Every Thailand golfer lands in the rough sooner or late, especially on courses with narrow fairways such as Amata Spring in Bangkok or Santiburi in Samui or courses with rough between the fairway and green such as Bangpra in Pattaya.

If the ball is near the green, the shot is very important, as a good chip will save par and a poor one will almost seal a bogey, or worse. To score low, I always try to knock it close from the really deep stuff. Knocking it close from there chops one or two strokes from my score and often saves par.

Here are a few ways I found that work to hit it close from the deep rough in Thailand:

1. Use a less lofted club and choke up
2. Keep my hands in front of the ball
3. Put the ball slightly forward in my stance
4. Lean forward with most of my weight on my left foot
5. Use a fast swing to offset the club slowing down from the grass behind the ball.

Some Thailand golf professionals recommend using short irons from the deep rough. But that's very hard for the average golfer. It requires a very strong grip, a steeply descending blow, and strength. Plus, you can't release the club. Otherwise, you'll end up hitting a lot of grass and no ball.

Instead, I use a longer iron and choking up without changing anything else. The longer shaft adds leverage to my swing so I do not have to hit the ball so hard. It gets the ball rolling toward the pin with plenty of speed. It also encourages a steeply descending blow and prevents my hands from releasing too early. The ball flies lower coming out of the rough, but that beats a flubbed shot or a complete miss.

Find some thick stuff before your next round in Thailand and practice hitting from there. The chipping areas at Siam CC in Pattaya and Thai CC in Bangkok are both great for this.

Hit 10 or more shots before your round and you'll develop the confidence to be able to execute this shot perfectly on the golf course.

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