Getting distance and accuracy out of the rough can be challenging. So we asked a few local PGA professional “how do you hit it long and straight out of the thick stuff?”
BE AGGRESSIVE
Firstly assess your lie in the long rough and the trouble ahead. Sometimes you will have to take your medicine and play it out to a safe spot short of the green. Understand that the long grass is going to wrap around the hosel and club shaft, influencing your clubface to shut. Therefore this shot requires that you will favor a firm slice release to hit it straight. Be sure to select a club that has enough loft to flight the ball up and out of the grass. It will also help if you play the ball a little back in the stance and steepen the swing. Be aggressive and power the club through the long rough to get to the leading edge to bottom of the ball. Smash the ball back into play, stroll down the fairway and tidy up for par.
Geoff Murtha
Australian P.G.A. Professional Class AAA
Golf Coach, Dove Canyon Country Club
LOFT AND LIE
One of the keys to golf is reading your lie condition. Whether your ball is on a tee or in a divot there is an optimum downward angle or upward angle in the case of the teed ball. There are a few ways to create steepness that include your ball position to leaning the shaft toward the target. Here’s an example, if your ball is sitting down in angle high rough you have to hack it out with a very steep downward blow. You’re going to have to use a very lofted club to off set the steepness of this attack angle. The steeper the downward angle the lower the ball flight. I find golfers seldom take enough loft and they don’t get the trajectory to get out of the trouble or reach the green. Depending on the severity of the rough it might be the difference of just one club less all the way up to your most lofted club to get the ball out to a better place.
Kris Moe
Kris Moe Golf Schools
www.krismoegolfschools.com
ROUGH LANDING
Simple fact: If your ball is in the rough, you have made a mistake. The first bit of advice is DON’T COMPOUND ONE MISTAKE WITH ANOTHER! Don’t be a hero, get the ball as close to the green as the lie will allow, and lean on your short game. Plug these pre-shot adjustments into your setup, use your normal swing, and you will still have a par putt to read:
* BALL POSITION Play the ball back in your stance to avoid trapping too much grass between the club face and golf ball
* CLUB SELECTION The worse the lie, the further the ball goes back in the stance, which will require a club with more loft to ensure enough ‘air time’ to get to the fairway
* WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION Move 5-10% of your weight onto your target side foot, to increase descent on the downswing
Seth Glasco
Director of Instruction
Monarch Beach Golf Links
“CHOKE” IT OUT
When you are in the rough you still want to get to that par 5 in two! So do I, the goal then is to find a way to get the most club you can on the ball to achieve maximum distance. To do this you must take extra club and choke down on the grip. This lower loft will help the ball to fly as far as you will need it to, and the shorter shaft will give you the leverage you need to get through the rough. The last and most important part of executing this shot is to be aggressive. Any deceleration or lack of commitment will result in a shot that is way off line and most likely well short of the target. The ball flight will be lower and the spin less than from the fairway. So make sure too plan your line and landing spots appropriately.
Scott Heyn
PGA General Manager
Black Gold Golf Club
GET SET UP
During the PGA Championship last month, it was evident how the long rough presented major challenges for even the top pros on Tour. A golfer’s first goal is to catch the ball solid in order to achieve desired distance and accuracy. One must hover the clubface just above and slightly behind the ball at address, never ground the club like a normal shot. Next, depending on the severity of the lie, the player must move the ball position slightly back in the stance. An example would be to play a six iron like an eight iron, an eight iron like a wedge and so on. It is imperative to slightly open the clubface at address because the long rough has a habit of closing the clubface at impact often resulting in a pull hook. The most crucial thought during the swing is to maintain a firmer lead arm on the downswing to promote greater extension towards the target. Floppy arms in severe rough will surely give you inconsistent and undesirable results. Next time you’re in the rough, don’t panic. Just adhere to a few set up keys and one swing thought. Then you will be well on your way to longer and straighter shots!
Ben Weir
Director of Instruction, PGA
Red Mountain Ranch CC
ASSESS AND AIM
The rough can penalize a sub-par tee shot, but with these tips you’ll be as confident as you are in the fairway. Number 1 is assessing the lie. If your ball is sitting down, chances are you need to club up and trust the yardage. Second, you would want to aim a bit right of target if you’re a right-handed golfer and a bit left if you’re a left-handed golfer. The rough will want to grab the hosel of the club and shut the face so just adjust for the pull. The third tip would be to focus mostly on contact. If you have to hit a punch shot to create solid contact, so be it. It will pay off in the end!
Albert Corral
Assistant Golf Professional
Sandpiper Golf Club
ANGLE OF ATTACK
If you have a relatively flat swing with a shallow angle of attack, it causes problems because the club head gets lower to the ground sooner on the down swing and thus has that much more rough to fight through to get to the ball. You might want to try creating a little steeper angle of attack when faced with these situations.
To do that, play the ball a bit further back in your stance, maybe a couple ball-widths more than normal. When you begin your back swing, try and have the feeling of picking the club up, more than swinging it low and around your body, like when you hit from a bunker.
By doing this, your club head will approach the ball from a steeper angle. It will have less rough to muscle through and will allow you to make better contact.
Devin Hillman
Head Golf Professional
Pinetop Country Club
PAIN IN THE GRASS
Two simple words, HIT DOWN. Hitting onto the green from thick rough requires a descending blow with greater speed in order to create enough spin to lift the ball into the air. To help make this shot easier, there are setup adjustments and changes in course management. In the setup, place the ball closer to the center of your stance and choose a club with plenty of loft, longer clubs with less loft will struggle to get the ball high enough to fly onto the green. Better course management, such as aiming away from trouble areas and allowing for extra roll also make the shot easier. Deep rough can cause a clubhead to twist like a propeller, making it difficult to hit a straight shot. The long grass also reduces the amount of friction a regular swing would produce, which limits the amount of backspin and makes the ball release more when it lands. Using extra loft, hitting down aggressively, and choosing a landing area away from trouble will help get you back into play and onto the green more often.
Jeff Kopchia
Instructor
Roger Dunn Golf Lab
