It doesn’t matter at what time of year or where in the world you are playing golf, there is always a chance you will come across wet rough. Thick rough can be difficult to play out from at the best of times but when it has been raining and the rough is wet, you have an added problem.
Clearly, we all want to avoid being in the rough in the first place and if the grass is wet, you may want to take extra precautions to stay away from the rough. That could mean playing away from the rough on a tee shot but leaving yourself a slightly longer second shot than usual.
However, chances are you will end up in the rough at some point during a round. What can you do when playing from wet rough?
The first thing to remember is the ball is going to be behave unpredictably. If you are planning on trying to hit the ball from thick, wet rough over a pond and onto the green, you need to think again. There is no way you are going to be able to control the ball flight to safely carry the ball over the water.
So, instead of playing aggressively, you are advised to find the shortest route to get the ball back on the fairway. Once on the fairway, you can play a clean shot over the water and onto the green.
When the ball is buried in the wet rough, you will meet more resistance and must take a wide stance to ensure you keep your balance throughout the shot. A pitching wedge is the ideal club to use in this situation. As distance is not a factor in playing this shot, you could even be playing sideways to get the ball back on the fairway and the distance is short.
When playing the shot, hack down steeply on the ball and be prepared for the wet grass to wrap around the hosel of the golf club. The face of the club could close on impact so be ready to meet some resistance when playing the shot. Do not be afraid to swing steeply and hard at the ball as you will cut through any resistance easier playing the shot with a bit of force and the wide stance will allow you to do that and keep your balance.
Do not be tempted to play this shot with a lower lofted club as if you happen catch a ‘flyer’ you could send your ball across the fairway and into trouble on the other side. There may be a chance your club slides through the wet grass and with a wedge your ball will not travel a huge distance but a lower lofted club could see the ball fly and finish in trouble elsewhere on the hole.
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