Any guess what this post is about?
Well it has nothing to do with being in the jungle or "deep south".
What I want to talk about is how to recover from a lie , deep in the rough, "semi-plugged" in the fairway, and also out of a soft sand. These lies are very common when playing golf in Thailand as the courses get lots of rain being located in tropics.
Playing from a deep lie is a challenge if you let the lie intimidate you. Usually, a buried or "plugged" lie results from hitting a high lofting shot that drops heavily into long grass, a fairway which may be soft from recent heavy rain, or also from soft sand. Regardless of what caused it, you can extricate yourself using the right technique.
With this shot, you must make changes to a normal shot to get out. Keep these 5 changes in mind when playing from a buried or plugged lie.
1. Square the stance and club face
2. Keep your back swing steep
3. Keep your weight centered
4. Hit down hard on the ball
5. Keep your wrists solid through impact
For starters, you must make changes to your stance. Assume a square stance and keep the club face square to the target line. Also, keep your weight centered over the ball, which should be positioned farther back in the stance than opposite the left heel. This set up provides the leverage you’ll need to hit the ball out.
To present the right angle of attack, pick the club up steeply in the takeaway and hinge the wrists earlier than normal. If you stop here, you’ll find yourself pointing the club directly skyward as you complete the back swing and move into the slot.
Once you’re in the slot, keep your weight centered over the ball, which helps maintain the angle of attack the shot requires. Since you need force to extricate yourself from the lie, you must hit down hard on the ball. At impact, you’ll meet resistance from the grass, mud, or sand, so grip the club firmly to maintain rock solid wrists. And don’t worry too much about your follow-through.
The ball comes out of this type of lie low and with little backspin. Expect it to run when it lands. Using so much force reduces control over the shot, but if you swing weakly you won’t get out.
Next time you’re in a buried like try these 5 changes and you’ll get up and down more often.
Of course the other option, at least if you are not in a hazard, may be to simply remove the ball form the plugged lie, clean it and replace it. Please consult your partner or course official before trying this tip as each club may have different rules governing the definition and options for plugged lie.
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