Ball in the thick rough - what club do you pick?

Played a round yesterday and found my ball in some very thick rough. Grass was almost like crab grass and about 4 - 5 inches deep. I was about 150 from the green and decided to go with a 5 iron. Could not get the club on the ball directly and when I swung, the grass just completely grabbed the club and the ball went maybe 30 - 40 yards. On second thought, I think I should have chosen a different club.. perhaps a hybrid. What would you have chosen.

I'll occasionally do a playing lesson with my instructor. Everytime I'm in the thick rough, he says, "I'd never hit more than a 7 iron out of that lie".

Get it back in play to your favorite wedge yardage and try to get up and down for par.

Many years ago, I found my ball in such a situation at Lahinch. Before I could speak, my caddie handed me my sand wedge.

Play a 7 iron way back in stance (right off the right foot ...left off the left foot) then muscle it out

I definitely would have opted for a medium lofted club, like a 7 iron or 9 iron. Just get it back to the fairway where you can get a club on it. As it was, it went 30 - 40 yards and was just short of the fairway (again). It was a much better lie and I was able to hit it with a 7 iron and get it to the green.

Take a club with loft and try to get it to 40-80 yards, then wedge on. Was at Honda this year, and watched a number of pros lay up from the rough 185 to 220 on a par 4.

Was it buried in the rough? If it was buried, I'd have used a wedge and just gotten it back onto the fairway. If it was a fluffy lie, I'd probably try to pick it out with a 7 iron, but I wouldn't ground the club on address.

For me, that sot would be a 7 iron, open the face a little and play a runner up to the front of the green.

Open face will help a bit with getting stuck in the grass.

I usually assess how bad the lie is and hit the most club I can. With the lie you are describing I'm thinking 9 iron or less. If I can get an iron on the back of the ball I can progress it towards the green. If I really can't get at the ball I'm grabbing my sand wedge and just getting it back on the fairway.

Foot wedge.

I'm not sure some people on here have ever played from thick rough. Thick rough is a wedge.

Hand mashie.

No more than a 9i.

Super steep swing and impact with no more than a 9i,preferably no more than a wedge.

Judging by several of the responses, I am not sure a lot of people know what "course management" means.

> @Yepyukon said:

> Judging by several of the responses, I am not sure a lot of people know what "course management" means.

Care to elaborate?

Always depends on yardage but if it's a really poor lie and is going to take a miracle to get it on or close to the green, just get it back in play and live to fight another day.

Club choice depends on whether you’re willing to accept a bogey or whether you insist on making double.

I would try a _hinge and hold_ action. Take a half swing with plenty of hinge action and punch down on ball with limited follow-through. Use the big muscles of the shoulders - you don't want to hurt yourself trying to muscle it.

Probably choose something between a PW and a 7i. You'll need to hold firmly with L hand so the grass doesn't wrap around the hosel and deloft the clubface.

One additional problem can be how high the ball is riding in the grass. If your feet sink down to soil level, but the ball is floating a half-inch off the soil in the grass, you risking having a high-face shot that goes maybe 30 yards (see bottom image). If the ball is floating, you need to choke down on the shaft to raise the bottom of the sole to the bottom of the ball.

As several have said, you're trying to get the ball back into play. Sometimes you could still get an up-and-down, or at least salvage a bogie.

If I am in 4-5" of rough, I know advancing the ball reliably and predictably is unlikely, grab a wedge and play smart.

Would have to see the lie. Depends on type of grass etc. what’s ahead of me ? Water ... or just a sand trap and green complex ? If you can see the ball , or even better the back of the ball. The ball and a lot of earth would come out . Course management doesn’t mean automatic layups. If there’s no hazard in play ( sand traps aren’t hazards in my book ) then why not have a go at the green ? Probably a hold on for dear life 8 iron.( which spiel be a fade ) If it jumps it’s not too long. If it’s dead a pitch or bunker shot for 3rd.

The mistake is always to take too much club. You can get the ball out easier with more loft. So your 8 iron is going to likely fly farther than the 5. And so on. I chose 8 and a fade shape because it’s still a lot of loft and normally on flat calm day no slope 9 iron with a draw is my 150 club.

> @billybaroo said:

> If I am in 4-5" of rough, I know advancing the ball reliably and predictably is unlikely, grab a wedge and play smart.

This. No point in anything more than a 9 iron, probably less, depending on just how bad it is.

Sand wedge is almost a guarantee out.

Maybe not a lot of distance, but out.

no more than an 8 if its open at the back of the ball and perfect looking. If its sitting badly, a gap wedge at most. If its really really bad the most lofted wedge i can towards the fattest and closest part of the fiarway.

I’d play the shot with an open face and turn hard into it. It took a while as rough is very deep and thick right now but I finally remember how this weekend and I got out fine.

wedge out.

At Torrey I hit gap wedge from 180 out of the rough a couple of times LoL

When rough is that bad just advance it into the fairway and wedge it in

I’ll take an 8 to 7 iron at most and advance as close to green as possible, preferably short into a bail out area for a likeable up an down.

Worst case, a green side bunker isn’t a bad leave.

> @MtlJeff said:

> At Torrey I hit gap wedge from 180 out of the rough a couple of times LoL

>

> When rough is that bad just advance it into the fairway and wedge it in

Torrey rough after the tournament is like nothing I have ever played. After the first few attempts of trying to get anything other than a wedge thru it you learn quickly... If you can even find your ball 1 ft off the fairway to hit it in the first place.

Torrey rough swallows balls one foot off the fairway. Still an overrated course IMO.

If you're in thick thick rough. You figure out what club it would take you to get to your next target then take 1 - 2 clubs more. Only chicks layup.

As I think back to the lie and the club selection, I should have opted for a 9 iron or wedge - probably would have gotten more distance than I did with my 5 iron which just completely snagged in the grass. I did get back to the fairway, but just barely. No way to get an iron on the ball and a wedge would have made it much easier to hack it out. Next time, I'll know better.