No divots?

[jclark]

I thought I should share this. I was at a driving range yesterday and was taking about a dollar bill sized divot in front of the ball (more or less) and the pro came out and said I shouldn't be taking divots at all! I should be lightly brushing the grass not taking divots. I thought this was odd. He told me to cup my wrist in the backswing to help shallow out my swing. I asked him how that will help and he said, "I'm not giving this instruction to benefit you but to benefit my grass!" I thought this was a very strange experience. Anyone else have an experience similar to this?

[Hammer 4]

Hmmmmm...I would Ignore his comment..or, instruction if you will..

[billchao]

You can help preserve his grass further by never going there again.

[Abu3baid]

Idiot The instructor that is

[cipher]

You can help preserve his grass further by never going there again.

QFT FTG!

[mvmac]

[Reval14]

Never go there again.

[boogielicious]

Go there everyday and take lots of dollar sized divots.

[jclark]

He said the next time I go he's gonna put my off to the side in the tree line. Lol!

[iacas]

He said the next time I go he's gonna put my off to the side in the tree line. Lol!

Are your dollars the same sizes as everyone else's?

[trickyputt]

You should show up with a mammoth niblick. You could throw shovefuls of turf downrange. Just be sure to fill the holes with sand and wave and smile as you leave!

[jclark]

Are your dollars the same sizes as everyone else's? :-)

About the size of a savings bond. Jk, normally they are Slightly smaller than a bill.

[hookmaster]

An iron swing needs to have a divot in front of it. Or you may as we'll be hitting off mats. Ignore him and don't change your swing for that fool.

[Patch]

Here is another side of that scenario. On the driving range it cost money to repair divots, because (IMHO) most folks who are practicing do not repair their divots. Eventually others who use the driving range are looking for a clean piece of turf to hit off of. Over the course of a few months, the grass is pretty much gone, and maintenance brings in the rubber mats, while they re-grow the grass destroyed by those practicing. Now it is also my opinion that most folks when actually on the course golfing repair their divots. Every time you take a divot, even on the practice range, you need to replace/repair that divot. Make it part of your "post shot" routine. The funny one I see more often than not, is the golfer in a practice bunker who when done, will rake the sand. However, that same golfer won't repair the turf they damage when using the grassy parts of the practice area.

As for taking a divot or not, that's up to the individual. I take divots, and the shorter the iron, the deeper the divot I take. I repair/replace all of them. Now sometimes when I get on a course that is some where between firm, and just plain hard, I don't take divots. This is to prevent injury to me, and/or damage to my clubs. There are quite a few courses out there that do not have divot friendly fairways. When I was golfing, and traveling a lot, I would play 25-35 different courses per year. I saw a quite a few different playing conditions as far as the turf was concerned. The farther north I played the better the conditions were for taking a divot. The higher the green fees also meant (usually) divot friendly fairways. Some times over watering might make a golfer think twice about taking a divot. Some of these desert courses I am playing right now are not divot friendly. Even some of the bunkers are pretty hard.

I know quite a few golfers who play with single digit hdcps who never take a divot. They either just brush the turf in front of the ball, or like a lot of golfers I see, they sort of "scoop" the ball off the turf. Those who scoop, sacrifice some distance, while hitting higher ball flights. Some of those who never took a divot, said they were too lazy to replace/repair their divots, so they did not take one for that single reason. Good for them I say.

[David in FL]

The "pro" is an idiot.....however, please make sue that you're doing your part by leaving a clean divot pattern, and not a "bomb crator"!

[mvmac]

@David in FL beat me to it but I'll post it anyway. I grew up doing it the third way (in the video) and changed it in college to taking longer strips.

[jclark]

Here is another side of that scenario. On the driving range it cost money to repair divots, because (IMHO) most folks who are practicing do not repair their divots. Eventually others who use the driving range are looking for a clean piece of turf to hit off of. Over the course of a few months, the grass is pretty much gone, and maintenance brings in the rubber mats, while they re-grow the grass destroyed by those practicing. Now it is also my opinion that most folks when actually on the course golfing repair their divots. Every time you take a divot, even on the practice range, you need to replace/repair that divot. Make it part of your "post shot" routine. The funny one I see more often than not, is the golfer in a practice bunker who when done, will rake the sand. However, that same golfer won't repair the turf they damage when using the grassy parts of the practice area.        As for taking a divot or not, that's up to the individual. I take divots, and the shorter the iron, the deeper the divot I take. I repair/replace all of them. Now sometimes when I get on a course that is some where between firm, and just plain hard, I don't take divots. This is to prevent injury to me, and/or damage to my clubs. There are quite a few courses out there that do not have divot friendly fairways. When I was golfing, and traveling a lot, I would play 25-35 different courses per year. I saw a quite a few different playing conditions as far as the turf was concerned. The farther north I played the better the conditions were for taking a divot. The higher the green fees also meant (usually) divot friendly fairways. Some times over watering might make a golfer think twice about taking a divot. Some of these desert courses I am playing right now are not divot friendly. Even some of the bunkers are pretty hard.       I know quite a few golfers who play with single digit hdcps who never take a divot. They either just brush the turf in front of the ball, or like a lot of golfers I see, they sort of "scoop" the ball off the turf. Those who scoop, sacrifice some distance, while hitting higher ball flights. Some of those who never took a divot, said they were too lazy to replace/repair their divots, so they did not take one for that single reason. Good for them I say.

I couldn't really replace the divots. It's really just a big field so there isn't any fully intact divots to replace. We just fill them in with sand. This range isn't associated with or at a course. I do rows of divots and leave a strip of grass in between them because I learned on here that it helps the grass grow back quicker.

[Zeph]

The "pro" is an idiot.....however, please make sue that you're doing your part by leaving a clean divot pattern, and not a "bomb crator"!

It helps, but for those of us who hit it fat now and then, the line quickly becomes a long one.

I wouldn't call a pro that tells you you shouldn't take a divot a pro. He's either lying to save his grass, or seriously misinformed.

I can't replace any divots on the practice range since the turf is too frail. The divots are more a could of dirt and grass than a single object. Does replacing divots help on a driving range? I've heard some say that replacing a divot means the damage will take longer to heal, since the roots won't re-attach anyways. Some courses I've been to has had posters telling players to not replace divots on the course because of this.

I suppose it would be possible to replace divots and have other players hit off it again on a range with good grass, but I didn't know it was a thing.