Alright, so I finally got around to really working on that pesky shot – the putt from just off the green, stuck in the rough. You know the one. Drives you crazy when you’re that close and then you duff it or send it flying past the hole.
I’d been messing this up pretty consistently. Like, my approach would be decent, maybe just a yard or two off the putting surface, but then I’d be faced with this little patch of thicker grass. My usual putting stroke just wouldn’t cut it. So, I figured, enough is enough, gotta spend some proper time on this.
I headed over to the practice area at my local spot. Didn’t need anything fancy, just grabbed my putter and a handful of balls. Found a section of rough that was pretty similar to what I usually face on the course – not super deep, but definitely thick enough to grab the club.
My First Attempts Were, Well, Not Great
Honestly, the first few tries were a bit of a joke. Total disaster. I’d either:
- Barely nudge the ball, and it would get swallowed by the grass, moving maybe a foot.
- Or, I’d overcompensate, give it a big whack, and the ball would jump out hot and scoot way past the hole.
There didn’t seem to be an in-between for a while. Super frustrating, let me tell ya.
So, I started thinking, what am I actually trying to do here? It’s not a normal putt, that’s for sure. The grass is the big enemy. It grabs the club, it slows the ball down unpredictably.
I began by just focusing on making solid contact. Tried to feel like I was hitting the equator of the ball, maybe even a little bit down on it, trying to get it to pop out of the grass rather than getting tangled. I fiddled with my ball position a bit, moving it slightly back in my stance. Not sure if that was the magic bullet, but it felt a bit more solid.
Then I thought about the stroke itself. My normal, smooth putting stroke was getting lost in the weeds. So, I tried a shorter, more aggressive, kinda ‘popping’ motion. Almost like a tiny little chip, but with my putter. I kept my wrists pretty firm. That seemed to help. The ball started to come out a bit more consistently.
I spent a good hour just hitting balls from different lies in the rough to the same practice hole. Some lies were thicker, some a bit thinner. The key, I reckon, was learning to judge how much extra ‘oomph’ I needed for each situation. It’s definitely not a feel you can get from practicing on a perfect carpet-like green.
I also noticed that I had to be way more committed to the shot than I initially thought. Any hesitation, and the grass would just win. Had to give it a confident strike.
Still Got Work To Do, But It’s Progress
Look, I’m not saying I’ve mastered it. Far from it. But after that session, I definitely feel a bit more confident standing over those shots. I have a better idea of what I’m trying to do, and what kind of stroke might actually work.
The biggest takeaway for me was that it’s a completely different beast to normal putting. You gotta accept that and adjust your whole mindset and technique. I’m planning to make this a regular part of my practice routine now. Even if it just saves me one or two strokes a round by getting it closer from those annoying spots, it’ll be worth it. Less stress too, knowing I’ve got a plan for when I inevitably miss the green by a whisker!
