Getting more from your chip shots out of the rough

FRIDAY, OCT. 19: Most of us have been in the rough at one point or another. The challenge is to get up and down in two strokes from the particularly thick rough that we have in Bermuda. It is one of the most exacting and daunting shots to play because if you get it wrong, the consequences can be dire.

It is exasperating to find you have successfully driven your ball nicely down the fairway, landing near the green, only to find your it has buried itself in heavy grass surrounding the green.

Many golfers seize up with this chip shot, scooping or topping the ball in an effort to release it from the rough, with the ball progressing only a few inches from its original landing spot.

Or they try hitting the ball on the equator so that flies across the green like a speeding bullet.

But learning how to successfully face this situation will save you precious strokes on your score.

Position the ball back in your stance. Place most of your weight on your left foot (for right-handed golfers). Grip the club close to the bottom of the handle and place your hands forward of the ball. Cock your wrists early on the backswing, creating a steeper takeaway and a sharper descending arc.

You also need to limit your follow-through.

You can see from the two pictures here Joe has held his finish firmly and not let the wrists unhinge —this is the key to playing out of the thicker rough that will twist and pull at the club.

When playing from this kind of thicker ‘warm season’ grass having a loose long finish will not create the steeper angle of attack and control that is demanded from this shot.

Finally, increasing grip pressure a little is good to improve control in the follow through, but will reduce the ability to feel distance, so keep the pressure fairly firm but not tight.

Paul Adams is the PGA director of Golf at Rosewood Tucker’s Point.