Play the ball down or fluff your lie? Or a little bit of both?

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#ICanHitADraw
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Not talking about moving it away from roots or rocks, I never give anyone grief about that, although "most" of the time I will chip it out of those areas instead of moving it. :) This is about playing from lies that aren't going to mess up your club or your body if you play it down.

I won't lie. Most of the time I play it as it lies but some times I just gotta roll it (or place it) a little. Mostly if it helps me to hit a driver from the light rough (maybe get it teed up just a bit). I don't do it sneakily, I let it be known if I do.

It also depends on the round and who I am playing with. Are we playing for bragging rights, or just playing for fun, that kind of thing.

I know some guys, mostly older, who will roll it from a perfect lie just because it is habit. Even if they can't have a better lie.

And if you want to move it from a divot hole, more power to you!
 
Down. Always. No matter what. Only exceptions are if I'm playing in a tournament and "feel good" lies are part of the rules and if I declare the ball unplayable and assess necessary penalty strokes.
 
Always down unless everyone is rolling it
 
Ive seen very many people who constantly roll the ball and do it religiously onevery shot. As you said it such a habit for many people that I dint think many of them even realize they are doing it as its almost a preshot automatic routine.

the only thing i can say to that is (I mean do what you want) but if your posting rounds you shouldnt be doing it. I layed with a guy (who Ive played with a number of times) and agreat player. One day I playd with him and he shot 1 under par (his best round ever). But he does religiously roll the ball. I have littel to no doubt he is just that good anyway becaue I see the consitency he brings every time Ive played with him and I dont take the 1 under away from him. But I just wonder why in the world every single shot has to consist of a roll and just maybe how would he play if he no longer did that. Things might feel different to him if he were to not do it. IDK
Its not really suppose to be an official score that way That would bother me if it was myself doing it.
 
... When I first started playing golf I rolled the ball. Playing persimmon woods, MB's and a balata ball, the game was hard enough from perfect lies and playing bad lies would have made for a miserable day. Since most of the people I played rolled the ball, I kept the habit far too long. Then in the early 90's I decide to always play it down and it really improved my game. Not only did I learn to hit more shots, I really appreciated a perfect lie when I got one. There is noting more satisfying for me than hitting a really good shot from a bad lie.
 
I love the challenge of playing it down, even from divots. The only exception has been due to the watering schedule for the course (first thing in the morning) which coincides with the mowing schedule. The first few holes the ball will be covered in grass clippings. I will actually lift, clean and place on those first few par 4s and 5s. Then down all the way.


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I play it down, don't care nor mind what others do, but I like the variety and challenge that different lies offer.

Prefer perfect, of course.
 
I play it down in the rough and sand... but in the FW , I clean or fluff the lie. There’s a difference between landing in a divot on a pristine fairway and being punished after a great drive because you’re playing some sh*t course that doesn’t take care of anything.
 
Most of the old guys I play with role it but I always play it down except during the winter months when there is snow on the course. Then I don't feel like doing the drop thing.
 
I try to play it where it lies unless it could damage my club. If it’s wet out, I institute my own preferred lies rule.


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I'm confused by what "playing it down" means. Just playing it as it lies? Are we talking about lies in the rough, or just any lie?

I'm also confused by what "rolling" it means. Just moving it? Improving your lie?

I've never heard these terms used. Everyone else seems to understand what we're talking about, though. :(
 
Generally play it where it lies, but I play with some older gents that they roll everything. Doesn't bother me that they do it.
 
In the Senior League I play in, you can roll the ball within the tree line. That opens up a lot of discussions as some golfers take advantage of an already generous rule. I've seen guys "roll" the ball 2-3 feet to get a tree or obstruction out of their line of flight. If it was me, I'd probably allow rolling in the fairways, but not in the rough. I don't mind playing it down, especially on well-maintained courses!
 
I'm confused by what "playing it down" means. Just playing it as it lies? Are we talking about lies in the rough, or just any lie?

I'm also confused by what "rolling" it means. Just moving it? Improving your lie?

