The ball was on the fairway. There was a slight downward slope towards the target, and the ball was somehow slightly buried a bit deeper than you normally see it on a flat fairway with very short grass.

I'm not quite sure what it means to be plugged or embedded in its own pitch mark? But I'd sure like to know so I won't shortchange myself of a stroke or two!

So given the situation above, I should have gone with a short iron? Would a 5i have been inappropriate when the ball is on a downslope towards the target?