Deep rough triggers the same bad instinct in almost everyone: swing harder to muscle it out. That's usually how a bad lie turns into a lost hole.

Thick grass grabs the hosel and twists the face closed at impact — which is why balls from deep rough so often fly low and left (for a right-hander). The fix isn't more force. It's more loft and an earlier, steeper swing to minimize how much grass gets between the face and the ball.

Take the club that gets you safely back to the fairway, not the one that gets you closest to the green. That decision alone saves more strokes than any swing change.