I suppose we need to make the distinction between the rough off the fairway and around the greens and the "long rough" beyond it.
This is always a subject of conversation at projects. How can it be whispy and playable but not thick and lead to search parties? I'm reminded of the late Jim Arthur who advocated for an impoverished soil and how that's what's often so good about links courses when managed correctly.
Of course the best rough is no rough at all! Ohoopee has a pace or two of relatively short rough off the before before it transitions into a wonderful native that is full of an attractive mix of flora indigenous to the Ohoopee dunes. And yet, when you hit the ball off line, as I often do, to the point where you think it is completely gone, you almost always wind up walking right to it. It is very easy to spot your ball from 30 or 40 yards away.
I always loved the native at Colorado Golf Club. I thought that was some of the prettiest and most playable native on a new course.
The worst long rough is when it's thick meadow grasses (that people erroneously call fescue) that are irrigated on heavier soil. That is the worst of all scenarios, especially in the spring. That type of grass gets so thick it falls over on itself and is closer to being an agricultural crop that grass.
At the Country Club of Farifield where I grew up caddying and playing back in the 90s, they grew the rough on out-of-play areas throughout the course, but I remember holes 2, 15 and 18 in particular, and it was a disaster. It was long, very thick, often-wet, matted grass with messy seed heads, full of ticks , and it almost always induced a search party and usually become a lost ball. And if you did find it, it was an unplayable shot, especially for the ladies.