Ball Movement

[fishgolf]

We've now played Old Works (Anaconda, MT) a couple of times. Their ruff is a different kind of grass than what we're use to.  It's both wispy thin and thick at the same time and the ball kind of sits on top. On several occasions, my ball moved slightly while positioning the club for the shot. We don't care about such rules when we play, but it got me thinking just how in the hell the pros handle this.  Do they simply never ground the club anywhere near the ball as you normally do on the fairway or even ruff?  Also, how many times do you think pros actually do move the ball but don't take the penalty?  Some of the shots they hack out are pretty hidden from view.

[iacas]

If there's a chance their ball will move they will hover the club or only lightly "address" it behind the ball a few inches.

Their reputation is generally not worth a stroke or two saved.

[Fourputt]

15 hours ago, fishgolf said:

We've now played Old Works (Anaconda, MT) a couple of times. Their ruff is a different kind of grass than what we're use to.  It's both wispy thin and thick at the same time and the ball kind of sits on top. On several occasions, my ball moved slightly while positioning the club for the shot. We don't care about such rules when we play, but it got me thinking just how in the hell the pros handle this.  Do they simply never ground the club anywhere near the ball as you normally do on the fairway or even ruff?  Also, how many times do you think pros actually do move the ball but don't take the penalty?  Some of the shots they hack out are pretty hidden from view.

Not only the pros.  I never ground my club if there is any chance that it might cause the ball to move.  I play different courses with all sorts of rough, and most of the time I don't take the risk by grounding the club.  Matted fescue is just about the nastiest rough.  The ball can be suspended in a "nest" as much as 6" off the ground.  Simply no way to ground the club anywhere near the ball without it moving.  Just do everything else the same but hover the club behind the ball.  I will sometimes hover the club 6" or more away from the ball if that seems to give the least chance of causing the ball to move.  

Edited June 29, 2018 by Fourputt

[fishgolf]

4 minutes ago, Fourputt said:

Matted fescue is just about the nastiest rough.  The ball can be suspended in a "nest" as much as 6" off the ground. 

Yup, the suspended in a nest is the description I was looking for.  The hovering swing is not something I practice.

[Shindig]

4 minutes ago, fishgolf said:

Yup, the suspended in a nest is the description I was looking for.  The hovering swing is not something I practice.

Consider hitting a few shots like this next time you're at the range.