’s face it, in order to get really good at golf, we must practice frequently.  About five years ago, I made the leap and invested in a golf simulator build for my garage.  I went with a SkyTrak Launch Monitor and the TGC software and can now play over 100,000 courses including Augusta, Pebble Beach, Bethpage Black, Whistling Straits. St. Andrews and many other of the top 100 courses in the world.

This golf simulator setup, which is more affordable that you might imagine, has been a game changer.  I can now play golf everyday of the year regardless of rain, snow, cold weather or time of day.  I can practice or play rounds of golf.  I can stand in the 11th fairway at Augusta and with the auto-rewind feature I am able to practice my approach shots from various differences.

It is worth checking out through Rain or Shine Golf as they offer some incredible packages along with financing offers that are difficult to beat.

Some direct links to Rain or Shine Golf for pricing and financing:

• Rain or Shine Golf
• Rain or Shine Golf Financing Offers
• Rain or Shine Golf Packages