How To Hit When The Ball Is Below Your Feet

How To Hit When The Ball Is Below Your Feet

Putting a ball underneath your feet is supposed to be the hardest shot in golf. You completely have my support when your feet are in the ball outside a bunker. Flexibility and coordination are required to play it below your feet, as it is a challenge in coordination and flexibility. A golfer tends to stand up from their resting position or to rise from their stance. Even stances produce similar results, less so when the ball is beneath the feet. Even standing up a little will result in you topping the ball or missing it entirely in these situations. Flexibility and core strength go hand-in-hand for a well-balanced swing. If you have to bend over more, you will have a harder time doing it.

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How to hit when the ball is below your Feet

  • Get Into a Stable Position

Keeping your balance when the ball is below your feet will be one of the first challenges you'll encounter when setting up for this shot. In the case of steep sidehills, you may find it difficult to maintain your balance while hitting the ball as you maintain your balance throughout the swing. Make sure the bulk of your weight is located at your heels to provide a stable base for your swing. If you stand with your weight on your toes, you will ground more than if you were standing with your weight on your heels.

  • Widen Your Stance

If you're beneath the ball, widen your stance. A simple adjustment to the width of your stance will have a dramatic effect on both your stability and your proximity to the ball. If the ball is at or below your feet, widen your stance slightly. By using a wider stance, you will feel more stable and your swing arc will be lowered slightly. This will help you to make clean contact with the ball

  • Bend your Knees More

Since the ball is considerably lower than it normally would be you will need to bend your knees more than usual as well. You’ll need to remember that when you start swinging the ball should be below your feet first and that you should bend your knees more than normal.

You'll also need to maintain that awkward knee flex throughout your swing. Decreased knee flex mid-swing could lead to a thinning of the ball or whiffing it entirely if it is caused by reducing that knee flex. Make sure your knees are bent enough so that your club will rest behind the ball and you will be able to swing comfortably without the club shaft bumping against your legs when you are at address.

  • Use One More Club and Swing Smoothly

The ball should be below your feet as you will have to work hard to keep your balance during your swing. To hit the ball smoothly, you should swing with more club. Your usual swing speed is drastically different from this. Instead of going all-out, favor a slower and smoother swing when the ball is below your feet. You should use one more club than you usually do for the distance to compensate for the difference. By combining a longer club with a smoother swing, you should be able to get the proper yardage for the shot.

  • Aim Left of the Target

The ball should be left of the target when it is beneath your feet. Also, the ball should come out of the club and move to the right slightly rather than straight ahead. Accordingly, the ball will shoot right after impact just like in a situation where the ball is above your feet. Instead of shooting directly at your target, aim a little left of it.

  • Swing Along a Steeper Plane

Slightly modify your swing plane to account for the lower ball position finally, because the ball is lower, you need to use a steeper swing.

  • Instead of using your normal swing, or using a flatter swing, try to use a steeper swing.

A flatter swing will be most effective above your feet, but a steeper swing will be most effective below your feet. A vertical swing will indeed enable your club to come down hard and hit the center of the ball, while a flatter swing could produce a thin or whiff shot.

Conclusion

It's important not to choke up on the grip so you can make full use of your club's length. Feel your chest facing the ground a bit more than you usually do when you bend over. While swinging, it is important to keep your chest down and to stick out your back end. Your weight should be set more on your heels to prevent you from falling forward down the hill. As your swing plane becomes steeper, your trajectory will naturally be steeper. If you are right-handed, this will result in the ball slicing, so aim left (for a right-hander). If you can, swing through the ball as much as possible, but make sure not to force it.