An unbalanced lie can break the cycle. Here's how to do it right

Welcome to Shaving Strokes, the GOLF.com series where we share the progress, lessons learned and takeaways from novice golfers like you — including the speed bumps and challenges they've faced along the way.

Unequal lies are unavoidable – and can be stressful when you encounter them.

Naturally, when the ball is sitting above or below your feet, or you are forced to assume an unfamiliar position and body alignment, most players can only think about what will go wrong than anything else. that would be fine.

Although part of catching an uneven lie is building confidence, achieving that requires trusting your system and believing that you can hit a good shot no matter how the ball lands.

So, how can you achieve that? In the video below, Top 100 Golf Instructor Mark Hackett shares travel tips that can help, as he works with aspiring college golfer Yvette O'Brien, a future TCU Horned Frog. Check out how both can help you improve your results from an unbalanced lie.

Here's how to finally master the wrong lies in golf

“The ball is in a low position, so it's going to be easy for his weight to come down and it tends to push the club back,” Hackett said. “So we're going to add more loft to help raise the ball, because it's going to come out a lot lower.”

Hackett then talks about O'Brien's process. With the ball sitting under his feet on the downswing, the first order of business is to take practice swings to find the bottom position of the club – which helps him determine his ball position.

“It goes a little bit forward, so I tend to hit the back of it on the low side,” O'Brien said.

This is in contrast to the ball sitting above your feet on an uneven lie, as that would be too far behind your stance.

Next, Hackett explains how O'Brien needs to be set up for this photo, which includes repositioning his hips and feet.

“We need to balance our hips, so he's going to put his foot back and the shoulders are like a slope,” Hackett said. “So you can see that his lead shoulder is very low.”

O'Brien talks his way through this kind of disparate lie should he come across it in the competition.

“Balancing the shoulders and balancing the hips with the slope, and making sure you get that contact before the golf ball is very important,” he says. “Actually, I'm just thinking about making the ball roll [to the green]because it will collapse as it is in a downhill position, so it will come out a little hotter and have a lower trajectory.”

So if you encounter an uneven lie when the ball is under your feet, instead of fearing the result, use the tips above to confidently talk your ball into hitting the right shot.

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Nick Dimengo

Golf.com Editor