Email
PrintGolf Tip: How to hit solid from the rough
First and foremost, accurately access the lie of the ball. How deep the ball is in the rough, or how deeply buried, will determine the club you hit and the type of shot you play.
If the ball is sitting where some portion of the ball is above the tallest blades and a minimal amount of grass will be between the ball and the club face, loss of club-head speed distance will be minimized.
With this lie, take one more club than you normally would and also consider using a high-lofted fairway wood or hybrid. High-lofted fairway woods and hybrids work better in all but really nasty lies, because irons have a taller clubface profile that creates greater drag on the club as it moves through the rough. The center of gravity of lofted woods and hybrids is lower, thus making it easier to get under the ball and get it airborne.
For a lie where the ball is even with the top of the grass, also take an extra club to offset the loss of distance and change your technique slightly.
Your swing needs to be steeper or more upright; this will allow the club to come at a steeper angle, hitting the ball cleanlier. Choking down on the club and hinging the wrists more quickly on the backswing can accomplish this.
In addition, position the ball in the middle of your stance, open both your stance and club face, widen your stance slightly and increase your grip pressure in both hands.
The longer grass will have a tendency to wrap itself around the hosel of the club at impact, so the increased grip pressure and steeper angle of attack will help to alleviate this common fault.
If you find yourself in extremely deep rough, say shin-deep or worse, take your lumps and just get the ball back in play.
It will be very difficult to hit anything but your most lofted club (sand wedge, lob wedge) and use the techniques mentioned here. Try to get the ball back on the fairway so you limit the damage to your score. Trying something more aggressive from these lies could and will most liking be a score killer.
