Breaking 80 In Golf – Five Tips To Chipping From Heavy Rough Near The Green For Duffers

You have misshit your approach shot slightly and your ball now lies just off the green settled down in some thick coarse.  After you have finished whinging about how unfair golf can be, you will need to get ready for that next shot.  How will you attack this challenge? 

Some golfers have a single club and single shot type for all chipping possibilities.  If you are making an attempt to break 100 that approach might be best.  Perfecting single shot at this level seems sensible.  But if you carry a lower scoring average, you’re looking to get up and down from here you’ll need a chip shot more suited to this lamentable lie. 

You see that thick, heavy grass surrounding your ball can cause the clubhead to twist way offline.  That heavy grass gets tangled up with your club’s hosel.  The ball will probably come out far left of target with no speed control leaving you a long way from one putt range. 

This shot needs a fragile touch and maximum control.  Try using these five tips when you’re facing a chip from heavy coarse. 

Chipping from Heavy coarse

Employ a sand wedge – The sand wedge offers the benefit of “bounce” which makes it way easier to cut through the grass and not get all twisted offline.  Your pitch wedge might even work for this shot.  These clubs give more margin for inaccuracy. 

Open position – Open your stance a touch to allow your hands and arms to clear your front hip.  Open the clubface too like you would in a bunker shot. 

Move the ball back – Move the ball back past center in your stance to push a steep angle of attack which allows less grass between the clubface and the ball at impact. 

Utilise a steep swing – This shot needs a steep approach to help pop the ball out of the rough.  Hinge your wrist quickly on the takeaway. 

Follow through – Think aggressively here as the shot needs more clubhead speed than you first think.  You’ll only require the ball to travel a short distance but given the lie and the open clubface you would like to swing quicker than your instincts tell you.  Just keep it smooth with a full follow through.  Don’t decelerate or may have the same shot to play all over again. 

Remember this shot is a challenge for everybody.  The goal here is to get up and back down.  The right shot choice along with decent execution will give you a fair opportunity to just do that almost all of the time.

For heaps of golf aid and How to fix a slice and advice check out Golf backswing.