How rough is your Rough?

My local course at Ruislip has some problem with their cutting machinery for dealing with the longer grass. So it hasn't been cut for ages now that it's become a nightmare if like me you can't always keep it on the shorter mown fairway!

Last round I lost 3 balls on the 1st 3 holes alone, they went into areas of open grass, but could not be found within a sensible search time. If you are "lucky" enough to find your ball, when you see how deep down it is, you actually wish you hadn't! My Golf Society have relaxed their local rules to allow pick and place in these lies, and only a 1 shot penalty for lost ball in these circumstances, as it has got so bad.

Any tips on the best way to try and play balls in such difficult lies would be very welcome indeed! I've accepted that getting any appreciable distance further down the fairway is very unlikely, and the most important thing to achieve is to escape. So I take my punishment for putting my ball there, by just trying to getback out onto the fairway using a PW.

A seasoned GS member has suggested that using the SW may be even better as a bit more loft, and heavier head to try and blast thru the grass. Is this likely to work better?

Hi Bob, my course is just the same, always is in the summer. I am not very strong so I have to use my lob wedge to guarantee getting out as it has a very sharp leading edge.

Using the Sand Wedge would be another good option as it is heavier and does have more loft.

What I dislike with my club is that they have many plantations growing newly planted trees, which are now a serious hazard, but have increased the difficulty by not cutting the rough in the plantation itself. A double hazard that is not really needed in my opinion.

The professionals, from what I can see, do not really understand what real rough is, the spectators soon demolish the rough on links courses and all the inland course are manicured with no rough at all under the trees, just pine needles.

i use a hybrid , 18* love it out of the long grass , just got a 21* so r see how that works , in the next week or 2 ,,,,

The rough at my club is different between the two courses. 

The parkland course has a few thicker patches further offline but is mostly about 2" deep 'normal' thick grass that your ball nestles down into and anything with less loft than than an 8 iron and your ball is staying in it.  A real issue when said thick grass is surrounded by trees with low hanging branches....

The inland links course has much longer grass, as high as your knees in many places, but it is mainly wispy so you can get a 5 iron on it.  However, in the thicker places you throw a 52* or 56* wedge at it hard and be pleased to be out

Typical links rough at Cleveland. It looks whispy, and its possible to get a mid iron or hybrid at theball but thats a recipe for disaster as its tough as steel wool.