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How to read a divot

 

Divots are more than just a hole in the ground that you need to fill with sand. They are a great indicator of what happens when the club makes contact with the ball ("compression"). Your divots can tell you a lot, once you learn what they are saying.

The direction of the divot tells you the swing path of the shaft in reference to the target/target line: If you get a chance to watch tournament players, keep an eye on them after they hit the ball. Many of them look down at the ground to see how the divot is angled. They do this to check swing path. As the clubface goes through the ball, the divot is created by the angle of the shaft as it exits from the ball to the target.

You can check your divot angle by laying a club across the top edge of the hole you've just left in the ground:

  • A divot going straight to the target means the swing path of the shaft was "on plane" and exited directly from the ball to the target.

  • A divot going to the left of the target means the swing path of the shaft was "over the top" and exited to the left of the target.

  • A divot going to the right means the swing path of the shaft was from the inside-out in reference to the target.

    If your divots are angling too far left or right, take some practice swings and try to make your divots fly straight down the target line. I tell some of my students to launch a divot at the target and then let the ball "ride the divot."

    The depth of the divot tells you where the ball was compressed on the clubface: If your divot is shallow, that means the ball compressed low on the clubface, causing it to fly low. If the divot is deep, that means the ball compressed higher on the clubface and flew higher, as well.

    The location of the divot indicates the "axis" of your swing at impact: As the golf club swings on its circular arc, it bottoms out depending on depending on how you're balanced during the forward swing. If your weight at impact is still on your back leg (right leg, if you play right-handed), then the bottom of the arc will be closer to that leg. As your weight shifts to your forward leg on the downswing, the bottom of the arc will move forward, as well. This is important to understand. If the ball is positioned in your stance off your left instep, the divot should start slightly on the target side of that point. If the divot starts earlier, referenced to your right foot, your contact is not going to be solid.

    Practice drills

    To increase awareness of your divots, try the following:

    DIRECTION DRILL

      The direction drill.
    1. Lay a chalk-line string on the ground, making sure it is secure.

    2. Take a practice swing along the string, trying to match its angle.

    3. Then, place a ball on the ground and hit it, trying to leave a divot that is parallel to the string. Allow the ball to "ride the divot" to the target.

    Repeat the drill, creating divot angles that go slightly right and slightly left of the string. Notice how the ball will launch in the same direction as the divots. In creating the divot, you have changed your swing path without even thinking about it.

    DEPTH-OF-DIVOT DRILL

    1. Create a T square with two golf clubs on the ground, an alignment club and a ball-position club. Place the ball-position club back in your stance, off the instep of your right foot. Take a practice swing with a short iron, barely brushing the grass where the ball would be. Then, take another practice swing and let the bottom grooves contact the soil, leaving a divot of medium depth. Take yet another practice swing, and let the bottom grooves really dig up some soil. Notice how your weight must hang back to make the club bottom out on that back foot?

    2. Shift the ball-position club to your left instep and repeat the drill. Notice how your weight must now shift deeper into the left side for the club to bottom out in relationship to your left foot.

    3. Hit balls from these two different positions in the same sequence, altering the depth of your divots. What do you notice about the trajectory and direction of each shot?

    By creating a cause-and-effect situation, these divot drills will help you understand how the ball responds to different ball positions and different depths of contact.

    © 2002 Rob Stanger

    Rob Stanger is teaching professional at the Mission Hills Country Club Golf Learning Center in Rancho Mirage, Calif. Contact him at robstanger.com.

     
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