Would you rather have ...

[whatwoodtigerdo]

I usually putt from 140 yards but the rough would make it hard to do that. I am still in the closer is better camp though. Rough around here is pretty much nothing. I could still putt it usually.

[tristanhilton85]

I'd take the closer shot from the rough every time. The biggest factor on how close your shot ends up after you hit it is how close it was before you hit it.

[Fourputt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by boogielicious

OK, now I will give you the adjusted club selection for shorter hitters like me.  140-150 is an 8 or 7 iron.  170-180 is a 5 or 4 iron or 3H depending on wind, lie, etc.  Would you change your approach if it was a 4 iron versus 8 iron from the rough?  If I could hit a 7 iron 180, then I may opt to your choice, but alas, age creeps up on us all.

This doesn't add up.  If you are hitting 150 with 7i on fairway, you will not be able to carry 150 with 7i in sizable rough.  I believe survey mentioned tough but not US Open tough rough.  My hard 7i is 160 - 167ish but from rough I sometimes can't even carry 150.  I believe one should be able to hit the same club in both scenarios and have similar result. 140 vs. 170 and 150 vs. 180, not 140 vs. 180

The OP's premise is not "sizable" rough.  It was postulated from the start that the rough is not especially penal.  You can't throw new curves into the discussion or it invalidates the poll and two thirds of the answers.

And I'm with Boogie L that 180 yards is a 5I or possibly my 5 hybrid.

[billchao]

I'd just like to add to the discussion that I'd "rather avoid" the "run of the mill rough" mostly because it indicates my accuracy isn't good (missed fairway). Really, being in standard rough is not going to cost you more strokes than being 30 yards farther out, especially if you take a few seconds to consider how the lie will affect the ball and adjust for it.

[BuckeyeNut]

If the rough isn't penile, I'd take the shorter shot every time.   I formerly belonged to a club that had the most dense/thickest rough you can imagine.   The grass wasn't even THAT long, but any missed fairway could lead to a lost ball.

I documented this in the past........

This is rough that is freshly cut....can you see the ball?

A close-up view of the same lie in fresh cut grass..........This is stiff bluegrass.  Not wispy Bermuda.

Heaven forbid we get rain and the grass grows for 3 days between cuttings, and then this is the typical lie we'd get after missing a fairway.

I know all about lost balls simply by missing a fairway by a few inches.....sheesh....

I no longer have a membership at the above course, but they had some AMAZINGLY difficult rough!   If I was at my old home club, I'd opt for the fairway approach alternative every time...LOL

[MS256]

I picked the rough but "run of the mill rough that we would all rather avoid" is fairly subjective.

What that means to each person could vary just enough to change the decision.

[isukgolf]

I rarely hit a fairway and when I do, I chunk the next shot ... honestly ...

the rough is my comfort zone ...

[Lihu]

I usually putt from 140 yards but the rough would make it hard to do that. I am still in the closer is better camp though. Rough around here is pretty much nothing. I could still putt it usually.

I knew this thread was going to get to this point, just thought it would progress more slowly like the distance threads.

I'm 28 and I don't hit a 7i 180 yards. Man, I thought I hit it pretty far, too.

Still rather hit a wedge than a mid iron, though.

Yup.

Seriously though, I just watched someone carry an 8i 170, so it's not impossible.

[Strandly]

I voted 170-180 since I'm somewhat comfortable with a 4 or 5 iron and because I've been burned a bit lately on rough shots due to not knowing how much I need to choke up in order to pick a ball off a fluffed up lie.  I've hit multiple shots out of the rough this summer that went 1/2 or 3/4 the distance I needed because I caught the ball high on the face of the club...

[BallMarker]

Give me the nice even area on the fairway somewhere. Beside my stress level doesn't kick in until about 190 to the pin. 170/180 is just an easy 5 iron. . You never know what you get from the rough.

