Rough that’s too rough

[sulgolf]

Yo I’m new here and I was wondering if any of you lot have the same problem as me where the rough (at my local club) just off the edge of the fairway is far too long to hit out of, punishing errant tee shots way too much and making the game less enjoyable.
Anyone agree that it can be too rough?
EDIT: might’ve made it seem like I’m new to the game, I’m not, just new to the forum.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Yo I’m new here and I was wondering if any of you lot have the same problem as me where the rough (at my local club) just off the edge of the fairway is far too long to hit out of, punishing errant tee shots way too much and making the game less enjoyable.
Anyone agree that it can be too rough?

Welcome along.

Where do you play? I like to see a club have a defined fairway followed by a strip of semi-rough which should give the ball a chance to sit down and potentially cost a shot but allows a player to move it forward and then some heavier rough if you are way off line where you then have to make a decision on how to progress. In the summer some areas of my own course has knee high rough in the summer but these are way off the driving line and so if you go in it's usually a reload but if you go there you deserve to be punished

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Yes I agree, some rough is too rough. Rough should punish but not hold up the play or cost too many balls. When my place, a parkland course, gets it right you can see the ball but you can't advance it far out of there. It punishes you but not everyone else whilst you search for your ball. When it gets it wrong it eats too many balls and too much time is wasted searching.

It's a tough line to walk for green keepers and sometimes the weather can prevent them from getting it how they want. Clearly the greens committee at a club may also set the rough parameters, not the green keepers.

 

[Parsaregood]

To be honest rough should punish and if its s lost ball it's a lost ball, dont hit it in the bundai and complain about losing a ball, it's there for a reason

 

[sulgolf]

To be honest rough should punish and if its s lost ball it's a lost ball, dont hit it in the bundai and complain about losing a ball, it's there for a reason

Nah I’m not complaining and bad shots should be punished, but the rough should have grades, not be as bad as possible just off the fairway

 

[sulgolf]

Yes I agree, some rough is too rough. Rough should punish but not hold up the play or cost too many balls. When my place, a parkland course, gets it right you can see the ball but you can't advance it far out of there. It punishes you but not everyone else whilst you search for your ball. When it gets it wrong it eats too many balls and too much time is wasted searching.

It's a tough line to walk for green keepers and sometimes the weather can prevent them from getting it how they want. Clearly the greens committee at a club may also set the rough parameters, not the green keepers.

I totally agree with you, and I think currently at the conditions at my club limiting the green keepers so should be sorted through the season

 

[TreeSeeker]

at my course i find its the other way around, the rough is near enough the same as hitting out of the fairway... so you only need to make sure to keep it on the course. Agree with Homer on the line of if you've hit the fairway, the semi-rough should keep your ball in play.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Yes I agree, some rough is too rough. Rough should punish but not hold up the play or cost too many balls. When my place, a parkland course, gets it right you can see the ball but you can't advance it far out of there. It punishes you but not everyone else whilst you search for your ball. When it gets it wrong it eats too many balls and too much time is wasted searching.

It's a tough line to walk for green keepers and sometimes the weather can prevent them from getting it how they want. Clearly the greens committee at a club may also set the rough parameters, not the green keepers.

This is ideal. Our semi can get the ball sitting down even though it isn't that deep and so can effectively cost a shot as you can't always get to the bottom of the ball easily to get it to the green. If you go way off piste it deserves to find heavy rough, so I always get a provisional out there too. Funny how a lot of people seem to think three and five minutes search times are still the same thing!

 

[sulgolf]

Welcome along.

Where do you play? I like to see a club have a defined fairway followed by a strip of semi-rough which should give the ball a chance to sit down and potentially cost a shot but allows a player to move it forward and then some heavier rough if you are way off line where you then have to make a decision on how to progress. In the summer some areas of my own course has knee high rough in the summer but these are way off the driving line and so if you go in it's usually a reload but if you go there you deserve to be punished

It’s the course I use to practice sometimes, only 6 holes but quality practice facilities, Pachesham Golf Club in Surrey. I agree it should cost a shot but this stuff is so thick I’m losing a ball on the edge of the fairway, so I feel it’s a bit long at the moment, but I guess that’s just because it’s only spring at the moment

 

[larmen]

I don't mind rough when it is far enough away from the green so when you have to hit hard to actually move the ball you don't have to overshoot the green because you can't get it down. But if you are pin high just 2 yards of the green and can't control a ball then I feel I am being punished too much.

