Tips On Hitting Out Of The Rough

Oh no, your ball landed in the rough again. There's a small area of the ball you can actually see but getting out may be no easy task. Obviously, we want to avoid being in the rough as much as possible in the first place but sooner or later we have to face one of these shots. Knowing what to do when hitting out of the rough and how to handle it can make a huge difference in your score. A poor shot out of the rough can lead to a lost stroke or getting into more trouble.

Hitting out of the rough can be difficult for many golfers. There are variations of your lie and the ball will react differently depending on what kind of lie you have in the rough. Learning how to judge and assess your lie and making a smart decision about the shot to hit will help you build confidence and escape the rough more easily. You should also make a few adjustments in your setup and swing to make getting out a smoother process. Below are a few helpful tips on how to improve your shots when hitting out of the rough.

Adjustments To Make When Hitting From The Rough

#1) Widen Your Stance. The reason for this is you want to give yourself a nice stable base to swing and turn around. A wide stance will help you get a good knee flex and maintain that knee flex throughout the swing so you get down into the rough and catch the ball solidly with your clubface.

#2) Strengthen Your Grip Pressure. On normal golf shots, we want our grip pressure to be moderate, meaning not too tight but not too loose either. You want to hold on to the club handle securely while you are making your golf swing. When hitting out of the rough, I recommend strengthening your grip pressure a bit to make sure you can move your clubhead through the rough and not let your grip loosen or slip at all. Hand and forearm strength helps on these shots and a slightly stronger grip and grip pressure will aid you as well. It will also benefit you to choke or grip down a little maybe a half an inch or so for even more control.

#3) Aim Your Clubface Slightly To The Right. When swinging through the rough, oftentimes the club face will be grabbed and pulled shut a little. This closes the face down to the left and the ball will go left after impact. To adjust for this, you can aim your clubface slightly to the right. This way, when the club turns over a little, your ball will fly straight towards your target.

#4) Make Your Swing More Vertical. With our golf swing we want to be hitting down on the golf ball to make sure it pops out completely and we get as much club on the ball as possible. If you can visualize more of a V-shaped swing path as opposed to a U-shaped path, you are doing good here. The deeper the rough and more difficult your lie, the more important it is to hit down on the ball to get it out.

Other Tips On Shots Hitting Out Of The Rough

Picking the right club from the rough will also be an advantage for you. Don't try to hit the most club and get the ball on the green if you don't think you can make great contact. It's better to layup with a short iron, get the ball in the fairway, hit a good wedge in and have a putt at par then to try to be a hero and take too much club. You'll end up making a bigger number more often than not by trying to do too much with a bad lie. Just do what you can do and make up for it on later shots and holes. Escaping a bad lie with an extra stroke isn't the worst case in the world and there will be birdies where you can make up for it later on.