Breaking 80 In Golf - 5 Tips To Chipping From Heavy Rough Near The Green For Duffers

You have mishit your approach shot slightly and your ball now lies just off the green settled down in some thick coarse. Once you have finished complaining about how bigoted golf can be, you'll need to prepare for that next shot. How are you going to attack this challenge?

Some golfers have a single club and single shot type for all chipping prospects. If you're trying to break 100 that approach might be best. Perfecting single shot at this level seems sensible. But if you carry a lower scoring average, you are looking to get up and back down from here you will need a chip shot more suited to this regrettable lie.

You see that thick, heavy grass surrounding your ball can cause the club head to turn way offline. That heavy grass gets tangled up with your club's hosel. The ball will probably come out far left of target with no speed control leaving you some distance from one putt range.

This shot requires a delicate touch and maximum control. Try using these five tips when you're facing a chip from heavy coarse.

Chipping from Heavy coarse

Use a sand wedge - The sand wedge offers the benefit of "bounce" which makes it far easier to cut through the grass and not get all twisted offline. Your pitch wedge might even work for this shot. These clubs give more margin for mistake.

Open position - Open your stance a little to allow your hands and arms to clear your front hip. Open the club face too like you would in a bunker shot.

Move the ball back - Move the ball back past center in your stance to promote a steep angle of attack which allows less grass between the club face and the ball at impact.

Use a steep swing - This shot requires a steep approach to help pop the ball out of the rough. Hinge your wrist quickly on the takeaway.

Follow through - Think assertively here as the shot requires more club head speed than you first think. You may only need the ball to travel a short distance but given the lie and the open club face you want to swing faster than your instincts tell you. Just keep it smooth with a full follow through. Don't decelerate or could have the same shot to play all over again.

Remember this shot is a challenge for everybody. The goal here is to get up and back down. The right shot choice with decent execution will give you a reasonable chance to do that almost all of the time.