 

[USER1999]

Nah, have to disagree, long rough is stupid, and pathetic. It is a way of protecting poor course design.

Long rough is a prime cause of slow play.

Most of the time, with good pin placement, being on the wrong side makes play difficult enough. There is no need for stupid deep rough too.

Deep rough stops the ball from rolling out into a position that would be difficult to play to a good pin position. Deep rough keeps the ball out of the trees. Etc.

Not a fan.

It is poor course design, and poor course set up.

 

[rulefan]

The course rating process takes care of it (or should) in arriving at the SSS (and slope when introduced). The problem arises when the club decides to change its course set up
philosophy.

However, this is more often the other way about. They make it tough for the rating and then make it easier later to make the players fell good. Its not common but it happens.

 

[Bunkermagnet]

I used to be a member of a club that had rough 4 ft off each fairway so thick you could drop the ball and not see it.
It wasnt massively long, but very dense. There has to be a balance between punishing you for an errant shot and the time taken for that round.

 

[richart]

Our rough is non existant at the moment, though the heather is like barbed wire.

 

[patricks148]

move to the north of scotland no rough for the last 5 months

 

[Orikoru]

I agree with you, we are amateurs after all. The pro courses should be like that but not ours. My course is a bit like that sometimes, but I think it's worse through winter as they don't really want to cut the grass down until it's warmer and has a chance of growing back. Then again even some of our fairways look like rough at the moment.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

It’s the course I use to practice sometimes, only 6 holes but quality practice facilities, Pachesham Golf Club in Surrey. I agree it should cost a shot but this stuff is so thick I’m losing a ball on the edge of the fairway, so I feel it’s a bit long at the moment, but I guess that’s just because it’s only spring at the moment

I know Pachesham very well and had a fitting there a few years back before American Golf took over. I still go there every so often for their great short game facility. I think the issue with the facility now is because it doesn't get as much use as it did when it was a full nine hole course, they are saving money by letting the rough grow to cut down on maintenance time/costs. I had heard someone say they are looking to sell the 6 holes as well and make it into a state of the art practice facility with floodlights on the short game area, extended facilities etc

 

[patricks148]

This can be a tricky one. on one hand if clubs are playing lots of comps it has to be an advantage to hit the fairway, no rough and you are just saying spray it all over the place and have little disadvantage from it. But its also a leisure pursuit so you don't want to lose balls a foot of the fairway.

The way the UK climate is going with milder wetter warmer winters, annual meadow grass gets very thick and lush. Even on the links i play at this type of grass has invaded over the years into the rough where on occasions you missed the fairway you lost the ball. So we have bought a rough cutter and baler, so running a 3 year plan to re introduce fescue and cut out the AMG. so far its working and last years hot dry summer helped that.

 

[sulgolf]

I know Pachesham very well and had a fitting there a few years back before American Golf took over. I still go there every so often for their great short game facility. I think the issue with the facility now is because it doesn't get as much use as it did when it was a full nine hole course, they are saving money by letting the rough grow to cut down on maintenance time/costs. I had heard someone say they are looking to sell the 6 holes as well and make it into a state of the art practice facility with floodlights on the short game area, extended facilities etc

That would be very interesting and I think that would be a smart move for them. The club is going through a big change at the moment with loads of new staff, it would definitely be interesting as the practice facility is already great.

 

[sulgolf]

I agree with you, we are amateurs after all. The pro courses should be like that but not ours. My course is a bit like that sometimes, but I think it's worse through winter as they don't really want to cut the grass down until it's warmer and has a chance of growing back. Then again even some of our fairways look like rough at the moment.

I totally agree, it’s more punishing than what I see on tour every week