hitting out of a hole?

[jerry g]

got myself in little trouble today. i was maybe 8 feet right of the green on a 200 yard par 3 under a pine tree but i was in a hole under the pine tree. it was maybe 3 to 4 inches deep or so, about a square foot i guess but i had to keep it low to stay under the branches of the pine tree but get it up over the side of the hole. i also had to hit a little down on it because the other side of the hole wasn't far behind the ball. the branches did not interfere with my swing at all. i went with an 8 iron to try to keep it under the branches but ended up hitting the side of the hole and it stayed under the tree but it ended up in a better spot so i could get it on at least. i considered the 9 but thought it would hit those branches. might have worked but it might be close to an impossible shot from under there. i believe the smarter play, after the fact, would have been to hit pw or sw and play to hit the branches, just hit it harder to try to get through, but that is risky as well because you don't know how it will react off the branches. i didn't really consider the putter because i had maybe 7 feet of rough to go through. what would you do?

[TourSpoon]

It is really hard to say without seeing the hole but generally when it comes to a really bad break I like to think in terms of will this half-baked idea of playing the ball leave me better off than just taking my medicine and taking an unplayable. If I can't visualize getting the ball to a more advantageous position (not always on the green) then I need to re-evaluate.

[double_j]

Hard to say. Sometimes you just have to take your medicine - I probably would have played the same 7 or 8 iron runner as you and took my chances with the grass. Getting the ball airborne into the branches is too unpredictable.

Where was the pin? The only adjustment I might have made would be to hit the ball harder. No need to be delicate when you're just trying to get out of trouble.

[The Road Dog]

Nevermind what we would have used, after you played the shot did you replay it using a different strategy and if so how did it work? Sounds like it was a great op to practice a tough lie escape.