Your set-up is key for greenside shots from sloping lies

By Jack Woods
The surrounds around greens are often undulating, a challenging prospect for amateurs suddenly faced with a touchy downhill chip onto the putting surface. In reality, a few small changes to your set-up can make this shot a lot easier than it first appears.

When faced with the situation shown here where we are confronted with a downhill lie, it is important to set our body as neutral as possible in relation to the slope. As you can see I have tilted my whole body to match the slope which will allow me to make a normal movement and still ensure a good strike on the ball. I have also widened my stance a little to remain balanced through impact. It is important to maintain this tilt during the entire shot as the temptation is to move onto the trailing foot. Match your body to the slope and you will soon start to look forward to this shot rather than fear it.

“It’s important to maintain this tilt during the entire shot .”

Adjust for the slope

Be aware that the ball will naturally travel lower and run further than normal as we are reducing the loft of the club given the set-up. Remember to adjust your club and landing spot to knock it close to the hole… or maybe even in!