Divot or no divot

[big mac]

Ok guys--this should be good for a couple of days. Just finishing in Hilton Head SC. before heading home on Sunday

Me--68 this year--no lessons ever--RM handicap 14 now--no divot--Driver 240 with run-out--3 wood 215 down to pitch 100 and sand wedge 75 yds--playing 10 yrs.

After watching this last weekend and a lot of playing down here I have noticed almost everyone takes a divot.

I have aways tried to hit the ball clean. Now--down here the lies are so tight it's almost impossible not to take a divot but I try. When I do it's like something just grabs the club and it's a wasted shot----most all the fairways are sand based here--not like a lot of ours back home.

I guess the question is; Am I hiting the ball correctly ?? Tee shots 75% of fairways--irons need directional work

I could go and pay a pro to answer the question but personally I think there are plenty of guys here that would have great answers without me having to completly change my game------not enough time left

Just helping everyone pass the next couple of weeks

[scottishgolf]

Mmm , good question , I'm of a handicap of 11 , I don't take much of a divot and I'm seriously thinking of trying to change to take more of a divot , don't know what's right or wrong though because my contact with the ball is perfect And most of the time it goes in the direction I want it to.

Not much help I know but just my 2 cents

[imozzie]

Divot...tough to compress the ball without a divot. Now, we're not talking ditch digging! Rather, contact with ball then ground with shallow divot hole-side of the ball as opposed to tee-side.

[justsomeguy]

There is no right answer. Some people take a divot, some don't - even amongst the pros. It is a function of your swing, your angle of attack, and the loft of the club you're using. As long as you hit the little ball before the big ball and the little ball goes in the right direction, all is good.

[jlaidley]

Divot for irons and a little bit for hybrids. Not for driver and woods (in case that wasn't obvious!).

With your irons you should be hitting down on the ball. That generates more spin which helps keep the ball in the air longer and stops it on the green.

[nokids]

...tough to compress the ball without a divot.

agreed

[Wilster]

It was the same for me a few years ago . I'm still not a huge divot taker , but with the higher irons , I'm trying to hit down a lot more .
At the end of the day , if its working , and your enjoying yourself , carry on regardless.

[Wilster]

agreed

Except for the bit where you use a tee

[Sunny D]

I kind of have a hybrid answer. I hit best and most consistently when I don't take a divot, I sweep the ball and barely damage the grass. Here is the exception, when I play down south (Florida) like you said Big Mac the lies are so tight that I do take a small divot on my wedges. On my irons I don't take a divot but I do rough up the grass pretty good.

[orangeTANG]

I say take a divot... only if it happens. Don't stress about taking a divot, but simply hit down on the ball with forward shaft lean to create compression.

The key is understanding what compression is:

http://3jack.blogspot.ca/2011/08/opt...mpression.html

[Gofish2]

Played my last game on Friday in Tarpon Springs, Fl and deliberately tried to take divots with my short irons. Found when I do it correctly gain about 10 yards. I've been working with the impact bag and trying to hit the ball the same way as the bag, always hitting the bag with the shaft first. The great thing is that old dogs can learn new tricks. I'm coming back to Ottawa with a resolve to practice smarter golf. Maybe us old farts will never reach a par 5 in 2 but there is nothing to stop us from nailing the 125 yd par 3's. Playing better golf is just more fun !

[stevek]

One of my best shots ever was a 150yd 9 iron that went past the hole 30 feet and spun back to an inch. It was also one of my biggest divots! With compression comes spin.

The divot doesn't have to happen but the low part of the swing path has to be past the ball and there's more room for erroer if yhere is a divot.

Of course, I suck so don't listen to me.

[jeffc]

I'm more of a sweeper than a digger and don't usually take much of a divot. I'd like to take more of one but don't sweat it much. My balls don't back up but they do land softly and generally don't roll much forward.

[jlaidley]

Divot...tough to compress the ball without a divot.

I don't agree with this. Driver generates the most compression and has no divot. Actually when you go from your longest clubs (most compression) to your shortest clubs (least compression), you are also going from least divot to most divot. So compression doesn't have anything to do with divots.

As justsomeguy said divots are a function of the angle of attack.

Compression has to do with the clubhead speed and the loft at impact (less loft means more force imparted directly on the ball). The latter will be affected by shaft lean but that can be had without a divot.

