The rough can be one of the greatest challenges on a golf course. That taller, thicker grass surrounding the fairways seems designed to punish the player… but with the right tips, it can also become an opportunity to demonstrate control and skill.
Here’s a practical guide to help you improve your performance from the rough: you’ll learn how to assess the lie, choose the right club, adjust your stance, and execute an effective swing. And the best part is that you can practise all these situations in a technical setting like Chaparral Golf Club, where every shot counts.
Assess the Lie Carefully
Before selecting your club or preparing for the shot, take a close look at how the ball is lying. Is it buried in the grass or sitting up nicely?
If the ball is visible, you’ll have more control and the chance to add spin. However, if it’s buried or has grass behind it, you’ll need a stronger, more direct strike. Identifying this will shape your strategy when choosing a club.
Choose the Right Club
Your choice of club in the rough depends on the lie and your objective. If you need distance and the lie is fairly clean, a 7 or 8 iron can work well.
If the ball is buried, a higher-lofted wedge (such as a sand wedge or pitching wedge) will give you better launch. Avoid using clubs with low loft or fairway woods — the grass will grab the clubface and sap your power.
Adjust Your Stance
Stability is crucial in the rough. Place slightly more weight on your front foot and keep your knees more flexed. This helps ensure cleaner contact and prevents the club from snagging in the grass.
Also, grip the club a little firmer than usual to stop the clubface from twisting at impact due to resistance from the rough.
Make a Compact and Committed Swing
Forget the long, flowing swing. From the rough, you need a shorter, more compact and downward swing. The aim is to make solid contact with the ball before the club hits the grass.
Accelerate through impact to prevent the rough from slowing the clubhead down. Don’t try to get fancy with spin or shaping — here, efficiency trumps aesthetics.
Practise Real Situations on the Course
You can’t truly master the rough from the practice range alone. On technical courses like Chaparral Golf Club, located on the Costa del Sol, you can face real lies in tall grass, with varying slopes and grass conditions.
What’s more, the advanced Top Tracer technology available on the practice range allows you to analyse each shot in detail — speed, trajectory, launch angle and accuracy. This tool is a perfect ally to fine-tune your technique, identify mistakes and track your progress with real, measurable data.
Thanks to its challenging design, privileged natural surroundings and cutting-edge technology, Chaparral Golf Club is the ideal place to train year-round and improve every aspect of your game.
Playing from the rough is an essential skill — one that can make the difference between saving or losing a hole. Assessing the lie, choosing the right club, adjusting your stance and executing a firm, confident swing are all key steps toward improvement.
And when you add a tool like Top Tracer, which helps you train with accurate, real-time feedback, you’ll be one step closer to mastering these tricky situations with confidence and precision.
Practise these tips at a place like Chaparral Golf Club and turn every shot from the rough into an opportunity to shine. Because in golf, adapting to the terrain is just as important as technique… and the rough, rather than a punishment, could be the stage for your next great shot.
