Taking Divots vs sweeping the grass

[smlxl]

I second the post above that you don't have to take a huge divot to be a great ball-striker. If you are happy with the results of your shots -- and are hitting the ball consistently -- then there's no reason to make changes just to produce a divot.

That said, for most people a divot is a natural result of solid fundamentals. There are great pros who take little to no turf when they strike it but most people I play with who don't are coming up out of the shot, casting from the top or decelerating into impact and flipping their hands to "scoop" loft onto the ball. When I'm hitting 'em well, a pretty high trajectory with a slight draw, I'll usually end up with a long but shallow divot pointing just right of the target line.

There a whole host of things that happen in the swing and setup that effect the size of your divot but as Jack says it's all about "applying the clubhead to the ball". If you stay down through the shot and work to hit down on the ball (hands leading the clubhead through impact) you'll feel and hear the difference, even on practice mats. Since you're taking no divot now, it may help to move the ball back in your stance a bit. I find it's easier to try out things like this with a 3/4 swing to get the feel of it. Good luck and have fun!

PS: Definitely do not hit down on the ball with the driver in normal conditions. They're designed to provide maximum distance with a slightly ascending or level path into the ball.

[seattlemudder]

I agree with the last two posts. It's important to note that divots should be created after the ball is struck, you should never have a divot under your ball (this will mean you hit it fat) - ball first, then divot.

[SuaSponteMn]

Divots are the result of a swing, plain and simple. Good swings can create divots, so can bad swings. Same can be said for a lack of divots, just a different result of a different swing. I think the point is that it's the end result of a process and that we should be more focused on the process itself. If you're making a fundamentally sound swing, and the ball is moving towards it's intended target, my thoughts are that a divot should be a non-issue one way or the other. Myself, I notice more divots with wedges than my irons, but there's no real consistency regarding frequency, I hit good an bad shots both with and without divots :)

[Golfer7945]

Can someone teach me the proper technique to take divots? how do your arms and hands feel when you hit it right (or wrong)? For the whole time I just "sweep the grass"... are there pros and cons for both ball striking techniques? (i know that pros take divots all the time...) what do i have to change in my swing? can i practice the technique on mats?

place a tee directly behind your ball on the practice range... concentrate on hitting the tee before the ball.

BTW why is taking a divot so important to you? If your reason is trajectory I think that you should learn to take a divot but please make sure that the lie angle of your irons have been adjusted properly for your swing. I would also recommend that you have properly fitted grips and that your grips are in good shape. (have you read Harvey Pennicks little red book?)

[iacas]

A lot of very good golfers rarely took divots. Tiger doesn't even always take a divot. Tom Watson talked on his "Playing Lessons" episode about almost never taking a divot.

I've only really skimmed this conversation, but I wanted to say that...

[airlefty]

A lot of very good golfers rarely took divots. Tiger doesn't even always take a divot. Tom Watson talked on his "Playing Lessons" episode about almost never taking a divot.

I just wanted to know if I am missing out for not taking divots at all... and what are the pros and cons of (not) taking divots? does sweeping the grass create less spin on the ball?

[mjbartow]

I used to sweep the grass as well. I would drag the club back as far as I could along the grass. I just kept feeling like I was too prone to thinning the ball, the ball was not getting the loft it needed to bite the greens, it was just humming along about 20 feet off the ground, it felt like I was playing shuffleboard.

Lately, I have been taking maximum length (dollar bill length) divots with PW-8 iron and then short clippy divots with 7-6 (rarely hit my 5) and sweep with my hybrid.

I have had amazing success with my scoring irons as of late and I suggest you try it.

My practice range has mats and while warming up I take a few practice swings but instead of hitting the ball, do a back swing, come forward, and just pound the mat over and over to ingrain into my head to hit down on the ball and make a divot.

"Don't thin it. . . make a divot!"

[fusioncal]

I used to sweep the grass as well. I would drag the club back as far as I could along the grass. I just kept feeling like I was too prone to thinning the ball, the ball was not getting the loft it needed to bite the greens, it was just humming along about 20 feet off the ground, it felt like I was playing shuffleboard.

Whenever I think "make a divot", I do make a divot but behind the ball. So, what I'll do is just swing naturally and the divot will come naturally. Make sure you hit the ball solid before looking up and that's like only a split second timing then the divot will follow itself.

[powerhitter]

I just wanted to know if I am missing out for not taking divots at all... and what are the pros and cons of (not) taking divots? does sweeping the grass create less spin on the ball?

lol divot's aren't necessary they just mean you are putting a little more backspin on the ball. If you sweep the ball of the grass you can still be a good ball striker, look at sam snead.

[hammer84]

That said, for most people a divot is a natural result of solid fundamentals. There are great pros who take little to no turf when they strike it but most people I play with who don't are coming up out of the shot, casting from the top or decelerating into impact and flipping their hands to "scoop" loft onto the ball. When I'm hitting 'em well, a pretty high trajectory with a slight draw, I'll usually end up with a long but shallow divot pointing just right of the target line.

+1

'When I cast or flip I really loose distance and get a way high soft fade. It pisses me off . When I flip I can't take a divot after the ball so I use divots or marks on the grass as a gauge if I'm hitting down on the ball. If you look at a slow-mo video you see that the divots come from hitting the ball then fully extending your wrists. Seeing this on video made it click in my head on what needs to be done. Still not there, but trying.