How To Play Any Golf Lie (Complete Chart)

A perfect lie makes club selection and technique relatively straightforward. An abnormal lie can change everything.

With an abnormal lie, sometimes the goal is still to hit the green. Sometimes it is to favor the safest side. And sometimes all you need to do is make contact and get the ball back into play.

Don’t overcomplicate that last goal. A simple recovery that leaves you a normal next shot is better than trying for a perfect result or a hero shot.

(Directional tendencies below are written for right-handed golfers. Left-handed golfers should reverse the left and right adjustments.)

How to play any golf lie

Your lie	What to do
Uphill	Adjust: Take more club, match your shoulder line to the slope and play the ball slightly forward. Expect: A higher, shorter shot with some left bias.
Downhill	Adjust: Use enough loft, match your shoulder line to the slope and play the ball slightly back. Expect: A lower shot with more rollout and some right bias.
Ball above your feet	Adjust: Grip down, stand slightly taller and aim farther right. Expect: The ball to start or curve left and potentially fly shorter with more rollout.
Ball below your feet	Adjust: Take more club, widen your stance, flex your knees, put a little weight on your toes and aim left. Expect: The ball to start or curve right and often fly shorter.
Ball sitting up in the rough	Adjust: Use your normal club or slightly less club and make a smooth, balanced swing. Expect: Relatively clean contact but the ball may jump or be struck high on the face.
Flyer lie	Adjust: Use less club, make a controlled swing and protect against the long miss. Expect: Lower spin, extra carry or rollout and less stopping power.
Ball sitting down in the rough	Adjust: Use more loft, make a slightly steeper swing and commit to the strike. Expect: Less spin, reduced control and a shorter shot.
Buried rough	Adjust: Use more loft, play the ball back and make a firm, steep swing. Expect: A short, unpredictable shot with limited spin.
Tight lie	Adjust: Play the ball near center, favor your lead side and strike the ball before the turf. Expect: A lower flight with very little margin for heavy contact.
Bare lie or hardpan	Adjust: Use a club with less bounce and make a shallow, smooth swing. Expect: Greater risk of thin contact and more rollout.
Ball in a divot	Adjust: Play the ball slightly back and steepen the strike. Expect: A lower, shorter shot with less spin.
Muddy or soft lie	Adjust: Establish stable footing, take enough club and make a smooth, committed swing. Expect: Greater risk of heavy contact and reduced distance.
Ball against the collar	Adjust: Use a putter, hybrid or lofted club and choose the option that requires the smallest motion. Expect: More rollout and less predictable contact than a clean greenside lie.
Fairway bunker	Adjust: Clear the lip first, grip down, and keep the lower body quiet. Expect: A lower, shorter shot.
Fluffy greenside sand	Adjust: Open the face, enter the sand behind the ball and accelerate through. Expect: A higher, softer shot.
Plugged bunker lie	Adjust: Use a square or only slightly open face, play the ball back and make a steep, committed strike into the sand. Expect: A lower shot with limited spin and more rollout.
Firm or wet sand	Adjust: Use a less-open face, make a shallower swing and take less sand. Expect: A lower shot that releases faster.

Five things to remember from any abnormal lie

Playing from a difficult lie becomes second nature the more golf you play. The longer I’ve played the game, the better I’ve gotten with these types of shots. At this point, I find them to be kind of a challenge, one that’s fun to pull off. Here are a few things I would remember regardless of what type of lie you are working with.

Contact comes before distance

The yardage becomes less important when the lie prevents you from striking the ball normally.

Start by deciding whether the club can reach the back of the ball. If grass, sand or the ground is likely to interfere, choose a club and target that allow for an imperfect strike.

Balance comes before speed

Slopes and unstable footing make full-speed swings difficult to control.

Widen your stance, grip down or shorten the swing until you feel balanced. A controlled swing with solid contact will usually produce a better result than an aggressive swing made from an unstable position.

Look directly behind the ball

What the club has to travel through before impact will tell you a lot about the shot.

A ball sitting cleanly on top of the rough may allow a mostly normal swing. A ball sitting down or buried will require the club to move through more grass and will make the result less predictable.

The same is true in a bunker.

Plan for the expected miss

Abnormal lies often create predictable tendencies. Learn what those are and plan for them.

Uphill lies generally add loft. Downhill lies lower the flight. A ball above your feet tends to move left for a right-handed golfer while a ball below your feet tends to move right.

Account for the expected result before choosing your target.

Choose the simplest useful shot

Not every abnormal lie should be played toward the flag.

Sometimes the smartest target is the center of the green. Sometimes it is the widest section of fairway. From a severely buried or awkward lie, the right play may simply be getting the ball back to a position where you can make a normal swing. Ask yourself how many times out of 10 you can pull off the shot you have planned.

Final thoughts

Download this golf lie chart to help you get comfortable with these lies and have more success on the course.