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At most courses, amateurs find the deep rough regularly during their round and need to understand how best to escape.

Getting the ball back into a safe position should be the first priority. However, golfers should not automatically assume they cant attack a green. In most cases, a lofted iron is the best option as anything with low loft is unlikely to rise up and out of the grass.

The first thing players need to do is correctly assess their lie. The only way of doing this is by studying the ball very carefully and trying to predict how the ball will fly once it leaves the grass. If the rough is deeper behind the ball, for example, a controllable flight will be unlikely as will distance. If there is rough in front of the ball with relatively little behind, however, more control and distance is possible.

Once the lie has been inspected, some practice swings should be taken as close to the ball as possible without moving the ball or improving its lie. This will allow a golfer to better judge how the club will react through impact. The golfer playing from deep rough also needs to assess what trouble waits around the green or target area. For example, if there are deep bunkers short of the green then playing a high shot over them from the deep rough could be risky and lead to a high score.

Once these factors have been assessed, players need to decide which club and shot to play. This normally means using a high lofted iron to lift the ball up from the deep rough and back into play. Players need to make sure they strike the ball first and keep a firm grip on the club. As the club travels through impact, the long grass will want to grab and hold the clubs neck flipping the club face shut. This needs to be avoided at all costs.

The club capable of moving the ball the furthest may not be the club capable of moving the ball up and out of the long grass successfully. Its better to be safe in this type of situation.

From the light or semi-rough, using a fairway wood may not be a bad option as the wide sole will glide through the shorter grass easily. However, out of the deep rough, the loft will be too low to have a positive effect 9½ times out of 10.

Although wedges may be the only option at times, dont give up on the shot so easily and find the club which suits the lie.