Nowadays, golf course owners and superintendents try and toughen up their courses by letting the grass grow long off the fairway. The rough as it is called does pose some problems but knowing what to expect can make you game a little better.

The first assessment of the shot is how deep the ball is sitting in the grass. This will determine basically how far you can advance the ball. If you have a long way to go and there is lots of grass around the ball then you might considering taking your wedge out and chopping the ball back to the fairway. However if the ball is sitting up reasonably then you should go for the green. There are a couple of tips to keep in mind. First a wood is easy to hit out of the rough than an iron as the wood will glide through the grass and the iron will get caught in the long grass. Second the ball will come out with little backspin so it will not stop very quickly. You should allow for this and take less club.

For shots around the green in long rough, this poses other problems. Treating it like a sand shot and blasting out of the rough is one solution. Using a lofted club and chopping it out is another. Remember that the ball will come out with little spin and run quite a bit so you need to allow for this.

Making good decisions on how the ball will react is as important as having a good swing when it comes to playing the game. Good golfing!

Tags: Lessons in Golf // Add Comment »