How to Chip from Deep Rough with Consistency

05/14/2017

Sometimes when you’re just off the green you can still use your putter or even hit a 7-iron bump-and-run.  However, there will be times when your ball nestles down into a 5-inch clump of rough and the only way to get it on the green and anywhere near the flag is by chipping it.

How do you chip from the high rough? 

PGA teaching pro Todd Kolb of USGolfTV.com has a new video on YouTube that gives a nice demonstration of the technique required.

“When your ball comes to rest in that really deep, thick grass there are three things you need to do to be able to hit a successful golf shot,” Kolb explains in the quickly-paced though fully developed 2:24 video.

The first thing to consider is the loft of your golf club. “Loft is your friend when you’re chipping out of the thick, deep grass,” Kolb says.

For this situation Kolb recommends a lob wedge with 60-degrees of loft.

In terms of actually executing the shot, Kolb says the second fundamental that’s necessary for excavating the ball from the thick rough is club head speed.

“The reason you’ve got to have speed is that the grass is thick, right? And long. And if the club is travelling slowly, the grass is going to grab the club, it’s going to close the face and a lot of bad things are going to happen. So after loft, the second thing you have to have is speed.”

The third requirement to chip successfully out of the tall rough is the proper angle of attack for the club head. “We need the club travelling into the ball at the proper angle,” Kolb explains and then demonstrates.

“For the right handed golfer, you’re going to move the ball back in your stance toward your right foot. When you do that be sure that you also move the handle slightly back because – as you recall the first requirement was loft – if you leave the handle in front, you deloft the golf club. So move the ball back in your stance but also move the handle back.”

It takes some practice, Kolb says, but once you have the proper club with enough loft, good club head speed and the ball and club correctly positioned, you can approach the thick stuff with confidence.

“If you have those three things, this shot will be much easier on the golf course and you can execute this shot from the heavy rough and hopefully hit it close.”