[Kim Maengnyeong's Golf English Conversation] "The 3 Levels of Rough: What is Heavy Rough?"

This year's US Women's Open was notorious for the battle against the rough.

"War against the rough."

The rough is the area on both sides of the fairway where the grass is long, thick, and unmaintained. Players competing in the 76th U.S. Women’s Open Championship suffered from the deep rough at The Olympic Club in San Francisco, California. When the ball lands outside the fairway, it gets buried in the rough, making it impossible to produce a consistent, clean strike.

Also, due to the flier phenomenon, you won’t be able to spin the ball, and it will likely release much farther than usual if you do hit the green. The longer the grass in the rough, the more loft of the club you need.

Only five players shot under par in this year’s tournament. The United States Golf Association (USGA), which organizes the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open, generally divides the rough into three levels. First is the intermediate or step cut rough, which is the area adjacent to the fairway with grass about 3cm long. The intermediate rough is also called the first cut of rough.

Just outside that is the primary rough, with grass about 7 to 8cm long, also known as the second cut of rough. The remote rough, farthest from the fairway, is the main rough with long grass over 10cm. It is also called heavy rough or deep rough. Unlike major tournaments, regular competitions usually have relatively shorter rough.

A: Oops! I’ve hooked my tee shot into the trees on the right.

B: Too bad! It hit a tree, and bounced back into the first cut rough.

A: What is a first cut rough in golf?

B: The ‘first cut’ refers to the grass that is immediately alongside the closely mown fairway. It is grown higher than the fairway grass but not as high as the primary rough.

Written by Kim Maengnyeong, Golf Columnist