How to Hit Out of the Thick Rough (Steps, Tips, and Troubleshooting)

When your drive takes a turn offline and is headed for the rough, the first thing that probably pops into your mind is that you need a good lie. If the ball is sitting up in the rough, it becomes a lot easier to save your score on the hole.

However, on courses where there is really thick rough, chances are you won’t get so lucky.

There are some strategies for how to hit out of the thick rough (including don’t hit it in there in the first place). I’ll show you all the factors that come into play here and how to get the ball heading down the fairway and back in play.

How to Hit Out of the Thick Rough (Key Takeaways)

Here are a few of the most important things to remember about hitting out of the thick rough:

• Always analyze your lie to see what kind of situation your golf ball is in; look at what your golf ball club is going to come in contact with before it hits the ball.
• Never slow your club down as you swing through a golf ball that is buried in thick rough; acceleration keeps the speed up, and you need that to get out.
• Have a little extra grip pressure in case the club tries to twist on you.
• Use more loft, even if you need distance.
• Don’t turn this into more mistakes; get the ball back in play.

The 9 Simple Tips to Hit Out of the Thick Rough

So your ball ends up in a bad spot. This next shot could get you back in play and leave you with the chance to make a par, or it could easily help you turn this hole into a double or triple bogey.

Let’s take a look at the best golf tips to hit out of the thick rough.

Pick the Right Club

When playing from the thick rough, you may be far from the green or chipping. When your golf ball is buried, you need all the loft you can get to get it out of the rough.

For thick fairway rough, consider hitting something like a 7 or 8 iron, even if you are further away from the hole. In addition, consider a forgiving higher lofted hybrid instead of a lower lofted fairway wood.

Most of the time, a golf club gets pulled closed a little by the rough as players swing through. When this happens, there is some extra topspin and a bit more roll. Even taking a higher lofted club, you may still get plenty of distance out of your shot.

Around the greens, the 60 or 56-degree wedge gives you a chance to stop the ball on the green after hitting your shot.

In really gnarly rough, open the clubface slightly at address to offset how the grass might grab the hosel and twist the face closed.

Check Your Ball Position

In thick rough, moving the ball slightly back in your stance encourages a steeper swing path, helping you strike the ball before the grass. If you are too shallow here, the golf ball may never get high enough to get out of the rough.

For golfers who tend to hit one shot after another that doesn’t leave the thick rough, the swing plane and ball position are often the problem.

Slightly Open Stance

Allow yourself a slightly more open golf stance. The open stance increases your ability to get loft on the golf shot and hit the ball a little higher. With an open stance on a greenside shot out of the rough, you can also promote a softer landing onto the green.

Be sure that you adjust the ball position once you open the stance; you don’t want a golf ball ending up too far back in the stance.

Work on Clubface Control

One of the worst nightmares for golfers who are struggling out of the thick rough is to have the golf clubface shut down on you.

When the clubface shuts down, the ball will head to the left, making it hard to achieve enough loft and a straight shot.

If you have more control over your clubface, the chance of this happening is considerably reduced.

To work on clubface control and understand how the flexion and extension in your wrists are controlling the clubface, you can use HackMotion.

HackMotion will help you determine the position of your wrist at setup, the top of the backswing, and at impact.

The better you are at squaring your clubface at impact, the easier it is to hit a strong, straight shot out of the thick rough.

When the hosel snags in thick grass, it can twist the face shut quickly.

Using HackMotion to monitor your wrist flexion can help train a more stable face through impact, especially if you combine it with strength training for your hands and forearms to resist twisting.

Accelerate Through Impact

As soon as you slow your golf club down through impact, the rough is going to grab it. One of the number one mistakes golfers make when hitting out of the thick rough is slowing down.

You must accelerate through impact, and the easiest way to do this is with a square clubface.

The sooner you can square your clubface (after the start of your downswing), the easier it is to accelerate through the ball.

That’s why we see players like Dustin Johnson and Collin Morikawa having so much clubhead speed through impact. They already have a square face and can just accelerate with everything they have.

Another helpful technique is adding a bit more wrist hinge earlier in the backswing. This naturally steepens the swing and helps you drive the clubhead down through the rough without letting it stall or twist at impact. HackMotion’s wrist angle feedback is great for fine-tuning this motion.

Plan for the Result

A shot from the thick rough will not have the same result as a shot from the fairway. Take a look at what is in front of you and make sure you put together a proper plan. This plan could include avoiding hazards.

Remember that the clubface will very often shut down a bit as you get through the golf ball and near the impact position. If that happens, your ball may go to the left; at least plan for that to happen at times.

If your lie is really bad, you might only advance the ball 50–60 yards, and that’s still a win if it gets you back in position.

Visualize the Shot You Will Hit

As with any other golf shot you hit, do your pre-shot routine and visualize the shot that will happen. When you are smart about visualization, it will help you pull off the shot.

Again, be realistic here about what is likely to happen because of the lie that you have and how that will impact the shot you are going to hit.

Pick Your Next Position to Play From

I like to have a go-to spot on the golf course that I’ll play from should I hit a shot that is more of a recovery shot out of the rough. For instance, I like the 120-yardage. I feel confident from here, and I know my ability to hit it close from 120 yards is quite good.

Therefore, I don’t want to hit a shot from the rough that will come up short, but give me 80 yards to the green. The 80-yard shot is much more difficult at times; I’m just not as consistent with it.

This is an example of smart golf course management.

If you are already sacrificing a shot, hitting one out of the rough just to lay up, at least lay up to a distance you are confident about.

Spend Time Practicing

How many perfect lies do you get during a round?

Not many!

Try to find an area where you can practice your full swing in addition to your short game shots out of the thicker rough. Some courses only have mats at the driving range, and the lie is always perfect.

If you can find a place to practice where you can work on more than mats, expect to have an easier time on the course when you run into this problem.

Drills to Help You Hit Out of Deep Rough

Steep Swing Wrist Set Drill

If you need some help practicing your shots out of the deep rough, give this drill a try. It helps train the earlier wrist hinge in the backswing for better turf interaction.

Faldo Drill

This drill, located in the HackMotion app, helps you build a more compact, controlled backswing by presetting the wrist hinge early and focusing on proper shoulder rotation.

It’s ideal for golfers who overhinge, overswing, or lose control at the top.

FAQs

Here are a few of the most commonly asked questions about how to hit out of the rough.

How do you hit through thick rough?

The best way to hit through thick rough is to accelerate even when the grass gets thick. Work on increasing your strength and clubface control so that you can swing through the ball with extra power and acceleration.

Why can’t I hit out of the rough?

Hitting out of the rough takes a lot of clubhead speed. In addition, you may be choosing the wrong golf club that doesn’t have enough loft. Hitting out of the rough is a problem for those who try to hit a lower lofted club with a slower swing speed.

Should you hit woods out of the rough?

If your ball is sitting up nicely in the rough, it’s ok to attempt to hit a 5-wood or 7-wood. However, when it’s buried deep, and you take a lower lofted fairway wood, expect a poor result.

Is it better to be on the fairway or in the rough?

Hitting from the fairway is easier and allows for cleaner contact with the golf ball. In addition, hitting from the fairway improves spin rates and allows you to stop a golf ball on the green when necessary.

Final Thoughts

At this point, you should have more confidence in hitting a shot out of the rough. The rough is difficult, and it’s best to learn to hit a golf ball straight and stay out of it.

However, when you do end up in the rough, remembering to control that clubface, position the ball correctly, and accelerate through will help you achieve better results.