Hitting the ball up and down is a challenge that most golfers face multiple times a round. Because of its frequency, understanding how to hit tight lies is very important to keeping our scores low. A tight lie is defined by Golf.com as “the golf ball is sitting with an eighth of an inch or less space beneath it, on a surface so firm you can’t take a normal divot.” This type of condition make it very hard to easily slide the leading edge of the club face evenly under the ball. Fortunately, I found on method used by Phil Mickelson that makes complete sense and it is easy to execute.

The heel up, toe down technique is not something new to me. I use this positioning when performing a bump and run with my seven iron. I recently discussed how I raise my hands placing my seven iron in a more vertical position, hence hitting the ball off the toe more. I still try to make contact on the bottom three grooves because this promotes the release I can judge and control.

What I found interesting about what Mickelson has say is that he uses the same technique with his wedges. I actually never have tried this, but now that I think about it, I can see the value of the toe contact in tight lies. Of course my season is over, but this is something I can try into my DIY chipping net in order to develop the proper stance and grip using my PW, GW and possibly my SW. I guess I will add this new tight lie hitting style to the list of things I want to practice during my off-season.

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!