Digging out of the rough

Playing golf from a nicely cut fairway is difficult enough, but what about when your ball is lying in deep rough?

Today I’ll show you the technique that will get you back into play.

The first thing you must do is select a club with enough loft to dig the ball out.

If in doubt, always select more loft, and the rule goes, that the longer the grass, the more lofted the club required.

At address position, you will find that the ball nestles down in the long grass and you will not be able to get the club head right behind the ball, for fear of moving it (step 1). You should play the ball in the centre of your stance and favour your lead foot slightly with your weight.

Make a steep back swing by picking your arms up much more than normal, keeping your weight on the lead side (step 2).

You must now swing steeply down on the ball with force, no delicacy required.

The steep downswing will reduce the amount of grass getting trapped between club head and ball (step 3).

If you attempt to scoop the ball out of this lie, then your club head will get tangled up, and will end in failure.

This shot requires a combination of technique and brute force and is a shot that not many players practise.

A little time spent giving it a go and you will be ahead of the field.