Second Cut
In golf, the second cut is the band of longer, thicker rough that sits just beyond the first cut, where the grass is grown taller than the fairway and is harder to play from. The term also has a tournament meaning: a secondary reduction of the field after 54 holes, though the PGA Tour dropped that practice in the 2019-20 season.
What is a second cut in golf?
“Second cut” is one of those golf phrases that points to two completely different things depending on who is talking. For most players walking a course, it describes grass. For someone watching a professional event, it can describe a rule about the size of the field.
The everyday meaning is the one golfers meet on the course. When a course grows its rough at more than one height, the strip closest to the fairway is the first cut, and the taller grass beyond it is the second cut. Landing there usually means a tougher next shot than a miss into the first cut would give.
The tournament meaning is narrower and now mostly historical. In stroke play, the field is trimmed, or “cut,” after 36 holes. A second cut was an additional trim after 54 holes, used when too many players survived the first one. Most of golf has moved away from it, which is why the grass definition is the one that comes up far more often today.
The second cut of rough
Rough is the taller, unmown grass that borders the fairway and frames the hole. Some courses keep it at a single height all the way out. Others mow it in steps, a setup known as graduated rough or step-cut rough, and this is where the first cut and second cut come from.
Picture the fairway, then a narrow strip of slightly longer grass running alongside it. That strip is the first cut, sometimes called the intermediate or step cut. Past it, the grass jumps up in height. That taller, denser zone is the second cut, also called the primary rough. According to the USGA, the intermediate band exists to soften the jump between a closely mown fairway and a punishing primary rough, giving a gradual transition rather than an abrupt wall of thick grass.
The reason courses bother with the steps is fairness of a sort. Graduated rough was popularised at the U.S. Open, where the goal was to make the penalty match the size of the miss. A ball trickling a foot off the short grass sits in the gentle first cut. A wild drive ends up deep in the second cut, where the lie is thicker, and the ball is harder to move cleanly. Brent Kelley, writing for LiveAbout, notes that U.S. Open setups have grown the rough to three inches or more within a few feet of the fairway.
Not every course maintains a second cut. Plenty of clubs run a single height of rough, and some of the most respected courses in the United States have dropped their intermediate cut to save on mowing, which the USGA points out can eat up ten hours of staff time or more in a single week. So whether a “second cut” even exists depends on the course you are standing on.
First cut vs. second cut
Almost everyone who searches this term wants to sort out one thing: how the first cut differs from the second. The short version is height and difficulty. Here is how they compare.
| Feature | First cut | Second cut |
|---|---|---|
| Position | Directly beside the fairway | Beyond the first cut, further from short grass |
| Grass height | Slightly taller than the fairway | Noticeably taller and denser |
| Other names | Intermediate cut, step cut | Primary rough, heavy rough |
| Difficulty | Usually a playable lie | Tougher lie, harder to control the shot |
| Purpose | Eases the transition from fairway | Penalises a bigger miss |
One point worth clearing up: on a course with only a single height of rough, there is no “first” or “second” at all. There is simply the fairway and the rough. The numbered cuts only make sense when a course has deliberately mown its rough in layers.
The second cut in a golf tournament
Away from the grass, “second cut” carries a meaning tied to how professional fields shrink over a tournament. To understand it, start with the ordinary cut. After 36 holes of a four-round stroke-play event, the field is reduced so that only the leading players continue into the weekend. On the PGA Tour today, that line falls at the top 65 players and ties.
The second cut, also called the secondary cut, was an extra reduction after 54 holes. The PGA Tour introduced it in 2008 to keep final-round fields manageable. It kicked in when 78 or more players made the 36-hole cut, trimming the group again for the last day. Players caught by it were tagged MDF, short for “made cut, didn’t finish.” They still collected a cheque and FedEx Cup points, but lost the chance to play Sunday and improve their finish.
That practice has faded. Beginning with the 2019-20 season, the PGA Tour lowered its standard cut from the top 70 to the top 65 and ties and eliminated the secondary cut altogether, as CBS Sports and ESPN reported at the time. On today’s PGA Tour, everyone who makes the 36-hole cut plays all four rounds. The four men’s majors each set their own line: the Masters cuts to the top 50 and ties, the U.S. Open to the top 60 and ties, and both the PGA Championship and The Open to the top 70 and ties.
