Chipping From An Upslope: 5 Keys To Great Shots

Courses that offer a lot of elevated landscapes, often provide a lot of challenges in the form of up slopes. Chipping from an upslope is a difficult shot that often you’ll end up sticking your golf club onto the edge of the slope. A hard backswing will result in a lot of height, but not greater distance. You can either play a high or a low shot based on the distance to the hole. But care should be taken on the amount of swing needed and how you are positioned. Normally, playing an upslope shot, makes the ball fly higher than expected and combined with an extra pace in the swing, you’ll be really in for a surprise of the how awkwardly the ball behaves.

1. Move your weight towards your back foot

One more trick is you need to do is move the weight towards your back foot so that you stand proportionate to the slope. So when you swing, you’ll be swinging along the terrain, which will cause the ball to move upwards. If you make a normal stance, then you’ll not be sweeping the ball off the slope, but will be hitting into the slope.

2. Move the ball forward in your stance

In a tricky situation like this, where you’re on an upslope, the first thing you need to do is move the ball forward in your stance.

3. Use a Lofted Club

Using a club that produces less loft will help you in controlling the ball flying higher than you expected. Better use a pitching or a sand wedge club for controlling the loft. When you are chipping from an upslope, the angle of the slope will also add to your loft and may produce a flight higher than normal, and hence to avoid this, you need to choose a club that has less loft.

4. Employ a Normal Chipping Stroke

Make sure you employ a normal chipping stroke and don’t try to swing too hard or hit the ball on the lower bottom.

5. Use a Low Backswing

The backswing you employ should be as low as possible to the ground level. Never hinge your wrists so that the club is positioned steeply, as that will create a downward stroke and will cause the ball to stick inside the slope.

Try practicing these tips, and you’ll obviously learn to get the ball out of the slope sooner than you think.