Pitch shots from the rough

[golf_junkie27]

Just a bit of background. I've been playing golf for a lil more than a year. I have spent a pretty penny at the golf range and have seeked out as much advice as possible. I've read Hogan's book, I have Leadbetter's swing video, etc. My brother is a single digit handicapper and have gotten great tips from him. I've gotten to the point where I am comfortable playing all the difficult shots. Fairway bunkers, greenside bunkers, water hazards, iron shots over obstacles, using my 8 and 9 irons to bump and run shots from just in front the of green, no problem. I'm confidant. The only shot that constantly eats at me is pitch shots from the rough, greenside. I either sail them or ground my club. This is frustrating because whenever this happens, it's an additional two shots.

Can anyone share their experience and how they fixed this problem? What drills/tips can you recommend?

Thanks!

[kfowler]

My instructor and I worked on this this past weekend. There are basically four factors that will affect the ball flight; loft of club, how open the face is, position of hands, and location of ball in stance. First think I look at is your lye. If you're in deep grass, the ball should be closer to your back foot. You need that descending blow to get the ball out. If your lye is good, you can put the ball in the front of your stance to get more loft.

For drills, he recommended taking three clubs and hitting from the same spot to the same flag. See how you need to change each shot based on the club. After that, pick one of the clubs and do a bunch of shots from different locations to different pins. The idea is to get the feel for the ball flight and understand how each club impacts ball flight.

[alf174]

Unless there is a bunker or some other obstacle I have to get over I try to stick to the chip-n-runs ; keeping the ball low verses higher in the air. For me that means using PW thru 7 irons depending on the distance and how much green is available to run on. Practice these shots and the pitches to get over obstacles will feel a lot easier.

I practice in the yard to get used to the clubs and how they act depending on the amount of swing and where the ball is in my stance. I'm most comfortable with a 1/2 (horizontal) swing with my 9 iron but will switch clubs as needed to get the distance.

[g-funk13]

One shot from the rough that works nicely is back swing lead arm at 5 o clock and clubhead at 1 to 12 o clock. lots of wrist bend and down strike. often leads to short follow through, or a total ground out, but it pops em out!

saw it on tv, tried it next day for two fun up and downs!

[alf174]

Unless there is a bunker or some other obstacle I have to get over I try to stick to the

One more thing, this is one of my

favorite clubs around the greens; makes it fun.

[golfchief]

It all comes down to making the shot with the club you think will put you on the green, not a maybe thought in your head.

[sonicblue]

IME, it's not so complex as to be giving you fits. Pick a good club that will get through the grass. Get the ball back in your stance, and concentrate on a good wrist cock, and holding that wrist angle, in order to come down sharply on the ball and avoid getting too much grass before the ball. Then, it's just like any other shot: put the club on the ball and swing through to your target.