How long is the rough at the Open Championship?

We walk a few holes at Royal Troon Golf Club to see how high the rough is at the Open Championship and asses what effect it may have on the scoring

While the rough is a serious factor in final three of the year’s four majors, it is arguably at the Open Championship, held on traditional Links golf courses where it is at its most influential.

This year’s edition of golf’s oldest championship is at Royal Troon on Scotland’s Ayrshire coast. The weather hasn’t been especially kind in the run up to tournament week so it begs the question – how long exactly is the rough?

As expected, it’s long. In places, very long. We walked inside the ropes along the side of the first hole, around the 17^th green and then up the side of the 18^th hole. Generally speaking the rough outside the fairway and first cut is patchy but it averages around a foot in length. There are some low, more bare spots where players can get lucky and find a good lie but the chances are an errant tee or approach shot will result in a hack out back to the fairway.

There are some patches, like to the right of the par-three 17th hole, that are beyond knee-height and may even result in players having to take an unplayable lie. Add in the plentiful gorse bushes scattered around the layout and it becomes clear the players have their work cut out. As you’ll see from the picture above, even the drop zones from the grandstands aren’t much better.

The video at the top of this story demonstrates that there’s a strong chance the ball will nestle right down into the bottom of the grass and the fact it is currently quite wet, with more rain forecast for Wednesday, will not help the players.

The direction the grass is growing will play a big part in deciding if they can advance the ball a considerable distance. If it is growing towards the direction of player, most will be able to get the ball up to or close to the green. From what we’ve seen, the direction is not consistent – it’s just luck of the draw.

This is why backing straight drivers, or those that can control their ball flight in the wind, is crucial. Read our Open Championship betting guide to find out who our resident Tipster picked to do well this week.