Hitting down on the ball (which results in a divot) generates more spin which generates more height on a shot. Both are most desirable with your shorter irons which is why bigger divots are generated with shorter irons.

I'm more of a sweeper than a digger and don't usually take much of a divot. I'd like to take more of one but don't sweat it much. My balls don't back up but they do land softly and generally don't roll much forward.

Stopping the ball is what we should all want. Backing it up looks cool but it isn't usually desirable.

[nokids]

I don't agree with this. Driver generates the most compression and has no divot. Actually when you go from your longest clubs (most compression) to your shortest clubs (least compression), you are also going from least divot to most divot. So compression doesn't have anything to do with divots.

If you are practicing and the point of the shot is just to maximize compression then yes you are right that the divot has nothing to do with it. But humans aren't robots and there is a fine line btwn hitting a 6-iron on the sweetest possible spot with maximum compression and skulling it. That's why the divot is important because you hit down and take skulling out of the equation. Better to swing hard and hit a fat shot than swing hard and skull it.

[jlaidley]

If you are practicing and the point of the shot is just to maximize compression then yes you are right that the divot has nothing to do with it. But humans aren't robots and there is a fine line btwn hitting a 6-iron on the sweetest possible spot with maximum compression and skulling it. That's why the divot is important because you hit down and take skulling out of the equation. Better to swing hard and hit a fat shot than swing hard and skull it.

I agree and I think that point is compatible with my comments with or without involving robots!

And as you go from a 6-iron down to shorter irons there is less progressively less margin for error so it makes sense to hit down progressively more, which results in longer divots.

[big mac]

If you are practicing and the point of the shot is just to maximize compression then yes you are right that the divot has nothing to do with it. But humans aren't robots and there is a fine line btwn hitting a 6-iron on the sweetest possible spot with maximum compression and skulling it. That's why the divot is important because you hit down and take skulling out of the equation. Better to swing hard and hit a fat shot than swing hard and skull it.

I think this point gets more to what I was thinking---"you are saying to swing hard"--you have to swing hard in order to take a divot and not lose club speed etc. It is one thing to do it on a fairway that is sand based and another when you are hitting from some of our fairways that are a mixture of everything---including cement

[Wknd_Warrior]

I grew up taking huge divots. Now I'm trying to pick it clean, or at least cleaner. I Jammed my back a couple times, I'm hoping there won't be a third.

My take

Placing the ball back farther and/or hitting down hard on it takes a lot of bad shots out of the equation. Harder to hit it fat, you can squeeze out some shots that otherwise might have been thin, and it's easy to keep your hands ahead of the ball and harder to hit that slice if that's one of your problems.

At it's extreme you are basically punching everything longer than a wedge (this was me a lot of the time). It's hard on your back, harder on your back if the turf is firm, and isn't condusive to a swing that works with the longer clubs. Also it does shorten your swing an eensy weensy bit.

Me, right now I like a very shallow divot and am placing the ball farther forward with many clubs than I have in the past. The ball flies higher and lands softer, I think it flies farther too, although that may be the result of some related swing dynamics.

[Golfpro78]

Here are some scenarios, you are definitely experiencing at least one. 1. A steep, more vertical swing path will lead to deeper divots. A flatter, more horizontal swing path will produce more of a sweeping motion which will pick the ball off the turf. 2. The further the hands are ahead at impact, the less bounce the club has which will cause the club to dig a bit more. Hands that trail behind the club head at impact expose more bounce. 3. Not enough weight being shifted to the lead led at impact will lead to a shallower angle of attack and will not produce a divot.

Joel Michaud
Canadian Golf Club Academy

[stevek]

Since playing with the Optishot all winter I can't make a divot. A LOT of thin shots. On the other hand I've actually been able to shape shots when I make contact. The divots will come with practice, I hope!

[Travis]

One of the most amazing things I ever saw growing up was watching Moe Norman hit balls with me on a driving range during a quiet rainy day at the course I worked at. He must have hit 2 large buckets of balls with practically every club in my bag and it didn't look like anyone was ever there when he stopped. Hardly a blade of grass was out of place. When I mentioned this to him he said "I hit golf balls not grass" and he would keep repeating himself over and over. I've never seen a greater display of having absolute command over a golf ball than that guy.

He was definitely one of a kind.

[imozzie]

Now that's a great golf story....tx