Divots?

[tazrestling27]

I have great ball striking skill, but I tend to hit some of my irons high and they land soft while i see some people when i caddie, blast through the ball taking out a huge divot in the front and the ball is just tattooed... why is that. I always wanted to be able to hit it the way they do, but I just have a natural swing that gives me good ball striking and I can't complain, but i want to take out divots, i rarely ever do. Any drills to make me do this?

[bobsuruncle]

i have the exact same issue. do you find that your distance is also 1 maybe even 2 club lengths behind players who take divots? having read a ton of books and reviews on the net, etc .. the apparent answer is to hit the ball on a downward trajectory with the back of the hand facing the target .. i'm still trying to do away with the cupped left wrist which is what you have at address but should not have at impact. pls let me know if this helps you. cheers.

[Razz11]

I get the same distance whether I take the big divot or not. I do take the divot about 9/10 times but miss it a little sometimes and don't take much of a divot. I have heard that it is one of the most difficult things in golf to keep consistent, but it just comes natural for me I guess. Sorry I don't have much technical advice, but maybe just go to the range and try focus on hitting down on the ball a bit. Obviously another thing that will take a divot will be a steeper back swing, but that will also lose distance instead of adding it... It compresses the ball off the club face and gives you that penetrating ball flight when done right. I really wouldn't worry about it too much. One of my playing partners has a sweeping swing and never takes a divot (brushes the grass) and he is a legit 1-2 handicapper and gets a lot of spin hitting it that way. Just play what works for you. That's the beauty of golf is that different things work for different people. I was so confused when I first started and he was always telling me to just barely clip the grass and I just told him he was crazy because I was even getting good divots with long irons and could get the feedback from the divot.

[Razz11]

Another thing that seems a little weird to me is that you don't take divots, but are complaining that some of your ball flights are too high? Are you hitting the ball on the upswing and maybe trying to lift it? I would say try moving the ball around a little bit and make sure to hit it on the downswing.

[beachbreak]

There were some great players that were nippers of the ball. I wouldn't change anything just to take a divot. If you hit it high and soft your are in great company. Jack Nicklaus played this way. I bet you are a good long-iron player.

[shamsone]

i highly recomend reading the "impact zone' by bobby clamet i think. but he basically says tour pros make a divot infront of the ball as higher handicappers always make a divot behind the ball making ground then ball contact. always focusing on hitting ball then ground first will greatly improve your ball striking .

[ApocG10]

I practiced all winter hitting the ball slightly before the ground. Must have hit 6000 balls this winter in my swing room with my irons with one ball 5 inches behind the one I was trying to hit. I've gotten quite good at it, and my shots are generally longer and straighter.

Anyway, I noticed I was taking small divots when I got on the course this year. And after a couple of lessons, my distances have improved more, and accuracy is even better. He said not to worry about divots, i may be taking less than 6 inches, at an inch or less deep, but my ball flight and distance are great.

So if your satisfied with your shots, dont worry about it. As long as your taking a divot, and hitting the ball at the right place on the club, your golden.

[billm408]

Taking a divot is a good thing- you want to strike the ball on a descending blow. Here's a simple drill that I've used on the range and it helps train a couple of good things- one of those being that you'll take a divot.

From your normal set-up position, place a penny 3" in front of your ball (broken tees work too). Now take your normal swing and hit the penny. It may cost you a quarter, but you'll get results.

1. You have to make a weight shift to your left side to do it.
2. You have to hit through the ball on a descending path to do it.
3. You have to maintain your spine angle through impact to do it.

[wannabe]

^nice drill.

[Eeryck]

1. You have to make a weight shift to your left side to do it.

This is an excelent description of the nature of taking a divot. It was not till I stacked up my weight on my left side for my 9o'clock pitch shots that I really got the feel for ball then earth contact. Getting the feeling from a pre-set postion (more or less stack and tilt on pitch shots) little ball then big ball contact with a more modern full swing is starting to be more regular.

Regards, -E