I've never heard these terms used. Everyone else seems to understand what we're talking about, though. :(

"Playing it down" means "as it lies" no matter where it is.
"Rolling it" means moving it with your club so the ball rolls over a couple of time giving it a better lie. Most guys will roll it a couple of inches or so to make sure it is setting up which makes it easier to hit.
 
I'm confused by what "playing it down" means. Just playing it as it lies? Are we talking about lies in the rough, or just any lie?

I'm also confused by what "rolling" it means. Just moving it? Improving your lie?

I've never heard these terms used. Everyone else seems to understand what we're talking about, though. :(


... Playing to down means playing it as it lies anywhere on the course. Rolling it means taking your club head and rolling the ball to a better lie.
 
I still think course conditions drive this... when you think fairway, it means fairway... not water damaged ground with spRse grass that creates moonlike conditions to your ball. For these muni’s that I play I would honestly rather be in the rough than the fairway.
 
I play it down except for conditions like the last two weeks where it can be bone dry on one part of the fairway/rough and a soupy mess in another. If it is crazy muddy I move my ball. Last thing I want is to splatter myself with mud halfway through my round.
 
I play it down except for conditions like the last two weeks where it can be bone dry on one part of the fairway/rough and a soupy mess in another. If it is crazy muddy I move my ball. Last thing I want is to splatter myself with mud halfway through my round.

If it's a soupy mess, then that should qualify as casual water and is already addressed by the RoG.
 
In golf league we get to roll it. All other times I play it down unless it is said on the first tee that you can roll it.
My elbows are messed up so if I have a lie in the rough which I know is going to hurt like a SOB I'll tell the guys I'm improving my lie. Those are usually the buried down thick rough lies.
 
Depends on the purpose of the round. Competitive rounds or rounds with anything on the line, ball stays down.

However, a solo round where I’m working on things I may change the lie. For example, today I took a ball out of the first cut and buried it in deep rough to work on that shot and to see how it reacts. I also moved a flat lie into a side hill lie to work on that. Hard to practice these things on the range but they really matter. Can’t post a solo round so why not
 
Fun fact, in HS golf, most states have moved to giving a grip length on all shots.
 
I'm playing it down unless it's soaking wet and muddy, like most of this summer!
 
I play it down in the rough and sand... but in the FW , I clean or fluff the lie. There’s a difference between landing in a divot on a pristine fairway and being punished after a great drive because you’re playing some sh*t course that doesn’t take care of anything.

I agree with that. I play a lot of those courses and this summer has been brutal to the ones that haven't/can't water their fairways. Many of them are baked out in spots with almost no grass. It's not terrible to play from (for me at least) when it's dry but horrific (again for me at least) when those bare spots are mud. You'll usually have a big glob of mud on the ball as well.

In order to play a lot of golf when I'm paying for 3-4 rounds at a time with the kids, we play some substandard courses. When we are on them we will generally LCP in the FW only and then only when we hit into a bare earth spot. I know it's not 100% by the rules but I don't think the rules take into full account that sometimes we play some really awful courses. When I'd rather be in the rough than on the FW, there's something wrong with that. I don't care about landing in the random divot, that stinks but it's part of the game. I'm talking about hitting into a 20'x20' patch of ground that has one usable tuft of grass every 3 feet.

Another huge factor in determining what's fair is the question "who am I cheating?" If my HC is a little bit lower because of the above, ultimately I'm only hurting myself in the event that I play a competition where HC is factored in. For anyone vehemently opposed to ever moving the ball, I'll just assume that you play nicer courses than what we do. If I could afford to play as much as we do on nicer courses where this wasn't an issue, that would be great. As it is, I'd rather golf with them 3 times a week on craptastic courses than once a week on a nice course. We still play some nicer courses too but those are usually a special event rather than the norm.
 
Unless the course is a muddy mess, I’m playing it down every shot.
 
I'll fluff it in casual rounds if it means saving me club or body issues, but I always ask. Something like, "hey, do you care if I take a bit of relief from this lie?"
 
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