Let’s face it, the rough will never disappear, so you may as well get used to handling it. In fact, with the right attitude playing in the rough can be quite an adventure, for unexpected things sometimes happen whilst there. Greg Norman claims that he can hit the ball longer and straighter from the rough than from anywhere. Whether you want to emulate him or not, you’ll get plenty of practice to do so as you continue your golf.
Most lies in the rough are known as fliers, due to their tendency to go a lot further than you planned for. This is because the long blades of grass get between your club and the ball preventing the usual friction and backspin. Without backspin your ball flies on forever and when it does roll, it just keeps on keeping on. The thing to do is use less club than you would for a fairway shot of the same length. It is not recommended to use any of your long-shafted steep-faced clubs for hitting a flier as they don’t’ handle the long grass as well as the shorter clubs. The middle to short clubs are the ones to use from the rough – they’ll give you all you need to get out of it. 1, 2 and 3-irons or woods are too long for the rough.
Read the rest of this entry