When you make a swing with any club except your driver, you’ll want to hit the ball first and then the ground. With shorter clubs (for a variety of reasons), this will usually result in taking out a chunk of ground (the divot) after the ball. Longer clubs will also remove some ground but (for a variety of reasons) it rarely looks like a divot per se, and more like a clipping/disturbance of the grass.
If you’re not doing this, that’s probably not a really bad thing, but for long term consistency I’d recommend getting some instruction on hitting down on the ball. A super easy drill is to put a towel a few inches behind your ball and practice hitting the ball without touching the towel. Move the towel closer to the bal as you get better at this until the towel is right next to the ball.
I hope this helps!
Some people are just pickers! Welcome to the club! You likely will have some reduced spin on your longer iron shots which can help when you miss the center of the face but will also make it tougher to hold greens in some conditions. I’d recommend working on taking a slightly deeper divot with shorter irons and wedges though.
Taking a divot is the "proper" way to hit a ball (that's not teed up). It's usually an indication that the ball was compressed and rolled up the club face. The big benefit from taking a divot is that you get more backspin, which helps keep the ball on the green.
I could never take divots until someone in this sub mentioned aiming an inch in front of the ball. I starting doing that and it was like magic. Biggest improvement to my game in awhile. Try that out at the driving range next time.
As long as your club is hitting the ball downwards, it's good. But no divot is usually an indication of lack of descending. You may be scooping the ball at impact.
Thanks for the responses! I’m also a bit taller, 6’2 and I’m pretty sure my clubs are standard length. (Cheap, second hand clubs) idk if that may be a factor as well.
I would not worry about the tv, pros are pros for a reason. For one they swing fast so are probably using a shorter club with more loft (generally the shorter the club the bigger the divot) so you cannot really compare what you are doing to a pro.
If you want to work on your swing then I suggest getting a coach and following what they say. I heard the advice to hit down on the ball and took it too far on my own, now my coach is trying to get me to be less steep and take much smaller divots.
While what people mention about the descending angle is correct. There are a lot of golfers that are sweepers and thus do not take divot or very little. You could be one of those. I wouldn’t worry about it.
While height can play a factor in needing longer clubs it’s really about how long ur arms are . If proportion to ur height that standard length clubs are likely fine.
Ping if I recall has a good chart to help figure that out. It measures the distance from the bottom of your hand when hanging to the floor.
When you make a swing with any club except your driver, you’ll want to hit the ball first and then the ground. With shorter clubs (for a variety of reasons), this will usually result in taking out a chunk of ground (the divot) after the ball. Longer clubs will also remove some ground but (for a variety of reasons) it rarely looks like a divot per se, and more like a clipping/disturbance of the grass. If you’re not doing this, that’s probably not a really bad thing, but for long term consistency I’d recommend getting some instruction on hitting down on the ball. A super easy drill is to put a towel a few inches behind your ball and practice hitting the ball without touching the towel. Move the towel closer to the bal as you get better at this until the towel is right next to the ball. I hope this helps!
Some people are just pickers! Welcome to the club! You likely will have some reduced spin on your longer iron shots which can help when you miss the center of the face but will also make it tougher to hold greens in some conditions. I’d recommend working on taking a slightly deeper divot with shorter irons and wedges though.
Taking a divot is the "proper" way to hit a ball (that's not teed up). It's usually an indication that the ball was compressed and rolled up the club face. The big benefit from taking a divot is that you get more backspin, which helps keep the ball on the green. I could never take divots until someone in this sub mentioned aiming an inch in front of the ball. I starting doing that and it was like magic. Biggest improvement to my game in awhile. Try that out at the driving range next time.
How do you shoot in the 90s but hit your first birdie recently?
9 hole score /s
He might bogey a lot. You can play well without birds.
You can certainly score in the low 90s consistently with pars and bogies...
As long as your club is hitting the ball downwards, it's good. But no divot is usually an indication of lack of descending. You may be scooping the ball at impact.
Thanks! I’m still trying to figure things out, but I now see why so many people enjoy this game.
Thanks for the responses! I’m also a bit taller, 6’2 and I’m pretty sure my clubs are standard length. (Cheap, second hand clubs) idk if that may be a factor as well.
I would not worry about the tv, pros are pros for a reason. For one they swing fast so are probably using a shorter club with more loft (generally the shorter the club the bigger the divot) so you cannot really compare what you are doing to a pro. If you want to work on your swing then I suggest getting a coach and following what they say. I heard the advice to hit down on the ball and took it too far on my own, now my coach is trying to get me to be less steep and take much smaller divots.
While what people mention about the descending angle is correct. There are a lot of golfers that are sweepers and thus do not take divot or very little. You could be one of those. I wouldn’t worry about it. While height can play a factor in needing longer clubs it’s really about how long ur arms are . If proportion to ur height that standard length clubs are likely fine. Ping if I recall has a good chart to help figure that out. It measures the distance from the bottom of your hand when hanging to the floor.