Tip #6: Get A Handle On Flyer Lies

Most lies in the rough are known as "flyers" because of their tendency to produce shots that fly a lot farther than you intended them to.

A single change in ball position is all you need to handle a flyer.

I wasn't a professional long before I learned the danger of the dreaded "flyer lie." During the 1980 Australian Open, I had a one-shot lead when I drove my tee shot into the rough on the 17th hole, a par five. I had 260 yards to the green and a downhill lie, so I elected to lay up in front of the green with a 5-iron. As so often happens, in trying to put an extra-smooth swing on the ball, I nailed it dead flush. It jumped out of the rough and flew forever -- not landing short of the green, not landing on the green, but in fact sailing clear over the green and leaving me a full wedge back to the pin. In all, that 5-iron traveled more than 300 yards.

I hung on to win that Open by a stroke, but that shot taught me a valuable lesson -- expect the unexpected in the rough.

So what is it about a flyer lie that creates such distance? It is caused by blades of grass that get between your clubface and ball at impact, which inhibits normal friction and backspin. The ball shoots out of the lie like a high-speed knuckleball. It flies higher and farther than a crisp fairway shot, and with no backspin it hits the ground running.

Virtually every time your ball nestles into light, dry rough, you have a flyer lie. The first thing to remember is to use less club that you would for a fairway shot of the same distance. If from 170 yards you'd normally hit a 5-iron fairway approach, go down to a 6- iron and maybe even a 7-iron from the rough. Today's square-grooved irons minimize the flyer effect somewhat, particularly for stronger players, but you should still take an extra club from flyer lies.

Your technique on this shot should be geared toward minimizing the intervention of the grass. In other words, you want to hit the ball as cleanly as possible. To do that, you need to move the ball back in your stance. If, for instance, on a 5-iron shot from the fairway you position the ball off your left heel, move it back to a spot an inch to the right of your heel for a shot from the rough.

This ball position should leave your hands slightly ahead of the clubface at address. From that setup you'll tend to swing the club up a bit more vertically on the backswing and return it a bit more steeply to the ball. With this steeper attack the clubface will come down on the ball rather than brush through the grass.

This single change in ball position is all you need to handle a flyer. Just make your normal swing as if you were in the fairway. There's no need to swing any harder or softer or to make any special movements or maneuvers. Just trust your golf swing and apply it confidently to the ball. If you make reasonable contact with this shot, it will fly far and straight.

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