5 tricky lies every golfer should know how to handle

One of the interesting things about golf is the variety of locations and lies you can encounter during any given round. The best approach is to expect a few bad lies and be prepared to handle them when they arise.

The best players rise to these occasions. My dad was a master at it. He typically found the middle of the fairway, but on the rare occasion he hit a ball into the trees, he always seemed to pull off a miraculous recovery shot and get it up and down.

Here are five situations you can learn to handle with the right attitude and a few key adjustments.

1. Buried in the bunker

Finding your ball buried in a greenside bunker in a “fried-egg” lie isn’t great news, but it’s manageable. With a little practice, you can actually become surprisingly good at escaping these shots. They look more intimidating than they really are.

The key is adjusting both your setup and the way you deliver the clubhead. Keep the ball positioned forward in your stance so the club can enter the sand behind it, but make your angle of attack a bit steeper by tilting your upper body toward the target and lowering your lead shoulder.

This adjustment reduces the amount of bounce presented to the sand and encourages the leading edge to dig. That’s exactly what you need in this situation: The wedge must get down into the sand to help propel the buried ball out.

Because this setup effectively reduces the club’s loft, expect a lower launch and more roll. You can account for that by aiming toward an area of the green with more room to release the ball. Alternatively, consider using a more lofted club, such as a lob wedge.

2. Firm greenside sand

Greenside bunkers are challenging enough without having to contend with different sand conditions. Hard-packed sand or a bunker with very little sand requires a different approach than a typical bunker shot.

When the bounce of the club strikes hard sand, it can ricochet off the surface and skip into the ball, often producing a bladed shot that races across the green. To avoid this, adjust your setup by leaning the shaft forward. This exposes more of the leading edge, allowing it to make initial contact with the sand and dig in rather than bouncing off the firm surface.

This adjustment effectively reduces the club’s loft and produces a lower ball flight. If you need more height, you can compensate by selecting a more lofted club, such as a lob wedge.

3. Buried in thick rough

When your ball is buried in the rough, whether you’re hitting a short-game shot or a full swing, grass can get between the clubface and the ball, making clean contact difficult. To improve your chances of getting the ball out, tilt your upper body and sternum toward the target while lowering your lead shoulder. This creates a steeper angle of attack, allowing the clubhead to travel down the back of the ball and continue into the ground.

Once you’ve made this setup adjustment, it’s important to maintain your forward tilt throughout the swing. Avoid falling backward and trying to lift the ball into the air. Trust the loft of the club to do the work, and focus on making an aggressive, descending strike.

4. Stuck in the woods

If you play enough golf, you’ll eventually find yourself in the trees, needing to hit a low shot that advances the ball a reasonable distance without catching a low-hanging branch. The key is keeping the ball flight down, and as with many shots in golf, that starts with your setup.

First, choose a lower-lofted club, such as a 6- or 7-iron. Position the ball farther back in your stance to reduce the effective loft at impact. Then, drop your lead foot back and shift more weight toward your lead side, tilting your upper body toward the target. Moving your lead foot back also helps you keep your weight forward throughout the swing.

With your weight forward, you can limit the length of your backswing, which further helps control the trajectory. Maintain your forward shaft lean through impact and keep the follow-through relatively short.

Even though the swing is abbreviated, make sure you deliver enough speed and energy through the ball to advance it toward your target.

5. Uneven lies

When playing from an uneven lie, solid contact should always be your first priority. If the ball is above your feet on a sidehill lie, start by gripping down on the club to account for the fact that the ball is closer to you than it would be on level ground. This helps prevent the club from digging too deeply into the ground.

The lie also influences the direction in which the clubface sends the ball. You can compensate by adjusting your aim or changing your ball position. Experiment with both approaches to determine what works best for you. For a right-handed golfer, that might mean aiming farther to the right or moving the ball back in the stance.

Finally, consider adjusting your club selection based on the severity of the slope. The more extreme the lie, the more sense it may make to choose a club that allows you to make a comfortable, controlled swing rather than trying to force an aggressive shot.