A special club for getting out from under trees

[B-Con]

One of the most irritating things that happens to me during a standard round of golf is a poor tee-off that it lands in or just beyond the line of trees separating parallel fairways. At the course I normally play, the branches are often between 5 and 7 feet off the ground, and I've encountered this at other courses. So if I give a full or 3/4 hit with my 5-iron I'm still likely to hit a branch and have the ball drop dead 10 or so yards ahead of me. I'm rarely fortunate enough to have a line of sight to the green.

Obviously, the best solution would be to never tee off poorly -- I'm still working on that. But for the mean time, I've thought about getting a club just for the situation of having to hit amongst low-hanging tree branches.

My lowest lofted iron is a 4-iron, and my only current solution is to lay it over a bit and give -- at most -- a half swing, and hope I don't hit any trees. The solution works half-decently, but I really suck at using my 4-iron and I can't possibly bargain for more than 20 yards of carry with that sort of swing.

Thus my plan is to get a 2-iron head (found one for cheap online) and put it on a 9-iron shaft, that way I can hit an easy, controlled shot with a very low club face and hopefully have a consistent way to hit half-decently when I get stuck under trees. It won't be a club for distance, I just want to hit 60+ yards and not feel like I'm almost guaranteed of throwing away a stroke every time I end up under trees.

Any feedback or alternative solutions? What tricks do you guys have to handle such problems?

[sonomajake]

I keep a hybrid in my bag for that. I make a chipping type swing and really try to get my hands out in front of the club head. This keeps you from adding loft and the hybrids are way better going thru rough than a blade.

[alf174]

Agreed, a hybrid (bobby jones 2h) works best for me in these conditions. Its about the only thing I use it for, literally a rescue club.

[Mr3Putt]

I think the lesson that took me the longest to learn was do not compound the problem.

That simply means, if you get into trouble, trees or otherwise, just take your lumps. Punch the ball back into play, add your stroke and move on. Heroics will kill a scorecard.

Trying to advance the ball as far as you can with a modified 2 iron is asking for trouble. Use your 4 iron, putter, driver, hood a 6 iron, whatever.... and get the ball back to the fairway SAFELY. There is no need to have one club for a shot you hopefully will not have.

[Zeph]

No need to buy and modify a club for only this use. You can even use 6 or 5 iron with the proper technique. The difference of a 3 iron and 5 iron is the length and loft. If you tilt a 5 iron forward, you can effectively give it the loft of a 3 iron. For these shots I take the club I need, perhaps one more or less, depending on distance and any obstacles. I move the ball a little bit behind in my stance, but not too much. I might also grab down on the club. Close the face a little bit then make a 3/4 swing and punch the ball out low with my hands well in front of the ball at impact. That will de-loft the club and make the ball go low.

If It's too narrow, I might do what Mr3Putt advice and just get onto the fairway again and go for the green next. Still, I prefer going as far as I can. The closer I get to the green and hole, the bigger chance I have of hitting the ball close on the approach shot. There is no doubt I'm more precise with my 9i, PW or wedges than 5i-7i. If you practice it, you'll get used to it and be able to pull it off when needed.

A hybrid is useful in many ways, also here, but if you don't have other needs for the club, I wouldn't get one just for hitting from under the trees. If you are unable to stay clear of them, chances are you probably will struggle with hero shots like that.

[tricky]

I hood my seven iron for this type of shot. I find anything with a shaft any longer than that a bit awkward. I also find a hooded seven iron cuts through the rough much better than (say) a straight 3 iron.

It works though, despite not having good touch nor a good range of shots I am completely comfortable with this as an escape shot. As an example on my last round I drove quite deep into the trees on the left of our (tight driving hole) twelfth. Picking the biggest gap out between the trees my hooded seven iron advanced the ball about 100 yards. I stiffed the tough wedge shot (bunker in front and right with the flag close to the right hand bunker and little green to work with, slope from the bunker down to the hole - I had to land the ball in the fringe about a yard left of the bunker) to six inches (via a slight dip as it went around the rim of the hole) and tapped in for a par 4. Those two shots are what will get me back for my next round (the rest of that round was pretty shocking).

Anyway. Hooded seven iron for me, at the moment, although I am starting to experiment with a 17 degree rescue hybrid (more because I need it to bridge the gap between my three iron, and three wood, than for this type of shot).

