Fluffy rough

I feel I'm hitting the ball pretty well at the moment but seem to struggle off the kind of dense, wiry, fluffy rough that snags on the clubhead. Even if I catch the ball fairly cleanly I just don't seem to get any distance as I guess the grass is decelerating the clubhead. It's a particular problem on approach shots to greens as the distance control seems extremely difficult.

Apart from swinging like a maniac, does anyone have any tips for hitting good shots out of this stuff.

Hi Paul,

Other than technic ie, opening the clubface slightly and hitting the ball first there maybe one main reason if the above fails.

swing plane..............you may have a flat swing into the ball, comming from inside can cause the hosel to catch the ground first....especially in the rough this would explain the regularity of failer to achieve any distance.

Try standing with a little narrower stance for this type of shot, this will create a steeper angle of attack into the ball. Long term you may wish to look at your approach into the ball, i suspect it maybe to inside.

Hope this helps

Ian

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Once you learn the swing, your next step is mastering golf psychology................

Thanks Ian, you were spot on! I had a couple of similar lies today and just set up to play a little fade; I made a good, crisp connection and the ball flew high and long.

I have actually been working on coming at the ball from the inside a little and it's helping me hit high draws but I may have overdone it a little. Today I worked on being a tiny bit more upright and was hitting the ball even sweeter.

Ph,

I agree with Ian, try a 7 iron or s/w (dependant distance from hole) grip half way down the grip, ball slightly forward of centre, club face slightly open and use a 3/4 upright swing.

I think another problem with fluffy rough is that it's easy to swing the club too deep and hit under the ball, catching it near the top edge. The result is a ball that pops up high and goes 10 feet if you're lucky, with no roll.

When around the green in fluffy rough i try to cock my wrist more when using the lob wedge and keep it cocked when hittin the ball, having feet fairly close together and the ball in front of feet.. It works quite consistently for me. Especially if the ball is buried in the fluffy rough. It also has worked for me with the longer irons on the fairway, however keep the normal stance you would usually use.