Even with the help of a professional, fixing your swing isn’t easy.
The task becomes infinitely more difficult when you don’t have someone there watching you, but in these instances, there are ways to figure out why you’re hitting the ball the way that you are and one way is by looking at your divot.
Unless you have a video camera filming your every shot, the only way for you to diagnose your swing is by looking at what your swing produced. This includes the flight of your ball and the mark your club leaves on the ground.
Unfortunately, your ball isn’t in the air for too long so you can’t continuously observe it. Your divot, however, doesn’t go anywhere and it can tell you a lot about your problems. So next time you’re having trouble and no one is there to watch you, remember the information that’s provided below.
Breaking Down your Golf Divot
Divot Direction
Your divot is either going to point to the right, to the left or straight. For right-handed players, if it’s pointing to the left, it means your swing path is coming from outside to inside (a path that produces a slice). If it’s pointing right, you’re swinging inside to out (a path that produces a hook).
If it’s pointing straight but your ball is going one direction or the other, it means your clubface isn’t square. If you’re a right-handed player and your ball is going right, your clubface is open. If it’s going left, your clubface is closed. Take some swings, watch the flight of your ball and see if you can make the necessary adjustments.
Divot Depth
The depth of the divot can tell you a lot about your angle of attack. It should never be more than an inch deep. Because you’ll naturally have a shallower swing with your longer clubs, the divot you take with your shorter irons and wedges will be deeper than the divots you take with your longer irons.
If you see that you aren’t taking a divot at all, you’re swing is too shallow. If you’re taking out huge chunks of earth with every swing, it’s too steep. Once again, watch the flight of your ball, look at your divot and tinker to see what works.
Divot Location in Relation to Where Your Ball Was at Address
The actual location of your divot is something that a lot of golfers miss. If you’re not making solid contact with the ball, there’s a good chance that the ball is too far forward or too far backwards in your stance.
Next time you’re on the range, make a little mark next to where your ball is so that after you hit it, you can see where your divot is in relation to it. Ideally, your divot should start 1 to 2 inches IN FRONT of where your ball was on the ground. If it starts at or behind the ball, you’re probably hitting it fat.
If it starts more than an inch or two in front of the ball, you’re hitting it thin. Experiment by moving the ball farther backwards or forwards in your stance and see what happens.