When you discover your ball buried in the rough, don’t panic.
My ball landed in the greenside rough, yikes. The first thing you need to do is to assess the lie. Is it sitting down or up in the rough? The lie will determine your club choice. What’s the lay of the land on the green? Begin thinking about a landing area. In this scenario, I have a slippery downhill left-to-right sloping green.
With this type of shot, the PW, 9, 8 or 7 irons need to stay in the bag. A more lofted club is your best bet.
Now let’s take a closer look at the situation. This green slopes down and has a left-to-right undulation. I’ll need to land this puppy not on the green, but on the fringe favoring the left side…then let the slope take the ball to the hole.
Play the ball further back in your stance to get the club on the ball quickly. I have my hands set slightly ahead to promote a descending stroke. I’m literally going to drop the club behind the ball and pop it up onto the fringe. Soft hands and smooth tempo are key with this type of execution.