2 October 2026 · 9 min read
Uneven lies in golf: ball above and below your feet, uphill and downhill
On a slope the ball does not fly where you aim. Here is what applies with the ball above and below your feet, uphill and downhill, with sources and a measurement from a study.
On a slope the ball does not fly where you aim. For right-handers it works like this: with the ball above your feet it pulls left, with the ball below your feet it starts right, uphill it flies higher and you need more club, downhill it flies lower. You make up for it with alignment, club choice, ball position and a calmer swing. For this I read articles by Gary Weir, Top 100 Teacher at golf.com and by PGA Professionals on Golf Post on 2 October 2026, plus two studies and the material of PGA Deutschland. Everything here is for right-handers, left-handers mirror it.
Which lie is which?
The terms are a stumbling block. “Ball above your feet” means you stand below the ball. Golf Post calls that “below the ball”. PGA Professional Steffen Bents says “standing above the ball” when the ball lies clearly lower than the feet. The table sorts the words:
| The ball lies | What it is often called | Tendency for right-handers |
|---|---|---|
| Higher than the feet | Standing below the ball | Hook to the left |
| Lower than the feet | Standing above the ball | Slice to the right |
The four lies at a glance
The table collects what Golf Post (Hanna Baum-Proske), golf.com (Gary Weir) and Bents say. They are rules of thumb, not laws of nature, and the sources do not agree on every point.
| Lie | Ball flight | Club | Alignment | Ball position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ball above the feet | Pulls left (Golf Post, golf.com) | Grip down, one or two more clubs (golf.com) | Slightly right of the target (Golf Post, golf.com) | Right of centre (Golf Post) |
| Ball below the feet | Starts right and curves further right (Bents) | Hold the very end of the grip (golf.com) | Left of the target (Golf Post, golf.com, Bents) | Centre to left (Golf Post) |
| Uphill | Higher (Golf Post, golf.com) | More club, less loft (Golf Post, golf.com) | More to the right of the target (Golf Post) | Centre to left, slightly further forward (Golf Post, golf.com) |
| Downhill | Lower, runs out more (Golf Post, golf.com) | Shorter club with more loft (Golf Post) | More to the left of the target (Golf Post) | Centre to right (Golf Post, Bents) |
Why the ball flies sideways
On a slope the lie changes, the angle between shaft and ground. PGA Deutschland describes the rule behind it: if the dynamic lie decreases and the toe of the club comes into the air, the face points more to the left in space. If it increases, it points more to the right. Lukas of Birdietrain explains it for the ball above the feet like this: the club sits more tilted towards the body, so the face points more to the left, and the effect is especially strong with shorter clubs.
Gary Weir names a second reason: because of the lie and your more upright posture you swing flatter, and the ball tends to draw. He warns, though, against aiming so far right that a straight shot gets you into trouble, because the ball does not always pull. How draw and fade arise in the first place is in Draw, fade, hook and slice.
Ball above and below the feet
With the ball above your feet you stand more upright. Weir advises gripping down almost to the metal and, because the club is shorter, taking one or two more clubs. The weight belongs on the balls of the feet, and you lean into the hill. Golf Post adds the toes turned outward and keeping the body angle during the swing.
With the ball below your feet it is, according to Weir, the hardest lie for mid and high handicappers. You squat low and keep the weight in your heels through to the finish. Bents names the topped or thin strike as the most common miss and recommends a wider stance, with the feet in the snowplough position like braking on skis. Golf Post advises more forward bend of the upper body, the weight back and the toes turned inward. The normal stance is shown in Golf setup position.
Uphill and downhill
According to Weir uphill is the easiest of the four lies as long as there is no headwind, because you have a natural launch pad. He advises tilting the shoulders to match the slope, playing the ball a little further forward, putting the weight on the downhill foot and taking more club. Golf Post names a longer club with less loft, the alignment more to the right and the uphill foot set back.
Downhill you and the ball are on the same level. Weir advises leaning the shoulders with the slope and putting the weight over the front leg. If you lean with the hill correctly, the ball position effectively moves from the centre to centre-back. That takes loft off, the shot launches low and runs on further. Golf Post therefore advises a shorter club with more loft, which fits Weir's observation, and an alignment more to the left. Bents expects a lower trajectory and puts the ball right of centre.
Which lie suits you? Your angle of attack
Bents writes that the ball below the feet and downhill suit players with a steeper angle of attack. Players with a shallower angle of attack have problems with these lies more often. PGA Deutschland calls an angle of attack steep when the club comes at the ball from above, for example with minus 5 degrees, and shallow when it comes from below, for example with plus 2 degrees. If your launch monitor shows the angle of attack, you know which group you belong to. Whoever swings shallow practises downhill and the ball below the feet more. How the low point of the swing leads to fat and thin shots is explained in Avoiding fat and thin shots.
How much distance does a slope cost?
