Even the best players in the world will find themselves in the "thick stuff" a few times every round. Here are 3 simple tips to manuever the rough and keep your round alive!
Keep the hands moving!
1. Use the most lofted club in your bag
Swing with your most lofted club. Why? Because the higher loft has a steeper angle of attack and will take more grass out of play and ensure better contact. However if you know that your Club Head Speed is higher than the average you can experiment with lower lofted clubs as well.
2. Position your hands forward
Position your ball in the middle of your stance, slightly towards the lead foot and have a slight forward press or tilt with your hands. Doing this secures good contact and you are less likely to hit behind the ball and duff it.
3. Maintain hand speed throughout
Now to the most crucial aspect: Speed! If you undercommit to the shot your club will get stuck in the thick rough, so commit to the shot and maintain your hand speed throughout your swing. Next time your practicing chip shots out of thick rough, bring your deWiz and look at the Max Hand Speed metric and stay committed.
Summary
When trying to get out of that thick grass, particularly around the green, the number one mistake that players make is they don't create enough speed to advance the ball.
By looking at the deWiz Hand Speed measurement, you can ensure that you're creating enough speed - you should be producing a Max Hand Speed greater than a typical wedge swing - to successfully manoeuvre the rough!