Welcome back to your golf journey. If you’ve been following along, you’ve learned some key skills for bunker shots, but today, we’re shifting our focus to a different challenge: the rough. Whether you find your ball buried in thick grass or just in the light stuff, how you handle a rough lie can make a big difference to your overall score. It’s time to learn how to get out of the rough effectively.
In this blog post, we’ll break down the different types of rough, how to adjust your swing and club selection, and share tips to ensure you hit your shot with confidence. Let’s dive in!
Understanding the Rough: Types of Lies
First things first—what exactly is the rough? The rough is the area of longer grass surrounding the fairway. The challenge of the rough is that the longer grass can grab the clubface, which can affect the distance, direction, and control of your shot. There are two main types of rough:
Light Rough
- Characteristics: Light rough consists of grass that is moderately long, but not so thick that it severely interferes with your swing. Your ball will typically sit up in the grass, making it easier to strike cleanly.
- How it affects your shot: Light rough doesn’t offer too many complications, but it can reduce the distance of your shot slightly due to the resistance from the grass.
Thick Rough
- Characteristics: Thick rough is much more challenging. The grass is long and dense, and the ball is likely to be buried deep within the grass. Shots from thick rough tend to be unpredictable.
- How it affects your shot: Thick rough can cause the clubface to get caught in the grass, leading to mis-hits, loss of distance, or difficulty in getting under the ball.
Understanding the type of rough you’re in will help determine how to approach the shot.
How to Approach a Shot from the Rough
Assess the Situation
Before you make any decisions, take a moment to assess the lie of the ball:
- Ball Position: Is the ball sitting up, or is it buried?
- Grass Thickness: Is the grass light or thick?
- Distance to the Hole: How far are you from the green?
Once you know the type of rough and how the ball is sitting, you can decide which club to use and what adjustments to make.
Adjusting Your Stance and Swing
The biggest mistake beginners make when hitting from the rough is trying to swing the same way as they would from the fairway. But in the rough, you need to make some key adjustments to your stance and swing to avoid getting caught in the grass.
| Adjustment | Why It’s Important |
| Widen your stance | Helps you stay balanced and steady while swinging through the thick grass. |
| Shift more weight forward | Ensures better contact with the ball and prevents the club from digging too much. |
| Shorten your swing | A shorter, controlled swing helps you avoid too much interference from the grass. |
| Focus on solid contact | In rough lies, the key is not to overpower the shot but to focus on making clean, controlled contact. |
Club Selection: Light vs. Thick Rough
Choosing the right club is crucial when you’re in the rough.
- For Light Rough: You can use the same clubs you would normally use for fairway shots, but it’s often wise to select one club less. The grass will slow down the ball a little, so you want to compensate for the loss of distance.
- Example: If you’re 150 yards from the green, you might want to use a 7-iron instead of your usual 6-iron.
- For Thick Rough: You’ll need to adjust by choosing a club that can cut through the thicker grass and get under the ball. A club with a wider sole (such as a hybrid or a 5-iron) is often better for this type of lie.
| Club | Best For |
| Driver/3-wood | Avoid in thick rough—use only on light rough for distance. |
| Long Irons | Better for light rough. Less effective in thick rough. |
| Hybrids | Ideal for thick rough as they can cut through dense grass. |
| Wedges | Great for short shots from both roughs, but use more loft in thick rough. |
The Swing: How to Cut Through the Rough
Once you’ve selected your club and adjusted your stance, it’s time to swing. The swing from the rough isn’t drastically different, but there are a few key tips to keep in mind:
Focus on Hitting Down on the Ball
In the rough, it’s crucial to strike the ball cleanly. Focus on hitting down into the ball rather than trying to scoop it. This ensures you make solid contact, even when the grass is trying to pull the clubface off course.
Avoid Overhitting
Don’t try to overpower the shot. Thick rough can sap your clubhead speed, so it’s better to make a controlled, smooth swing rather than a fast, aggressive one. Trying to muscle the ball through the rough often leads to poor results.
Follow Through
A full follow-through is still important, but make sure to adjust the follow-through to the thickness of the grass. If you’re in thick rough, you might notice that your swing will slow down after hitting the ball, and that’s perfectly fine. It’s all about making solid contact.
How to Handle Special Rough Situations
Ball in Deep Rough
When the ball is deeply buried in thick rough, it becomes more difficult to get under it and lift it into the air. Here’s what to do:
- Use a club with more loft, such as a sand wedge or lob wedge.
- Grip down slightly on the club to get a more controlled swing.
- Try to swing with a steeper angle, which will allow you to avoid too much grass interference.
Ball in Wet Rough
Wet grass can be even more difficult to play from, as it becomes denser and can grab your clubface more easily.
- Choose a larger-headed club, like a hybrid, which is better at cutting through wet grass.
- Use a controlled swing to prevent the club from getting stuck in the grass.
Key Tips to Improve Your Rough Game
Here are some final tips to help you improve your game when you’re in the rough:
- Practice with different lies: Try to practice in both light and thick rough to get comfortable with both situations.
- Stay patient: It’s easy to get frustrated when you land in the rough, but staying calm and patient will help you make better decisions and execute better shots.
- Use the rough to your advantage: Sometimes, the rough can be forgiving. If you have a lie that’s sitting up well in light rough, you might be able to use it to hit a powerful shot.
Conclusion
Getting out of the rough effectively is all about making the right adjustments to your technique and mindset. By assessing the lie, selecting the correct club, adjusting your stance, and focusing on clean contact, you can handle any rough lie with confidence. Remember, practice is the key, so take time to practice from both light and thick rough to improve your consistency.
Our next post will cover How Do I Plan My Shots to Avoid Hazards? so stay tuned and keep practicing.
