Peter Finch
At some time or another, every single amateur golfer is going to be faced with a scenario where they have to hit the ball out of long rough, and for some this may occur multiple times in the same round... or same hole!
So far in this series of expert tips, from Golf Monthly Top 50 Coach Peter Finch, we have covered key areas of the game like how to hit more greens, the best way to start finding more fairways and even how to play a greenside bunker shot.
Each of these elements are crucial to piecing together a good round, but low scoring is unlikely without this piece of the jigsaw.
In this article and instructional video, Peter Finch shares his top tips on how to hit the ball out of long rough - making three key adjustments that can increase the probability of that crucial clean strike...
WATCH: Peter Finch shares his ultimate tee to green strategy tips!
How To Hit The Ball Out Of Long Rough: 3 Key Adjustments
Peter Finch is one of the most recognisable PGA professionals in the world, delivering online free lessons to golfers across the globe with a combined social following of almost one million people including more than 750,000 on YouTube alone. In his coaching career, Peter Finch has supported a vast number of players of all abilities to shoot lower scores.
So you've found the rough... unlucky!
The latest Shot Scope data suggests that hitting the green from the rough is going to trickier than if you were in the fairway.
The average amateur hits the green just 32% of the time from the rough (100-150 yard approaches), as opposed to 40% from the fairway, which is mostly due to this shot being more difficult to achieve a clean strike.
It isn't all doom and gloom, however, as there are ways that we can mitigate being in the longer grass - three ways to be specific...
1. Ball Position
The first adaption we can make to our setup is the ball position.
Typically I would say that the perfect ball position with an 8-iron, which is the club I am using in the video below, would be around the middle of my stance.
For this type of lie, I would advise moving the ball back of centre as this will encourage a downward strike (which will very quickly become a theme as we move through these tips).
Ideally, we want to get the ball first and collecting as little grass along the way before impact.
2. Weight Distribution
Weight distribution in the golf swing is a huge factor in determining how successful your shot is going to be, which is particularly true when playing out of long rough.
For this type of shot, from this type of lie, I would advise you to place a little more weight on your lead foot (as opposed to even spreading the weight across both the lead and trail foot).
This will, again, encourage a downward strike that will help us to achieve the best possible strike on the golf ball from the thicker rough.
These three key changes, including ball position further back, weight on lead side and quick wrist hinge in the golf swing, will instantly help you to improve your strike when hitting out of long rough
3. Wrist Hinge
The final adjustment to excel from the rough is to add a lot of wrist hinge in the golf swing quickly.
That's right, you guessed it, this will encourage a downward strike which by now you know is the ideal way to play this shot.
The key is to contact the ball first, then the turf, with as little grass as possible being trapped between the clubface and ball through impact - which could result in a nasty flier.
In the video above, I've demonstrated how to make the changes outlined and provided a great example of what a good one looks like - so be sure to give this a go as you continue you on your quest for lower scores on the golf course.
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