Playing from rough
A Practical Guide to Playing From Rough
A practical guide to rough play: read the situation, choose the percentage shot, and keep the next play simple.
Read before you reach for a club
Good rough play starts with lie depth, grass direction, and reduced control. For rough-shot recovery, that quick check tells you whether the shot is an attack, a placement, or a tidy escape. The expensive mistake in grass-and-spin recovery is treating a marginal ball as if it deserves your favorite full swing.
A four-question ladder
- What miss hurts most in this rough play situation?
- For rough-shot recovery, which shot can you hit seven times out of ten?
- For rough-shot recovery, does the score, lie, or opponent justify extra risk?
- For rough-shot recovery, where should the next shot be played from?
On-course note: In rough play, a plan you can say in one breath is usually the plan you can swing with.