Why Let The Rough Grow?

[GB72]

our course could do with the rough being staggered a bit more. A couple of years ago you did not have to been too much off line and there and you had to hit a provisional to be safe. I actually gave up playing on my own in the evenings as it was becoming expensive losing that many balls with nobody to help spot it if it hit the rough.

I think that there is a fine line but the penalty for being wayward should be a more difficult shot but should not be a lost ball. Rough can be penal without being ridiculously long.

 

[patricks148]

Look at it another way, if you hit the fairway you should be rewarded, it shouldnt be that you can blast it all over the place and not get penalised for being wayward

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Rough is grown for a couple reasons

1. Make the course tougher

2. Protect the course

3. Cost

If you are wayward then you should be penalised.

 

[palindromicbob]

Depends on the course I suppose.

I know a parkland course that grew the rough in the second cut and narrowed the margin of first cut hoping it would toughen up the course. It did for the higher handicappers but made no difference to the lower handicappers who tended to stay out of it anyway. All it really resulted in was frustrated high handicap members and longer rounds due to lost balls.

 

[Robobum]

Rough is grown for a couple reasons

1. Make the course tougher

2. Protect the course

3. Cost

If you are wayward then you should be penalised.

That's 3!!

Yes YOU should be penalised but the whole course shouldn't by endless ball searches, reloads, and call thrus

 

[Birchy]

Beat me to it!!

Birchy, try playing my second shots for one round and then see how you feel! :swing:

Ive got to keep all you bombers at bay somehow

 

[Deleted member 15344]

That's 3!!

Yes YOU should be penalised but the whole course shouldn't by endless ball searches, reloads, and call thrus

Yes it shouldnt - hence why it should be staggered and thick as opposed to high

 

[Doon frae Troon]

Duncan is correct in what he says about the environment.
At one of my old courses I had to work around a SSSI where two rare species resided. Butterfly and newts I think.
At another course I adjusted the cut rough to a third level to try to encourage partridges back on the course. They had not been seen for over 30 years. Both myself and the members were delighted when it worked.

I just love to see the look of panic on America's finest golfers when they arrive at Muirfield or Carnoustie when 'the roughs up'.
Proper golf, so rarely seen these days.

 

[Doon frae Troon]

Yes it shouldnt - hence why it should be staggered and thick as opposed to high

Phil it is generally easier to find a ball in untouched matted rough than long cut rough.

Blast from the past. US commentator on Shells World of Golf. 'Now Gary is in the thick rough, Gary is playing a 2 iron'.

 

[JustOne]

1) Money
2) Aesthetics
3) Because clubs THINK they should rather than analysing the time it takes to get round and the scores.

Most of the conditions we play in are TOUGHER than the pros......... it's only that our courses are shorter that makes our courses playable at all!!!

 

[CheltenhamHacker]

Most of the conditions we play in are TOUGHER than the pros......... it's only that our courses are shorter that makes our courses playable at all!!!

Why do you say this JO?

 

[HawkeyeMS]

Through the summer I often here complaints about the rough being too long. Granted, a couple of years ago the old Course Manager let it get out of hand and it was a bit stupid and a ball could easily be lost not far off the fairway but last year I thought the new man had it just about right.

The 1st cut should be short enough that you don't have trouble finding your ball and long enough that you are penalised for being in there. As someone who tends to keep the ball on or very close to the fairway most of the time, I would hate to see the rough trimmed back too far otherwise what is the point learning to hit straight?

As our course is fairly new and the trees are still developing along the fairways, longer rough adds to the definition of the holes which makes the course look so much better as well.

 

[6inchcup]

isnt golf supposed to be a game of skill and not just hit it anywhere and have no penalty,i learnt a very long time ago that course management was fundamental to playing golf and hitting the ball into the best position for the next shot is key,i know we all go into the rough and a part of the game is knowing how to best get the ball back into play,if you wish to just hit a ball as far as you can without suffering the consequence then remove all the trees and bunkers and fill in the ponds and lakes etc or learn how to shape the ball to avoid the hazards because thats what they are hazards.

 

[In_The_Rough]

It is a fine line between having rough that punishes a wayward shot and letting it get out of hand. I played a course around 18 months ago and the rough was out of hand, you did not have to be much off line and it was in the scrub. This meant on every hole there were people looking for balls and meant a very slow 9 holes after which we packed in and walked off. If we hadn't our record of 6 1/2 hour round would have been under threat as it was well over 3 hours for 9 holes.

 

[6inchcup]

It is a fine line between having rough that punishes a wayward shot and letting it get out of hand. I played a course around 18 months ago and the rough was out of hand, you did not have to be much off line and it was in the scrub. This meant on every hole there were people looking for balls and meant a very slow 9 holes after which we packed in and walked off. If we hadn't our record of 6 1/2 hour round would have been under threat as it was well over 3 hours for 9 holes.

i admit if the rough is knee deep a few feet off the fairway that is poor design,but if your spraying the ball about and are a few yards from the second cut of rough that is just poor golf and should be punished,in my thinking it should be fairway,then secondary rough-a few inches deep for a yard or so then primary rough -4 to 6 inch deep any more wayward than that it should be Amazon rain forest.

 

[In_The_Rough]

i admit if the rough is knee deep a few feet off the fairway that is poor design,but if your spraying the ball about and are a few yards from the second cut of rough that is just poor golf and should be punished,in my thinking it should be fairway,then secondary rough-a few inches deep for a yard or so then primary rough -4 to 6 inch deep any more wayward than that it should be Amazon rain forest.

The first cut was as deep as the primary rough you mention. Further in than that was when you wondered if a Lion or Tiger was going to jump out at you!!

 

[6inchcup]

The first cut was as deep as the primary rough you mention. Further in than that was when you wondered if a Lion or Tiger was going to jump out at you!!

sounds like poor design or they are letting it grow for the summer.

 

[In_The_Rough]

sounds like poor design or they are letting it grow for the summer.

It was Summer 2012!!! They just let it get out of hand matey

 

[6inchcup]

It was Summer 2012!!! They just let it get out of hand matey

could just be a ploy by the pro to sell more balls and split the profits with the green keeper

 

[In_The_Rough]

could just be a ploy by the pro to sell more balls and split the profits with the green keeper

If it was it certainly was working from what I saw