Tip #57 - Handling Grass

Learn to like the rough, because it's not going to go away. You'll be hitting into it-and out of it-as long as you play this game. Besides, it's not as bad as most people think. In fact, with the right attitude and the right technique, you can hit the ball longer and straighter from the rough than from anywhere on the course.

Norman hits from the rough during the first round of the 2003 Open Championship.

Indeed, the longest iron shot of my life may well have been a 5-iron I hit one day from the rough. I was playing in the final round of the 1980 Australian Open at the Lakes Golf Club near Sydney. I had a one-stroke lead when I came to the tee of the 17th hole, a par-5. The fairway on this hole is an island, calling for something more conservative than a driver off the tee.

I hit a 1-iron, and hit it too well. It went through the far end of the fairway and settled on a grassy downslope just inches from the water. From there I had 260 yards to a green with water on the left and worse trouble everywhere else. With a downhill lie I didn't want to mess with a low-lofted club, so I resolved to lay up short of the green with as-iron.

Well, as so often happens, in trying to put an extra-smooth swing on the ball, I nailed it dead-flush. The minute I felt impact I knew I had hit it big. It jumped out of the rough and flew forever. It did not land short of the green, it did not land on the green, it sailed clear over the green, leaving me a full wedge back to the pin. In all, that 5-iron traveled more than 300 yards.

I hung on to win that Open by a stroke over my countryman, Brian Jones, and a few months later I was amused to read a letter to the editor in one of the U.S. golf magazines. It was from a fellow who had seen a description of the tournament. He couldn't believe the reports of my shot, and he ended his letter with an exhortation to the Australian Tour: "Send us this man who can hit 300-yard 5- irons."

I had trouble believing that 5-iron myself. But therein is a lesson. Expect the unexpected in the rough. Whereas 99 percent of fairway lies are predictable, in the rough every situation is an adventure.

Flyer Lies

Most lies in the rough are known as "flyers," because of their tendency to produce shots such as that 5-iron of mine. What happens is that the blades of grass get between your clubface and the ball at impact, which inhibits normal friction and backspin. The ball shoots out of the lie like a high-speed knuckleball. With no backspin to pull it down, it flies higher and farther than a crisp fairway shot and it hits the ground running.

Virtually every time your ball nestles into light, dry rough, you have a flyer lie. The first thing to remember is to use less club than you would for a fairway shot of the same distance. If from 170 yards you'd normally hit a 5-iron fairway approach, go down to a 6-iron and maybe even a 7-iron from the rough.

However, this advice comes with one caveat. Although the ball will jump off the clubface of your middle and short irons, and to some extent off the lofted woods (5,6, 7, etc.), you won't get the flyer effect from the long-shafted steep-faced clubs. They simply aren't able to get down and through the grass. The truth is, you'll hit the ball about the same distance from the rough with a 4-iron as with a 2-iron, maybe farther. As a general rule, in fact, I would recommend that you not attempt to play from a flyer lie with any iron or wood numbered 1, 2 or 3.

Your technique on this shot should be geared toward minimizing the intervention of the grass. In other words, you want to hit the ball as cleanly as possible. To do that, you need to move the ball back in your stance. If, for instance, on a 5-iron shot from the fairway you position the ball off your left heel, move it back to a spot an inch to the right of your heel for a shot from the rough. This ball position should leave your hands slightly ahead of the clubface at address. From that setup you'll tend to swing the club up a bit more vertically on the backswing and return it a bit more steeply to the ball. With this steeper attack the clubface will come down on the ball rather than brush through the grass.

This single change in ball position is all you need to handle a flyer. Just make your normal swing as if you were in the fairway. There's no need to swing any harder or softer or to make any special movements or maneuvers. Just trust your golf swing and apply it confidently to the ball. Re- member, if you make reasonable contact with this shot, it will fly far and straight.

Thick Lies

When you find your ball nestled deep in thick rough, you don't have a flyer. In fact, the best you can hope for from this situation is sort of a floater. Dense grass will slow down your clubhead to the point that you'll be barely able to extricate the ball. Whereas the flyer takes off like a rocket, this floater ascends like a blimp.

When the ball drops deep into thick rough, the best you can hope for is to excavate it with sort of a floating shot.

Your club selection on this shot is restricted to the short irons - 8, 9 and the wedges -- with the pitching wedge usually the best choice. Once again, play the ball back in your stance, but this time, play it two inches back instead of one, because you're going to have to go down after the ball. To further increase the steepness of the swing, open your stance a few degrees so that your feet, knees, hips and shoulders align to the left. Your clubhead should align square to the target line. It's the same basic alignment as for a slice, but when playing a short iron from the rough 1 you won't have to worry about any sideward spin.

Since the grass will grab at your club and close the face: at impact, you'll want an extra-firm grip in your left hand. Alternatively, you can aim the clubface a bit right of your target at address, thereby allowing the grass to turn the face into a square position at impact.

The swing should be an aggressive, forceful one. If you get a kick out of swinging hard, this is the place to enjoy yourself. It's a powerful, steep chop that must go down and through the thick stuff. Be sure to keep the club accelerating through impact; otherwise you'll risk moving the ball only a few feet. The faster you can get the club moving through the ball, the faster that ball will climb out of its nest and the farther it will go.

Perched Lies

The final and least common rough lie is the perched ball, where you come to rest atop a tuft of grass. These lies appear easy but they're not. They invite you to belt the ball 200 yards, but you'll never belt it 200, you have to pick it.

More than any other shot from heavy grass, the perched lie demands care and precision. Before you do anything else, take a close look at the lie to determine the exact level at which the ball is perched. In so doing, tread softly and be careful not to dislodge the ball, or it will cost you a one-stroke penalty.

Once you know the height of the ball, select your club. Generally speaking, you should take more club than you would for a fairway lie of the same distance-a 5-iron shot from the fairway would become a 4-iron shot from the rough because of the tendency to hit slightly under this ball and come up short. Whatever club you use, be sure to grip down on it an inch or so to compensate for the fact that the ball is high off the ground.

Even if you don't normally follow my technique of addressing the ball with the club held slightly off the ground, do so on this shot. If you ground the club, you might disturb the grass beneath the ball and set off a chain reaction which will topple the ball. Also, if you address this shot with the club soled, you'll likely hit under it, maybe even whiff it. To hit the back of this ball you need to address your club to the back of it.

On the swing your single objective should be to take the club back in a low, wide sweep. To promote this, position the ball about an inch forward of its usual position in your stance, thus shading your weight a bit more to the right than on a standard shot. Also, be sure that at address your left shoulder is markedly higher than your right. Then just sweep the club back and away. Keep pretending the ball is on a tee, and you'll do fine.

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