Uphill, downhill lies

Editor's note: Steve Charters is in his 13th year as a pro at Twin Pines Golf Course. Born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Charters competed at Central College in Pella and has been a pro for 20 years in Dubuque and Cedar Rapids.

While flat lies in the fairways would be great, there inevitably will be challenges on slopes during the course of your round.

You'll run into slopes your ball will rest on that will affect the flight of the ball if you don't make adjustments in your setup to compensate for the angle.

Here we'll discuss adjustments for uphill and downhill lies.

When hitting a shot uphill, position the ball toward the front of your stance and try to get your shoulders even with the slope. Take an extra club to offset the fact the ball is going to fly inherently higher and shorter. And aim a little right of your intended target because when your arms and hands are swinging up the slope they tend to rotate closed quicker and send the ball left.

Vice versa when hitting off a downhill lie. Place the ball toward the back of your stance and again try to get your shoulders even with the slope. Take a little less club since the lie will de-loft the club and send the ball a little farther. Aim a little left of your intended target because shots tend to curve left to right off a downhill lie.

Remember these subtle adjustments and hitting shots off uphill and downhill lies can become as routine as a flat ones.

- Steve Charters