A related idea is the “double cut”: a tournament that trims its field twice across four rounds. The Open Championship did exactly that every year from 1968 through 1985, before moving on from the format. True double cuts are rare now.
Common misconceptions
The biggest mix-up is treating the two meanings as one. The grass definition and the tournament definition share a name and nothing else. If someone says a player is “in the second cut,” they mean the deep rough, not a rule about the leaderboard.
Another misread is assuming every course has graduated rough. Many do not. When there is only one height of rough, the phrases “first cut” and “second cut” do not truly apply, even though golfers sometimes use “second cut” loosely to mean any thick rough.
The last one is thinking the tournament secondary cut is still standard. On the PGA Tour, it is not. It ended in 2019-20, so a player who misses the weekend today has missed the single 36-hole cut, not a later one.
Related Golf Terms
- Silence on the tee — The custom of staying quiet and still while a player tees off.
- Honors — The right of the previous hole’s lowest scorer to tee off first.
- Driving range token — A token or card used to dispense a bucket of practice balls.
- Letting through — Allowing a faster group to pass on the course.
- Monday qualifier — An open event early in the week that fills a tour field’s final spots.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the second cut the same as the rough?
Roughly, yes, in everyday use. The second cut is the taller portion of the rough on a course that mows its rough in steps. On courses with a single rough height, golfers may still call any thick grass the second cut.
Which is harder, the first cut or the second cut?
The second cut. Its grass is taller and denser, so the ball settles down more and the lie is harder to control. The first cut usually leaves a comfortable, playable shot.
Does the PGA Tour still have a second cut in tournaments?
No. The PGA Tour scrapped the secondary 54-hole cut back in 2019-20, so everyone who makes the 36-hole cut now plays all four rounds.
What is the difference between the first cut and second cut of rough?
The first cut is the shorter strip of rough next to the fairway, and the second cut is the taller grass beyond it. The first cut eases the transition from the fairway; the second cut punishes a bigger miss.
Sources
- USGA Green Section Record. “Is It Time to ‘Cut’ the Intermediate Rough?” Accessed August 2026.
https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/course-care/green-section-record/62/issue-04/is-it-time-to–cut–the-intermediate-rough–.html - Kelley, Brent. LiveAbout. “The First Cut of Rough.” Accessed August 2026.
https://www.liveabout.com/first-cut-of-rough-1564048 - Kelley, Brent. LiveAbout. “What Is Rough on a Golf Course?” Accessed August 2026.
https://www.liveabout.com/what-is-rough-on-a-golf-course-1560971 - Top 100 Golf Courses. “Architecture Glossary: Graduated Rough.” Accessed August 2026.
https://www.top100golfcourses.com/news/architecture-glossary-graduated-rough - Ballengee, Ryan. Golf News Net. “What Is the PGA Tour Cut Rule, and How Is the Cut Line Determined?” Accessed August 2026.
https://thegolfnewsnet.com/ryan_ballengee/2026/04/10/what-is-pga-tour-cut-rule-2025-how-cut-line-determined-102941/ - Golf.com. “The PGA Tour’s New Cut Rule Is Already Causing Confusion and Concern.” Accessed August 2026.
https://golf.com/news/new-cut-rule-pga-tour-concern-confusion/ - CBS Sports. “PGA Tour Approves Implementation of Tougher Cut Line Beginning in 2019-20 Season.” Accessed August 2026.
https://www.cbssports.com/golf/news/pga-tour-approves-implementation-of-tougher-cut-line-beginning-in-2019-20-season - Golf Digest. “How the 36-Hole Cut Is Determined at Augusta National.” Accessed August 2026.
https://www.golfdigest.com/story/masters-how-the-36-hole-cut-is-determined-at-augusta-national - Golf Monthly. “How Does the US Open Cut Rule Work?” Accessed August 2026.
https://www.golfmonthly.com/news/how-does-us-open-cut-rule-work
