fear of divots

[dmband8985]

or at least that is what i'm blaming for my inadequacies hitting off grass. The only grass range near me in unlit, and the only time i have to practice is the evenings, so i've been forced to hit of of mats. they are nice mats, that true strike stuff that you can actually spin your irons with, but they are still mats and when when you hit it just a bit fat, you can still muscle through it and pretend like you're actually good at this game.

anyways, i had been hitting the ball damn good off the mats...everything felt buttery on impact. i was hitting down with my irons, getting good trajectory and that making that cool sound you get when you hit irons cleanly, and then i went to the range that has grass tee boxes and it was like i've never played this game before in my life. as far as i could tell my swing was exactly the same, but for some reason when i'm on grass, it's like i'm afraid to take a divot and i try to pick the ball off cleanly from the ground. when i go out of my way to take a divot, i end up hitting it way too fat. i just can seem to find a good middle ground. then i go back to the mats and its like i've been playing the pga tour. this is just plain annoying.........i'm beginning to hate this game (not really, but kind of sort of)

[kc8kir]

Mats are evil things. They really screw up your swing if you haven't learned yet how to feel the difference between a barely clean shot, and a slightly fat one. Anyone I see hitting on mats really well, I question how they hit off grass and dirt. Not the same animal. Real ground is not perfectly flat and does not help you if you hit the ball slightly fat.

I suffered from the same "fear of the ground". I didn't like the feeling of taking up dirt. That's because I hadn't learned to make good compressive contact in the order "ball then earth". The "earth then ball" is a very uncomfortable feeling, so I was constantly trying to pick the ball clean off the surface.

Here is my five step process to getting over that fear (I had it myself)...

1) Stop hitting off mats. Ever. No seriously. If you really have to, then at least put a towel or something behind the ball about 3-6 inches back and make sure you miss that towel entirely.

2) Go out to a field with a 7 iron, a stand-up net, and a bunch of golf balls.

3) Take practice swings taking a divot. At this point we don't care how deep they are provided you aren't unearthing any Indian burial grounds. You just need to get the feel for a descending strike. Notice where the divot is in your swing. A good divot should be straight or curving slightly left, with very little taper, and uniform depth (ie not toe digging in, or heel digging in). A dollar bill shape is just about right.

4) Without changing your setup or swing, place a ball at the back of the divot and repeat. 3 practice swings to every 1 ball hit.

5) Your objective is to TAKE DIRT after the ball. Don't focus on the ball. Focus on the dirt. It's gonna feel weird at first but you will learn to hit down on the ball and take a good divot. One point of caution here. For some, too much forward press makes taking a good divot very difficult (mine were HUGE) so you can fool with lots of forward press to none, and see what the affect is on your impact zone.

The reason you are hitting into the net is so you practice the feeling of good contact and overcome the instinct to pick the ball off the surface, without worrying so much about ball flight. You'll quickly get the feeling for having the divot occur after the ball, and how to swing as to not take too large a divot (not hacking into the ground). At the right descent angle, the bounce of your irons will allow you to make "shallow" divots not potholes. Some people's divots are larger than others (Jesper Parnevick hits down hard and takes huge divots, but that's why he is such a superb iron player - it also has to do with the fact he grips the club really hard).

I repeat this process every time I start having trouble with "ball then earth" contact. It works and it doesn't cost you a dime!

Ball flight gets much easier to correct when you are hitting the ball first!

[jonanthans]

  kc8kir said:

5) Your objective is to TAKE DIRT after the ball. Don't focus on the ball. Focus on the dirt. It's gonna feel weird at first but you will learn to hit down on the ball and take a good divot. One point of caution here. For some, too much forward press makes taking a good divot very difficult (mine were HUGE) so you can fool with lots of forward press to none, and see what the affect is on your impact zone.

All good points, except I would have to caution about not focusing on the ball. The ball is where you want your focus on. When working on your swing, it's important to practice what you are going to be doing every time, and you dont want to get in the habit of not focusing on the ball. Instead, I would move the ball back in your stance, where its easier to hit down on the ball. And follow through. The practice taking divots tip is very useful, especially because you can practice that just about anywhere.

[jambalaya]

  jonanthans said:

All good points, except I would have to caution about not focusing on the ball. The ball is where you want your focus on. When working on your swing, it's important to practice what you are going to be doing every time, and you dont want to get in the habit of not focusing on the ball.

As for the bolded part in the quote above that is particularly good advice if you are hitting on lies that are rather thin to medium depth. I would add you may want to start with half swings to get used to taking the divot. It is psychological. You are afraid to take the divot and so are probably trying to pick the ball off the turf. That can really screw one's swing up for sure.

[zeg]

Practicing with half-swings earlier this week at the range was a big help. That is, right up until a clod from the divot hit me in the eye... somehow that brought back my fear of divots

[LottaBalata]

I usually choose to hit off of mats. . .The reason is, the real grass ranges locally are usually used SOOOO much, that they just aren't very good to hit from.

I simply find myself getting used to whatever lie I'll be hitting from that day. Some fairways are like green glass, clean as a window. Some, haven't been mowed in a couple days. . .You simply have to feel the lie with your club prior to hitting the ball and adjust.