Measurements on this are rare. A study in the Int J Environ Res Public Health (Li and colleagues, 2023) had 8 male recreational golfers with handicaps of 16 to 21 hit five shots each with the 7-iron on level ground and on slopes of plus and minus 10 degrees, into a net at a distance of 3 m. The means:
| Ball position | Ball speed | Carry |
|---|---|---|
| At foot level (0 degrees) | 103.24 mph | 141.26 yards (129 m) |
| Below the feet (10 degrees) | 97.49 mph | 131.18 yards (120 m) |
| Above the feet (10 degrees) | 92.99 mph | 123.35 yards (113 m) |
Compared with level ground the differences were statistically reliable on both slopes, between the two slopes they were not. Between level ground and the ball above the feet lie 17.91 yards on average, about 16 m or 12.7 %. A second study with 6 golfers (Technology and Health Care, 2023) found no reliable differences overall in swing speed, ball speed, carry and smash factor. The authors of the first study name the small number of participants as a weakness themselves. Take a direction from it, not a number for your distance.
How to practise slopes
Weir advises looking beyond the mat when you practise and finding awkward lies before they bite you on the course: even a little experience pays off. A slope next to the range or on a course's practice area suits that. In the bay the ball lies on a level mat. In the descriptions of the 126 venues in the directory no platform is named that tilts for the full swing (as of 2 October 2026, our own entries, searched for slope, tilt, incline and similar words). Two name a putting platform, Millennium in Crissier with slopes of 0 to 5 %. That no other platform is named does not mean none exists, only that nobody writes it. Ask before you book.
What the bay does practise: Golf Post and Bents advise a smaller, calmer, controlled movement on all uneven lies. You can measure what it costs. Hit 10 balls each with the 7-iron, once full and once calmer, and note carry and angle of attack. Those are your starting values for the course. How to approach the first round is in The first round on the golf course, how to choose the club on the course in Club selection on the course.
Where to prepare for the slope
For the start golf simulator for beginners is the beginning: the bay gives you the carry of every club, which you adjust on the slope. Anyone who wants to improve the angle of attack with a pro finds the venues with coaching under indoor golf training: 81 of the 110 indoor venues offer it (as of 2 October 2026, our own entries). The nearest venue is shown by golf simulator near me, all venues by the map. For the swing itself Golf swing for beginners is the entry point.
Frequently asked questions
Where does the ball go when it lies above the feet?
For right-handers it pulls left. Birdietrain explains it with the lie: the face points more to the left, especially strongly with short clubs. Gary Weir advises aiming slightly right of the target, but not too far, because the ball does not always pull.
Where does the ball go when it lies below the feet?
It starts right and curves further right, writes PGA Professional Steffen Bents, so you aim left of the target. Gary Weir names a fade or slice as likely and calls this lie the hardest for mid and high handicappers.
Which club do I take uphill and downhill?
Uphill the ball flies higher: Golf Post advises a longer club with less loft, Gary Weir simply more club. Downhill it flies lower and runs on further, Golf Post advises a shorter club with more loft.
Where does the ball go in the stance on a slope?
According to Golf Post it sits centre to left uphill, centre to right downhill, right of centre with the ball above the feet and centre to left with the ball below the feet. These are rules of thumb for right-handers, left-handers mirror them, and the sources do not agree on every point.
Do I lose distance on a slope?
A study with 8 recreational golfers measured with the 7-iron on slopes of 10 degrees a mean carry of 141 yards on level ground, 131 with the ball below and 123 with the ball above the feet. A second, smaller study found no reliable difference.
Sources
- golf.com: Master any lie with our comprehensive guide (Gary Weir, Top 100 Teacher) (vier Lagen: Ball über und unter den Füssen, bergauf, bergab)
- Golf Post: Spielen in Hanglagen (Hanna Baum-Proske) (Stichwortliste zu Schläger, Ausrichtung und Ballposition)
- Golf Post: Füsse wie ein Schneepflug (Steffen Bents, PGA Professional) (über dem Ball stehend und bergab, Eintreffwinkel)
- Golf Post: Golftraining mit Birdietrain, Ball über den Füssen (Lie und Linkseffekt, Ballposition)
- PGA Deutschland: Lernunterlage Golftechnik (März 2019) (dynamischer Lie, Eintreffwinkel, Lernziel Hanglagen)
- Li et al. 2023: Effects of Ground Slopes on Erector Spinae Muscle Activities and Characteristics of Golf Swing (8 Golfer, Eisen 7, Hänge von plus und minus 10 Grad: Ballgeschwindigkeit und Carry)
- Li et al. 2023: Effect of slope change on kinematics of amateur golfers' full swing (6 Golfer, kein gesicherter Unterschied im Gesamtvergleich)
- Swiss Golf Simulators: eigene Einträge (Beschreibungen der Anlagen, Coaching, Stand 2. Oktober 2026)