What Is A Flyer Lie In Golf?
If you hit your ball into the rough and your golf ball is still in contact with the ground, then you have a flyer lie.
With a flyer lie, the thick grass in the rough tends to come between your clubface and the golf ball itself. When you hit the ball, little backspin happens and it actually flies with little to no backspin.
If you practice on your distance and shot angle, you can easily reduce the chances of hitting flyers on the golf course. It will still happen from time to time, especially when there is a ton of wind during your game.
Table of Contents
What Does A Flyer Lie Look Like In Golf?
When your golf ball ends up in the rough ( tall grass outside of the normal course fairway ), it can end up being caught up in tall “unmanaged” grass. With a flyer lie, your ball can be impossible to find depending on the height of the grass itself.
Unlike a fluffy lie, the flyer lie normally will have the ball in actual contact with the ground but the grass is covering or mostly covering the ball. This does make hitting the golf ball far more difficult than if it was above the grass surface or floating on the grass tops like a “fluffy lie” does.
I tend to scoot my stance back a bit when hitting flyer lies. Dealing with thick grass where I live is a given. We have thick grass on my favorite course and it has helped me practice with my swing as well as golf club choice.
What Causes A Flyer Lie In Golf?
It is a combination between the grass in the rough being taller than the normal field of play on the green and an error in shot angle ( operator error lol ). It can also happen when wind gusts or other weather comes up or you simply just hooked it too hard out of bounds.
The main causes of a flyer lie in golf is when a golfer has misjudged their angle and distance and hits the ball into the rough. When the ball settles into the grass itself, it sinks down and makes contact with the grass. The ball is then hidden down in the grass making it much more difficult to hit the ball accurately.
A few weeks ago, I was golfing with some buddies and my one bud Jeff must have hit his ball into the rough a good 8 times. Not sure what was up with his game that day BUT it did allow me to watch someone adjust for flyer lie vs fluffy lie.
How To Prevent A Flyer Lie In Golf?
The best way to prevent flyer lies in golf is to always keep your ball in bounds and out of the rough. Sounds so simple doesn’t it? Yes, life doesn’t always work out that way or at least it doesn’t for me lol.
To prevent a flyer lie in golf, make sure and keep your golf club angle and swing strength dialed in so you will not hit your golf ball out of bounds or into the rough. If you find yourself constantly going into the rough hitting flyer lies, adjust to the left or right when you are setting up your next stroke to adjust for your current shot angle.
Once you find yourself trying to hit a flyer lie ball in the rough, you need to focus on golf club selection.
- Flyer Lie Fix: Use more club with a lighter swing or go down one club and use your regular swing
- Deep Rough Lie Fix: Use less club with a harder stroke of the
What Is A Fluffy Lie In Golf?
I would rather have a fluffy lie myself. I do better with the ball up on the grass versus being buried down into the grass. When you have to play it as it lies, it does allow you to chop at grass or create large grass divots as you rack up swing attempts.
A fluffy lie is very similar to a flyer lie. Instead of the ball having contact with the ground and being buried by the tall grass, a fluffy lie is held up off the ground by the grass itself. This “fluffy” look is like the ball is somewhat floating above the ground itself held up by the blades of grass.
One thing that you can do is to actually practice by putting your ball into a fluffy lie position and practice with at least 3 different clubs. See which club gives you the best accuracy compared to distance.
What Does A Fluffy Lie Look Like In Golf?
Some golf courses are managed better than others. With grass, there could be parts on the course that seems like the rough but it is simply tall grass that needs a groundskeeper to deal with. As the grass gets longer, dealing with it can take a bit of practice on your part.
A fluffy lie looks like a ball floating on top of tall grass at a golf course. Most times this grass is outside of the fairway and tends to be closer to out of bounds than the fairway.
If you are playing with friends, you can always ask what the drop rules are for your game. If it is in the rough can you remove grass or lift up the ball to gain access to the backside of the ball. It really depends on how much of a stickler you all are when it comes to golf rules.
What Causes A Fluffy Lie In Golf?
Thick sections of grass will cause a fluffy lie and this normally happens with dryer patches of grass in the rough versus freshly watered grass. Fresh or newly watered grass on golf courses will actually sag and lay low compared to dry and underwater grass.
Having stiff dry grass will allow the ball to “float” on top of the blades of grass itself. This floating above the grass is called a “fluffy lie” in golf and adjusting your club choice down tends to fix the flyer.
The 5 iron and 6 iron have been my go to clubs but you really should test it out yourself. I have seen people clearing the rough using most golf clubs. Some will obviously go the distance and others will just barely get out of the rough.
It depends on what the golfer is shooting for. Some people simply want to putt or wedge their ball out of the rough and others want to actually try and swing to attempt to get it to the green.
How To Prevent A Fluffy Lie In Golf?
There really isn’t anything that you can do to prevent a fluffy lie in golf. It has more to deal with the golf courses upkeep versus your golf skillset.
If you plan your games on days before they water, you will have a higher chance of fluffy liers versus flyer lies. Wet grass will lay down whereas dry grass will tend to stand up tall.
This is still a scenario that you should practice however. Instead of focusing on how to avoid hazards, traps and the rough, you should place your ball in bad predicaments so you can learn how to adapt and play through them.
What Are The Best Irons To Use To Hit Flyers?
With short irons like the PW,9 and 8 being able to hit flyers is very hit and miss. If you want the most bang for your buck, you should test out the middle irons like the 7,6,5 and 4 irons.
Setup a flyer lie and a fluffy lie for each shot and test out the various irons you have with you. See which club works best for the length of grass and the amount of backspin needed to get the ball to where you are wanting.
Just like most sports, you need to practice in different situations and circumstances. You can create practice scenarios for yourself and your fellow golfing buddies to improve your golf game.
