How do you hit shots from the rough?

How do you guys, hit your approach shots to the green from the rough (Plugged lie and Popped up lie)? It's something you can't really practice at the range, well because your basically on 'tee box' length grass. Today I missed a couple of fairways, and on one occasion found myself in the tall grass with my second shot over a water hazard about 100 yards in. Unfortunately it caught the drink and my shot was a line drive (ball was pretty deep in the rough) and fell just short of the green catching the pond. I was wondering if there's any tips I could get, be it ball position, sweeping, hitting down, stance or anything. Any help/tips would be great!

close my eyes and hope seriously though, depending on the lie, I may swing down at the ball at a steep angle. It gets out of the rough nicely but the trajectory will be lower.

1. Place ball back of center in stance.
Example: \..........c...o....../ With the c being the center of the stance and the o being the ball.

2. Steeper swing place than usual. Swing back and down on steeper paths.

3. Working out works wonders! This is one major reason Tiger is so good at those shots out of the really deep thick stuff where you can't even see the ball.

Hope I could help

I always play the ball a little further back in my stance to get it up quicker. Works wonders for me.

A drive of mine found the right rough this morning, and it was also under a willow tree. I had some pretty decent rough to hack it out of, about 135 yards left. I just clubbed up (used a 7 instead of 8 iron) because the grass will slow your club head down. Just make sure you accelerate through the ball, I treat a cabbage shot like a sand shot. (I actually killed the 7 iron and flew well over the green).

If it's totally plugged, I'd have a hack at it with the wedge and just hope to get it out of the cabbage, get my next shot close, and take bogey worst.

thanks for the tip about placing the ball further back but what do I need to do in simple high handicap terms to get it out. The cut and other terms are confusing me.

Just keep swinging on through to the finish, don't decellerate. If not, you're going to be stuck in there for quite a while....

Put the ball back in your stance, club up since the grass will slow you down, and grip harder on the club. The last tip is so the club doesn't twist in the grass before impact, which will cause a really bad shot.

Thanks a lot.

Interesting topic....and here is the answer, from Tiger himself...

How to Escape from Heavy Rough - The key to playing from deep rough are generating clubhead speed and controlling the clubface.

Position the ball toward the back of your stance and open the clubface slightly.

The latter will help you get the ball up quickly and counteract the tendency of the grass to grab the hosel and close the face.

Align your body slightly left of the target, because the open clubface will send the ball to the right if the grass does not close it. Apply extra grip pressure with your right hand to keep the clubhead square through impact. Also, take the club back a little higher on your backswing. For best results, remember to grip the club firmly throughout the shot and abbreviate your follow through.

Added by me: Ernie Els said, in a tip I read once, to try the baseball or doublehanded grip for this shot.....because basically, it's a strength shot with the main aim being to get the hell out of where you are and back into some kind of sanity....

Good luck.

One Thing I always do in a terrible lie is: "punching" the shot out.

That means: weight to 60 or 70 Percent on the left foot (if you are right handed) Ball more in the middle of the stance and then just a powerful Halfswing with a short follow through. This results in a low ball flight often shorter then a full swing.

In terrible roughs all that counts for me is getting the damn little ball out! never try to get a 150 yard shot out of 1 feet high grass

i try to hit down on it...eliminating contact with the rough

I've experimented, and for a descending blow that gives ball-first contact minimizing turf interference, I aim for the front of the ball, hitting down. I can reliably hit off wood, asphalt, thin grass and usually out of deeper grass this way. In deeper grass, the club might stick but the ball is (hopefully) gone. Contact is below the sweet spot so add 5-10 yards.

Even most pros lack the strength required to dig a ball out of heavy turf the way Tiger does.

First off you have to learn how to judge the lie. some balls will jump out of the rough which greatly effect club selection. This can be hard to judge but one thing you can rely on is the more grass between your club face and the ball, the less spin you can put on it and the more it will run after it lands. Also the club has a tendancy to get shut down(closes) in the rough so it may help to open up the club face. This helps cut through the rough and also help keep the ball going straight for the target if the taller grass shuts down the club face!

just dont hit it fat

I choke down on a 6 to 7 Iron to get maximum control and hit is hard, down to the back of the ball before it hits the ground. I found the sharper edge of a 6 or 7 compare to a 3 or 4 Iron are more able to plunge itself into the soil or long grass and the angle of the loft gets the ball out.

I think the discussions here is great on this shot from the rough.. it is not easy.

My experience is to use a lofted club such as the pitching or sand wedge. Of course, you can also use the 8 and 9 irons. I just cutNpaste the following from my blog.

First, set up yourself with an open stance. Align your shoulder, knees, hips and feet to the left of the target while maintaining the club square towards the target. This will give you an open stance. The ball should also be set towards the back of the stance. This setup will allow you to make a steeper downward swing towards the ball which is required when hitting from a lie in the thick rough.

Since there is grass surrounding the ball, the club face will get caught in the rough if the downswing is not steep into the ball. Also, the downswing towards the ball should be firm. That is you will need to grip strong to prevent the club from twisting due to the grass. Be sure to swing into the rough and through the ball and follow through. Make sure you accelerate the club through impact otherwise you will risk moving the ball only a few feet.