SHAKE OFF THE MISS, THEN GET AGGRESSIVE

Scrambling starts with forgetting what put you there in the first place, locking in on the present, and feeling the urgency to hit a quality shot. It’s a mentality almost as much as it is a technique.

Around the green, I focus on producing the right energy to get the ball to my target. In the rough, you have to hinge your wrists early on the backswing, accelerate the club into the ball and keep the clubface from closing as it goes through the thicker grass. You also have to read the slopes on the green accurately to leave the ball in a spot where you know you can make a positive putting stroke. Above all else, you have to leave the previous shot behind. Confidence starts with staying in the present, knowing your strengths and playing to them.

When playing approach shots from the rough, don’t take more risk than necessary. In general, birdies aren’t made from the rough, so take your medicine and play a smart shot. Gauging how shots are going to come out of the rough mostly comes from experience, but I don’t think it makes much sense to hit any club out of the rough that you have a tough time hitting from a clean lie. In other words, no fairway woods and no long irons.

Make a steeper backswing than normal and accelerate the club through the turf without trying to help the ball into the air. The more you flip your hands through impact, the more likely the grass will close the clubface and send the ball well short and left. It’s also likely that even a good shot from the rough will roll out a fair distance after it lands, so factor that into your plan.