The Rough this Year

[iacas]

The rough was up at Bay Hill. It's up again this week at the TPC.

What do you think? Do you like the rough the way it is? It's no longer a "bomb it out there and wedge it on" because the rough is finally - finally - penal.

I love it. Tiger and Phil and Vijay are having a helluva time when they miss the fairway, and golfers who keep it in the short stuff are succeeding. Is it any mystery that European players are at the top of the leaderboard? The rough in Europe is just that - rough . Or far more so than it is here in the states most weeks on the PGA Tour.

I love seeing balls disappear from view when they veer offline. Want to score, Tiger? Hit your 3W or somehow keep your driver in the fairway.

[Thrash13]

Well, if you look at a list of most of my favorite golfers, they are shorter off the tee than most people's favorites. So that should tell you right there I like the more accurate guys off the tee. Also, the US Open is my favorite major of the year, and the rough there sometimes gets really high.

Basically what all this mumbling means is that I LOVE the rough being high. I like to see guys be penalized for going in the rough off the tee or even off their 2nd shot on a par 5. I saw some footage from this morning during the rain delay, and Tiger was hitting out of the rough. He put everything he had in the shot, and it still came up short of the green. I love to see that.

It was looking nasty this weekend at the Players, especially with all the continuous rain. That just makes the rough that much rougher.

I know I couldn't get the ball out of there, I'll admit that for sure.

[Ben]

I think it's necessary to penalize the innacurate driving, and long rough is the way to do it. I think it levels the playing field to a certain degree. As you put iacas, the days of "boming it out there and wedging it out" or going bye the wayside.

On a personal level. My course, with all the rain SoCal has gotten over the past months, has the longest rough I've ever played in. And I'll tell you what, I really enjoy having to play in these conditions. Not only trying to avoid the rough, but also hitting from it. I feel that it has sharpened my game because I can't go pin hunting when I find myself in it, but I'll end up hitting "the smart shot" to the green. It gives me a good perceptive on making a solid par when I find myself in a bit of trouble, and saving birdies for holes I know I can attack.