What to do with ball sitting on top of thick rough?

[ASUslacker]

So I am getting to the point where I understand how to adjust my feet and ball position with different situations. (ball above/below feet, in think rough, in the sand, etc.)

But my biggest problem is when the ball is in the rough but sitting on top of the grass above the ground about 1-2 inches. I've tried a few things with limited success, but what is the proper way to approach this shot?

[max power]

So I am getting to the point where I understand how to adjust my feet and ball position with different situations. (ball above/below feet, in think rough, in the sand, etc.)

Longer shot-sweep the ball off the grass with a fairway wood or hybrid. Shorter shot-gotta make sure you hit the ball first (what you always want to do, but especially important when your club can slide through the grass right under the ball).

[ASUslacker]

Longer shot-sweep the ball off the grass with a fairway wood or hybrid. Shorter shot-gotta make sure you hit the ball first (what you always want to do, but especially important when your club can slide through the grass right under the ball).

Could you be a little more specific, like with the stance and ball position.

Sorry I always adjust everything based on the situation (stance, ball position, grip) and then swing normal. Like for a long shot, you said to "sweep" the ball. So do I treat it like a driver? Wide stance, ball near my front heel, hitting on the up swing of the arc. This seems weird since that means the head of the club will go through alot of rough before you make contact. For shorter shots you say to hit the ball first. So do I put the ball back in my stance and take a really steep angle? If you could answer these questions I would really appricate it.

[ham_man]

I try to pick it clean. Choke up a bit and make sure that I hit the ball cleanly at the bottom of my swing.

[uttexas]

Choke down on the club (I say choke down, while others say choke up--same thing--hold the club lower on the grip). Stand a bit taller and maintain the "tallness" throughout the swing. Put the ball slightly back in your stance so you hit the ball first.

[enarhi]

The two keys I focus on are choking up so the leading edge of the club is around the middle of the ball at address and shallowing out my swing.

[ks8829]

to make solid contact you have to adjust for two things:

1) the higher position of the ball
a) make the necessary adjustment so the club face will make solid contact, choke down on your iron
2) the grass between the ball and club face
a) take more club for the loss of distance
b) if its a flyer take one less club

[enarhi]

b) if its a flyer take one less club

Had to comment on this. Taking less club is a bad idea for a flyer lie, as it brings even more inconsistencies into play. The best approach is to take the same club as usual and swing with a smooth swing, keeping the body rotation slower and under control through the ball to control trajectory--as Tiger Woods puts it, "Most amateurs take less club and swing harder, getting quick and steep on their backswing, which just accentuates the flyer or causes them to chunk it. Instead, I select the club I would normally use for the yardage and slow the speed of my body, staying tall throughout the shot. I also try to hit the ball with soft arms and hands. The result is a shot that flies the proper distance and lands softly, sometimes even sucking back."

[CG031]

How do you know when it's a flyer lie?

I always thought you don't know if it's a flyer until you hit the shot and it happens.

[uttexas]

The term "flyer lie" gets tossed around all the time (McCord/Feherty). With the square grooves, the pro ends up backing the ball up these days even when the announcer declares a flyer.

Traditionally, the flyer lie is a ball resting in light rough. It looks like a good lie, but as the clubface enters the impact zone, grass gets between the ball and club face, resulting in a knuckle ball with little backspin.

Because the ball has less backspin, the ball's normal flight conditions are altered. The ball may fly significantly further than normal.

Think of all those golfers constantly trying to reduce their spin rate off their drivers to get further distance. Same thing here with an iron out of the rough.

You might notice this on your regular rounds. A crisply struck ball off the tee with a 5 iron will fly higher, with not quite as much carry, and will land softer than a ball hit well with a five iron from a fuzzy fairway. From the tee, there is nothing to get between the grooves and ball, thus lots of backspin, which creates loft.