[billchao]

If the rough isn't penile, I'd take the shorter shot every time.   I formerly belonged to a club that had the most dense/thickest rough you can imagine.   The grass wasn't even THAT long, but any missed fairway could lead to a lost ball.   I documented this in the past........ This is rough that is freshly cut....can you see the ball? [URL=http://thesandtrap.com/content/type/61/id/99054/] [/URL] A close-up view of the same lie in fresh cut grass..........This is stiff bluegrass.  Not wispy Bermuda.  [URL=http://thesandtrap.com/content/type/61/id/99055/] [/URL] Heaven forbid we get rain and the grass grows for 3 days between cuttings, and then this is the typical lie we'd get after missing a fairway. [URL=http://thesandtrap.com/content/type/61/id/99056/] [/URL] I know all about lost balls simply by missing a fairway by a few inches.....sheesh.... I no longer have a membership at the above course, but they had some AMAZINGLY difficult rough!   If I was at my old home club, I'd opt for the fairway approach alternative every time...LOL

That's...ridiculous. I'd be so angry if I hit a halfway decent shot and kept it in play, but still had to declare a lost ball because of that.

[Reval14]

Difficult question. if you have a good swing the fairway lie should be better.

[tomvk77]

I choose the fairway lie. much easier to control the distance.

Also at my home course the rough is heavy so hitting a 9 iron out and on the green well you did very well.

i prefer the 7-6 iron from a fairway lie.

[boogielicious]

This doesn't add up.  If you are hitting 150 with 7i on fairway, you will not be able to carry 150 with 7i in sizable rough.  I believe survey mentioned tough but not US Open tough rough.  My hard 7i is 160 - 167ish but from rough I sometimes can't even carry 150.  I believe one should be able to hit the same club in both scenarios and have similar result. 140 vs. 170 and 150 vs. 180, not 140 vs. 180

He stated, "run of the mill rough" and not a buried lie in 3 inch rough.  If you can make contact with the back of the ball, you can get most to all of the distance.  You also have to protect against flyers.  I was assuming lie number 2 in this thread.

Last Friday I had 110 to the pin in the rough with the ball slightly above my feet, lie number 2.  I assumed my 120 club (PW) would be correct because the rough would take a little speed off and I choked up a 1/2 inch.  I could be short and have the ball run on the green.  The ball went 120 and to the back of the green leaving my a "wicked" downhill putt.

[Kieran123]

OK, now I will give you the adjusted club selection for shorter hitters like me.  140-150 is an 8 or 7 iron.  170-180 is a 5 or 4 iron or 3H depending on wind, lie, etc.  Would you change your approach if it was a 4 iron versus 8 iron from the rough?  If I could hit a 7 iron 180, then I may opt to your choice, but alas, age creeps up on us all.

I would absolutely change if I had to hit a 4 iron instead of a 7 or 8. I would take 140-150 from the rough.

[Jeremie Boop]

That's...ridiculous. I'd be so angry if I hit a halfway decent shot and kept it in play, but still had to declare a lost ball because of that.

I seriously hate when I have a lost ball in situations like that, especially if it was a really good drive that just happens to get a bad bounce out of the fairway, rolls through the fairway, or I just totally smoke one and it carries through a dogleg. Getting penalized for a bad shot is one thing, but getting penalized for a good shot but bad break sucks.

[CarlSpackler]

I seriously hate when I have a lost ball in situations like that, especially if it was a really good drive that just happens to get a bad bounce out of the fairway, rolls through the fairway, or I just totally smoke one and it carries through a dogleg. Getting penalized for a bad shot is one thing, but getting penalized for a good shot but bad break sucks.

But then you have the times when your ball is heading OB and it hits a tree and bounces back in play. Golf is like that.

[Jeremie Boop]

But then you have the times when your ball is heading OB and it hits a tree and bounces back in play. Golf is like that.

Every now and then you definitely get one back from the golf gods... I had a tee shot on a par three that I pulled horribly, never heard it hit a tree but somehow the ball was short and right? It's rare to get those good breaks, not so rare to get the bad ones though!