Lucy Locket
By Lucy Locket

Whilst we all aim for the fairway, even the best golfers in the world hit it in the rough three or four times a round. When faced with a rough lie, it is important to understand how the ball will react and how to approach the swing.

In this video, Justin Rose helps explain what you need to consider when finding your ball in the rough and the best way to get back in play.

Reading The Lie

When you're on the tee, fairway or green, considering your lie is not important, you have a perfect lie. However, when you are in the rough it is important to read the lie and see how the grass around the ball will impact the shot. Justin suggests you see whether the grass is going with or against the direction of the shot. If it is against, it will be sticky at impact and slow the club down and limit the distance the ball will travel.

Club Choice

Once you have assessed the condition of the lie, club choice is the next step. You need to pick a club that mirrors the lie you have in the rough. If you have a good lie, with the grass growing in the direction of the shot, you can select just about any club in the bag. However, if you have a bad/thick lie you will need to come down steeply on the ball, decreasing the loft of the shot and therefore require a higher lofted club, i.e. a 9-iron or wedge.

Swinging From A Bad Lie

Justin's keys for swinging out of a bad lie are to position the club a little further back in your stance, grip down on the grip slightly and increase the grip pressure. This set-up will position the ball for a steeper, stronger, more aggressive swing designed to force the ball out of the lie and back into play.