I won't say that mats are better than grass. If I could hit from a US Open practice range every day, believe me, I'd choose that over mats anytime. But I don't.

In the middle of the summer when the courses look like they've been trampled by herds of elephant, than I hit from the grass ranges simply due to its crappy similarities to the course.

[obsessedgolfer]

  dmband8985 said:

or at least that is what i'm blaming for my inadequacies hitting off grass. The only grass range near me in unlit, and the only time i have to practice is the evenings, so i've been forced to hit of of mats. they are nice mats, that true strike stuff that you can actually spin your irons with, but they are still mats and when when you hit it just a bit fat, you can still muscle through it and pretend like you're actually good at this game.

Do you practice in your yard at all? Because over summer brake I used to chip in my yard a ton but I would never try to take a divot in fear of ruining my lawn, this traslatd over to the course and for like a month I kept picking my shots clean.

[ryohazuki222]

I went through the same thing recently... all the local driving ranges were seeding so had to hit off mats. I was getting really awesome... I know it's a big difference so I made sure to go and find a grass driving range after a couple weeks. Man, was I horrible. Now I've been hitting off the grass and im getting a lot better. I'm actually kinda scared to go back to grass.

I have made a couple of rules that have so far always worked. (at least... when i dont do one of em, it's usually crap)

1. Always keep focus on the ball... make a point of doing so.
2. Don't fear the grass. (much easier said than done)

[jambalaya]

I haven't hit off mats in a long time. I'm really lucky though because I have three driving ranges readily accessible to me that are all grass.

[flopdarock]

i got to 3 diff practice facilities in my area...
one is just incredible and has everything you want in a practice area... a huge putting surface... a chipping onto an elevated green area with a greenside bunker that you cant see the hole from... a pitching area with a level green... and a grass tees driving range... this place as you can imagine is unbelievably busy alll the time due to the fact everything is free except range balls... the only thing i dont like is the range due to the traffic you are pretty much hitting on dirt most of the time...
the second place i practice usually due to rain or extreme cold is another range that you pretty much hit on matts unless you go to the other side of the range where the grass tees are... an you have to pay extra for it... but the bays are heated an covered so its ideal for rain an cold... but i hate hitting off of matts
the third place is my home course which is incredibly maintained and the grass you hit off of matches their fairways...

i wouldnt fear divots if i were you... thats what ranges and practice areas are for... everyone else beats them up... so go for the gusto... get chunky... an figure out why youre going either thin or fat...

btw... i ripped muscles on the left side of my torso catching fatties on durrty durrty matts... grrrrr... id much rather dig real dirt than fake matts

[dmband8985]

glad to hear that i'm not the only who's ever gone through this...one of the local ranges opens the grass up for weekends, so fridays after work are great cause the grass is still intact. i'll stop by de-weed the place with my 7 iron...

[SubPar]

Taking divots is good thing as long as they are in front of the ball. Most people learn to fear divots because they hit behind the ball and all kinds of bad things result.

Mats are fine as long as you pay attention to your ball striking. Most people get comfortable hitting a little fat off the mats because the club bounces into the ball. As long as you listen to the contact and pay attention to the trajectory you can do a lot of good work on mats. You should hit the ball first and hear a little thump as you hit the mat. I hit off them all the time and when I go on the course I take nice well formed divots.


SubPar

[1dayIllBaPro]

I know what happen to you right after I see the Title. I don't fear of divots because I hit the ball before the ground anyway. You first have to get over this and try fixing your swing. Here's is what I can think of
1. Shift you weight a bit more to your front foot in downswing. This will make your hip move a bit more to the target.
2. Try delay hitting. Keep your wrist cock a bit longer. This prevent hitting fat shot.
3. Do the same swing, but try turning your hip a bit faster.
4. Make sure you are in balance. Sometimes people lose their balance as their weight move to their toes, then they will shank and/or hit a fat shot.
5. Make sure you're not hanging back.

But the easiest fix would be moving your ball a bit back. If you still hit fat after move the ball a bit back, then try this ... If you are looking at the back of the ball, then try start looking at the front of the ball.

Try one or more of these. Let see if that help :)

[brahl]

I am having the same problem as the OP. This thread has been very helpful, thanks guys.

- Brian

[ebough]

Ten tips. 1. Don't practice off mats..........10. Don't practice off mats. Practicing off mats is like the drunk looking under the street light for the keys he lost in a dark alley because "I can see better." Practicing off mats usually leads to serious disappointment on the course.

[mrserv0n18]

I had a topple problem because I got so worried I was gonna leave a crater with my irons, I would always divot deep before the ball or topple it by trying to compensate, I corrected this by starting at a 60/40 weight distribution at setup. Left foot 60% pressure 40 on my back foot. From there I never transfer weight back to my right foot, It goes from 40 at setup to 20 at peak of backswing to 10 at follow through. I always divot correctly now. So give it a try, try to keep your weight always going forward and not back and you will see immediately your divots are in front of the ball naturally. This is a great way to play irons and hybrids. For longer woods and driver I still transfer weight to my back leg.