How to chip from thick rough

Golf Monthly Top 25 Coach Andrew Jones offers his essential guide for how to chip from thick rough to save your score

Modern golf courses regularly pose the problem shown here and it certainly isn’t an issue restricted to the US Open only. You’ve just missed the green and perhaps you’re only a few feet from the putting surface but your ball is sat down in a bird’s nest of a lie. Finding a good strike with a deft touch to get the ball close isn’t easy but there are a few pointers that will help learn how to chip from thick rough.

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A normal, basic chip shot technique will not serve you well here. Instead, you need to think of this less like a chip and more like a bunker shot or flop shot. This will allow you to use the bounce of the club to keep the head moving through the grass. Set the ball position forward and open your stance. You do not want to attack this shot from too steep an angle as the club is likely to dig through impact bringing a duff strike into the equation.

Make a full, free flowing swing as you would do from the sand. Try to have soft hands both at address and through impact - this will help you find that easy rhythm that is so important to good short game distance control and touch.

Crucially, make sure you have a smooth, steady acceleration through the downswing and into ball. Obviously you must avoid decelerating but equally you don’t want a jerky action where you jump at the ball with a rapid acceleration. A smooth build up of speed is a must and worth focusing on before you hit the shot - swinging through to a full finish will certainly help you do that. Keeping the club moving through impact is essential and if you can keep these technical points in mind you’ll escape with your score in tact.

In July 2023, Neil became just the 9th editor in Golf Monthly's 112-year history. Originally working with the best coaches in the UK to produce instruction content, he went on to become a feature writer interviewing many of the biggest names in the game including Tiger Woods, Seve Ballesteros, Rory McIlroy and Arnold Palmer.

A 5-handicap golfer, Neil is a club member who takes a keen interest in the health of the game at grassroots level. You’ll often now find him writing about club-related issues such as WHS, membership retention and how best to bridge the gap between the range and the course.