In putting, the force with which a golfer strikes a ball is planned so that the ball will stop within some small distance of the cup, say, 1.0m long or short, in case the putt is missed. Accomplishing this from an uphill lie that is, putting downhill, see Fig.2-39 is more difficult than from a downhill lie. To see why, assume that on a particular green the ball decelerates constantly at 2.0m/s2 going downhill, and constantly at 3.0m/s2 going uphill. Suppose we have an uphill lie 7.0m from the cup. Calculate the allowable range of initial velocities we may impart to the ball so that it stops in the range 1.0m short to 1.0m long of the cup. Do the same for a downhill lie 7.0m from the cup. What in your results suggests that the downhill putt is more difficult?

Uphill lie Downhill lie -7.0 m. 7.0 m