Uphill & DownhillUphill & DownhillGoal: When playing shots uphill and downhill, the effective distance you need to play is changed.A very simple rule of thumb will get you in the right ballpark, but you do need to be aware of other factors as well
Nearly all of you will know this simple formula, so I won't elaborate too much, but you must be aware that there are other factors to consider, such as green speeds and slope and the wind. A downhill shot to a hard and fast green will obviously kick on more than you imagine while an uphill shot to a soft slow green sloping towards you will stop like a stone and probably spin back some. The tried and trusted formula is to take the yardage up/downhill and add/subtract that to the shot so a 130 yard shot to a green 43 feet above you would be roughly the same as a shot of 144 yards ( 43/3=14.3 yards, 130+14.3=144.3 yards) so an 8iron would be needed as opposed to a 9iron. You should be careful of lies as this will have an effect.especially when the lie is in the same "direction" as the shot, so a downhill shot off a downhill lie will go much further than normal and an uphill shot off an uphill lie will go really short.Soon, you'll realise that this formula is good as a general rule but you'll soon be experienced enough to factor in the lie / green speed / slopes / wind so you can start from the basic formula and then adjust slightly in your head for each shot, again make notes of the shots which work and where a shot went wrong so you can learn from all your rounds.
By the way, you might also see some charts suggesting the yardage factor for uphill shots is one half the elevation in feet and not a third(which is the same as the yardage since 3 feet = 1 yard ). You'll have to come to your own decision about this, it's not a method I use, but as I say there are so many other factors to consider that it's hard to say one way or the other...probably for very big uphill shots you might need to add more ( use the feet/2 and not feet/3 ). Also, another slight difference you might see is for shots into the wind which are downhill, instead of deducting the downhill distance in feet divided by three, there is a school of thought that you should only deduct about two thirds of that adjustment ( ie if shot is 12 yards downhill, you would normally think deduct 12 yards from the shot, but if the wind is in your face deduct about 2/3*12 = 8 yards).
You really do have to consider the slopes on the green and the green speeds and think how the ball will react once it hits the green depending on the surface and shape ( the green / pin camera can help here )..you should be particularly aware that uphill shots to greens which slope towards you take a lot of backspin, particularly when the greens are soft...sometimes helps to hit half-shots with a longer club here.
Conclusion: Uphill and downhill shots shouldnt trouble you too much, although they will occasionally mean you will have to accept a long putt for birdie ( downhill shots to hard/fast greens are hard to stop close) rather than get close. Uphill or downhill adjust the shot by approximately the yardage of the elevation ( ie feet/3 ) but remember you may need to hit slightly more to very uphill greens and when hitting into the wind.
Key Points:
UPHILL : Add yardage of uphill to the shot ( ie. the elevation in feet divided by three ).....try feet/2 for very uphill shots or sloping greens
DOWNHILL : Subtract yardage of downhill, except in a headwind ( subtract yardage*2/3)..watch for kick on hard/fast greens