NEW! Brian Manzella Golf Magazine (Front9) Video on US Open Rough Technique
- Thread starter Brian Manzella
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Dariusz J.
New member
The real heavy rough example is still missing. At least that kind of real rough I am often facing on courses I play.
Cheers
Cheers
Seriously? What more can a man do out of rough where he can't see his ball unless he's on top of it.
johnnymarlboro
New
If you're in the that kind of "real" rough alot then maybe you should take up bowling. Diagonal stance works great with that too. 
Brian Manzella
Administrator
Best I could find at English Turn.
If I can hack it out, it is just average rough.
But, same technique, and same result for a strong US OPEN player.
If I can hack it out, it is just average rough.
But, same technique, and same result for a strong US OPEN player.
Dariusz J.
New member
Imagine thick rough like in Brian's example no.3 but with grass blades of 15-20 cm high; the only one option I know is use the "chop&stop" technique with no more than 52* wedge.
If you're in the that kind of "real" rough alot then maybe you should take up bowling. Diagonal stance works great with that too.
How easy is to ridicule everything I wrote for you, guys. My home course is a poor one that means roughs are not often cut at all and there are no 1st or 2nd cut grass; just a fairway, 1 meter semirough and then heavy rough (especially after rainy periods) - so, yes, I happen to be in that kind of rough even with 12/14 fairways that occur to me sometimes - thanks to the diagonal stance, actually.
What about the kind of rough they used to have in the old days ? Like this one Hogan couldn't go out on the last hole of 1956 when going for his 5th US Open win ?
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johnnymarlboro
New
I was just joking with you Dariusz.
aaron_lohan
New
If the rough is 20cm long there isn't a lot you can do but to hack it back onto the fairway.
IMO the rough back in the 50's wasn't any longer than it is today, standards that were considered "US Open rough" would probably be considered tame today. Mystique tends to exagerate things from the past.
IMO the rough back in the 50's wasn't any longer than it is today, standards that were considered "US Open rough" would probably be considered tame today. Mystique tends to exagerate things from the past.
Dariusz J.
New member
OK, no worries.
Of course. But the question is what would be the best way to do it.
Well, obviously you missed the pictures of pros from the old days shown in the rough. Today's rough is laughable. Even I laugh at what I see on TV on PGA Tour.
Cheers
Dariusz J.
New member
Yes, Nate. Thank you for correcting me, playoff in 1955.
Cheers
Cheers
birdie_man
New
Good clips these GM ones are.
I play at a club with sticky greenside rough. Technique for hitting chip shots out of this when the ball is sitting down would be helpful. Knowing that if you take a full whack at a shot from 180 yds away the worst thing that can happen is that the ball goes only a few yards. Greenside the shot can, worst case, stay in the original spot or shoot well past the pin makes it hard to know how hard to swing.
Ryan Smither
Super Moderator
I thought the content in Brian's video was A+ material; I learned a few things.
I made up a shot for tricky, mini chip shots where you only need to get the ball out of deep rough and barely rolling on the green. Brian called it the "saw" shot or something along those lines because it looks like I'm "sawing" across the ball like a lumberjack. I try to make a swing path nearly perpendicular to the target line with a square face. This way the hosel moves through the grass first as opposed to the grass contacting the clubface first.
For longer shots try making the swings a little less perpendicular as you move further away - more like a traditional lob out of the rough where the clubface is really open and you swing way left.
I made up a shot for tricky, mini chip shots where you only need to get the ball out of deep rough and barely rolling on the green. Brian called it the "saw" shot or something along those lines because it looks like I'm "sawing" across the ball like a lumberjack. I try to make a swing path nearly perpendicular to the target line with a square face. This way the hosel moves through the grass first as opposed to the grass contacting the clubface first.
For longer shots try making the swings a little less perpendicular as you move further away - more like a traditional lob out of the rough where the clubface is really open and you swing way left.
willimatic
New
Bmanz, when did you start hitting the i701 Tour irons? I love those things!
trickyric67
New
Great video, very simple explanation of technique
Jim Kobylinski
Super Moderator
people who setup the golf courses have become smarter over the years, you don't necessarily need "height" to make rough difficult. I've played in thick/sticky type of rough only a couple inches tall and have found those shots harder to deal with than long 3-4" rough that is not so dense.
birdie_man
New
I thought those looked Srixon-ey. Nice stuff.
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