No one enjoys the feeling of seeing their tee shot heading towards the rough, with thoughts beginning to turn to the escape shot which awaits. There is nothing more disheartening in golf, than approaching your ball and attempting a practice swing, to find you have no room to make a backswing, due to something which is behind you, such as a bush or tree. This situation only comes into play due to a miss-hit shot, so it’s a double whammy. The only possible route out, seems to be to play the ball onto the fairway, at the closest possible point and resume the hole from there, having basically dropped a shot. In some cases, it is best to take your medicine in this way.
However, there is a technique which you can use, which can allow you to get the ball a longer distance and possibly onto the green.
If the ball has finished in-front of a tree or bush, you should still commit to the shot. Do not be afraid of it and think of it in the same way you would, if the ball was on the fairway. As you have a restricted backswing, you have less time to generate the requited club head speed, to hit the ball the distance you normally would. Therefore, you need more club in your hand, so if you would usually use an 8 iron from where you are, go for a 7 or even a 6, so the ball will still travel the same distance, despite the slower club head speed.
The other option in this situation, is to move your alignment, away from the target, which may then offer you a full swing. In this instance, you need to be able to control the ball by using a slice or a hook shot and this will bring the ball back, towards the target. If you are capable of this type of shot, great but if not, do not attempt it, as the results will be disastrous for your scorecard.
You can practice this escape shot, but using your golf bag as an obstacle on the driving range. Once you become accustomed to playing this type of shot, you can bring into play when required, during a round.
However, this quite an advanced technique and in most cases, you should either change the club, to reflect the loss of head speed through the ball or simply play a chip, get the ball back on the fairway and continue from there.