[Golfaway]

I just use my 4 iron for these types of punch shots, and I love then. I can usually play this type of shot that starts low lofted then goes upwards. By the time it starts it's ascent it had already passed the trees and is out on the open fairway towards the green.

I rarely do a GIR with that type of shot, but to be on the green in 3 strokes with that kind of a bad lie for the 2nd is just ok for me.

[RocketSauce]

#4 hybrid here. i just choke down on it and pop it out. works great too. ive done that VERY recently too. and the hot face of the hybrid REALLY helps it pop out of there too. the last time i did this (about 2-3 weeks ago) i was underneath a tree with 120 yards to the green. i could only do about a 1/4 backswing because of the branches, but i popped it out and it ended up on the front part of the green, and i 2 putted for par. i couldnt have done that with an iron though because the ball wouldnt have come off that face as hot as it does with a hybrid

[BigTazz53]

My escape club from these type lies, is my 5 wood choked down and played back in stance using 1/2 to 3/4 swing to punch it 80-120 yards and keeping it low.

Good luck in your hunt

[klaymon]

Definitely no need to add a "tree club", you already have a bunch of them. My typical get-out-of-woods-free card is my 6 iron. I aim myself right of my target line and slightly close down the face of the club and focus on making solid contact. Distance needed will dictate how hard I swing. It can be anything from a hard chip to a full swing. I can usually keep it at 5' or less off the ground if I need to and still get a good distance. The hooded club face helps get some roll to make up for the lack of height.

[youngskip40]

Have you ever tried a foot wedge?

Kidding. I'm going to give another vote for a hybrid. My 2 hybrid is great either for the "take your lumps" approach of chipping it out to a playable spot in the fairway, or if I'm feeling more aggressive I can hit a low screamer under the trees and it still has enough velocity to stay airborne long enough to be able to chase one onto the green.

I think you'd be wasting a valuable spot in your bag by creating a club to do that job. You can definitely learn to play that shot with at least one club in your bag. I have a lot of luck with the hybrid in that situation, but you should learn to do it with a few different clubs for different situations.

[ApocG10]

I usually find a clear path and just get it out somewhere with a light hybrid chip to a part of the course where I can get a full swing. No use going for the impossible shot and putting yourself in an even worse lie.

[Fat Slice]

1. punch out, eat a stroke, play on. (smart move most of the time)

2. hood an iron, back in stance, controlled swing (needs practice, but effective).

3. if I have a fluffy lie and missed to the right, i might choke up THE DRIVER and play it a little back in my stance, anticipating another slice. (fun, works great sometimes, not enough to do it when it counts)

[ItsAllRelative]

i just learned this shot at the range this week. i take my 3iron, play the ball off my back heel, and keep my hands in front of the ball. swing hard and take a divot. i can carry it 110 yards while only getting 5 feet off the ground, it's actually a really fun shot to play with.

[zeg]

ItsAllRel-- I use a similar shot (with my 3I before it snapped off at the hosel... dont think it was from doing this). It was always a better shot than my full 3I swings, except that I had trouble aiming. I think I usually failed to square with the ball so far back, so it tended to squirt right. Once I got that under control, I was seriously thinking about replacing my full swing on the fairway with it...

[Blades4me]

One of the most irritating things that happens to me during a standard round of golf is a poor tee-off that it lands in or just beyond the line of trees separating parallel fairways. At the course I normally play, the branches are often between 5 and 7 feet off the ground, and I've encountered this at other courses. So if I give a full or 3/4 hit with my 5-iron I'm still likely to hit a branch and have the ball drop dead 10 or so yards ahead of me. I'm rarely fortunate enough to have a line of sight to the green.

LOL, you are almost there. You just need to learn how to do a punch shot with the 4i. Generally, when doing a punch shot you just want the ball to end up in a place where you will have a good lie for the next shot.

[sp33d]

I play 3-4 iron, put it almost on my back foot to keep it as low as possible. has never failed me.

[Meddle]

In that situation I usually use a choke-down 3 hybrid, but if you're really into the new club idea, check out the Cluch Golf iron. It has a really heavy head for getting the ball out of heavy rough and a really short shaft, I'd say like a sand wedge. You can find it on ebay for around 20, search "Cluch golf iron".