Golf Shots: Hitting from Thick Rough

Congratulations, your ball is not in the woods or the water…but it’s in some thick rough off the fairway. What do you do now?

First things first; assess how deep and buried your ball is.  Choosing the right club and determining the type of shot you will play is strictly dictated by your lie. Rough grass creates resistance when the club swings through as it causes the club to slow down before impact.

The heavier the rough, the faster the club slows causing the shot to lose distance. Determining how much grass is going to interfere with the club head before impact is essential to hitting rough shots well.

Once you determine your lie and choose the correct club, set up normally for your shot. Strike the ball with a normal swing and don’t try to ‘over muscle it’ because of the thick grass. This is when golfers like you and me lose focus and begin to drift from our normal easy swing. Let the club do the work.

Don’t crank up the juice – just club up.  If you are 175 yards from your target and would normally use a 5 iron, take out a 4 or maybe a soft 3. The longer club will give the muscle you need to power through the thick terrain.

It is important to strike the ball cleanly and not swing down at it.  Come through the ball a few inches behind it and swing smoothly. Again…don’t ‘muscle it!’  Some professionals claim that a tighter grip will help you through the resistance of the high grass.

Last but not least, try to avoid the rough all together and hit everything in the fairway. Wouldn’t that be nice?