Has anyone gone from a digger to a sweeper or vice versa?

MattyD-MPLS

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This year I have gone from an aggressive digger to a sweeper. Has anyone else had this type of change happen in their swing?

This is a picture in September 2019 at The THP Championship. I am mystified right now.
Digger.jpg
 
I spent the first 10 years playing without taking a divot, to a few years taking huge pelts, to now making very small divots. I hit the ball higher now with more spin which is very good for me.
 
thats a big adjustment.
my question is can a person be a small divot/sweeper with irons and a digger with wedges?
 
I have never made huge divots except when I mishit a shot. I a mostly a skimmer. Sometimes it cost me though, but around it it isn't bad cause we have so much hard ground to hit off of.
 
I can be both in the space of a hole or two. :ROFLMAO: Have always been mostly a sweeper, though.
 
I've gone the opposite direction, from sweeper to digger.

Overall it's been better for my scoring. Better consistency as to distance control and better use/predictability of spin on approaches.

But a couple negatives are that I will chunk wedges a bit more often.

And when I was a picker of the ball, fairway bunkers were easy as heck for me. Now I'll catch sand pretty often.
 
I'm thinking I'm a a combo sweeper/digger. I say this because I tend to sweep the ball most of the time, but sometimes, on shorter approach shots I will take a divot.

Even when I sweep the ball off the turf, I will give the turf a slight trim off the top.

I read something, way back when, that taking a proper divot, in front of the ball, was one of the harder aspects of the golf swing to learn. That's when I decided to be more of a sweeper of the ball.

Now, I also agree that taking a proper divot, in front of the ball is definitely the correct way to strike the ball for those who can do it.
 
I take a pretty decent divot with all but my 4i, which I try to sweep.
 
I'm not as consistent as I want, but I have gone to a more shallow swing as a stock swing - taking off some grass/shallow divot. It depends on the lie on the course - ya' need to dig sometimes.
 
I do not consider myself a sweeper now but compared to how much turf I've dug in the past I'd say relatively I'm a sweeper. I'm now making more consistent contact from good lies but I notice that I'm not nearly as good out of deep rough. My digging was so aggressive that I did not pay a harsh penalty for the rough but I certainly do now
 
I used to take out such nice divots years ago and now I can't accomplish it for the life of me. I didn't even change on purpose.
 
I went from taking man sized divots to sweeping most shots over the last few years.
I'm not sure why, but I need to get back to some divots.
 
@MattyD-MPLS - what has it done to your game/ scoring?
I am trending in the wrong direction this year which is why I am worrying.

I've gone the opposite direction, from sweeper to digger.

Overall it's been better for my scoring. Better consistency as to distance control and better use/predictability of spin on approaches.

But a couple negatives are that I will chunk wedges a bit more often.

And when I was a picker of the ball, fairway bunkers were easy as heck for me. Now I'll catch sand pretty often.

It sucks to change drastically!

thats a big adjustment.
my question is can a person be a small divot/sweeper with irons and a digger with wedges?

That is the “norm” I think!
 
I've been a sweeper/picker all my playing life. In the last couple of years I've been working to take some level of divot with wedges and for the most part it has improved my short game.
 
I've been a sweeper since I started playing. This year I've spent time specifically trying to make better contact and now most shots will result in a very slight divot. I am noticing a few more chunked shots, but on the whole it's been a big improvement.
 
Digger to neutral/sweeper. Changed my swing over the winter. I still purposefully come in steep at times (e.g., some pitching shots), but my basic swing has far more width and comes in more shallow at impact. I now mostly buzz cut grass or take a thin divot.

End of last year I took a lesson on an outdoor range. Instructor was teasing me about destroying their area with trenches. My divots were deep. That visual and moment of understanding is when I decided to full on work toward a swing change. I also had a chronically sore left wrist and hand. It was time.
 
I try to sweep so as to not take a divot.
 
I took my girls to the range tonight and may have figured something out. My hands were to low at address. I got them a little more upright. I hit some flushed wedges which was nice to see.
 
yup. been a sweeper most of my life. last 2-3 years turned into a wicked digger. losing flexibility and strength. now trying to get back to pickin.
 
thats a big adjustment.
my question is can a person be a small divot/sweeper with irons and a digger with wedges?

Yup. That’s me to a T. If I’m playing well & striking the ball well, you’d never know I was there UNTIL you hand me a wedge. No idea why but that’s just what happened. I don’t know what happened just one day, I couldn’t take a divot.
Actually, I hurt my lead/left shoulder & taking a divot put a strain on it. So, naturally, rather than take time off for it to get better or rest it, I made some adjustments. Been that way for 7-8 months & no real desire to go back.


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Maybe I have it wrong, but in my mind there's a big difference between a sweeper and a picker. Sweeper to me is shallow. And looking at your insta @MattyD-MPLS you seem like you used to be pretty steep (nothing current). So has that changed, where you're rotating through more from behind instead of above your body, or have you just stopped digging (become a picker) with that same vertical approach?

I saw your post a couple up and when I start picking more I try to raise the handle, which I guess you did, and watch my left knee bend relative to my left shoulder turn. If I'm posted straight before my shoulder has reached parallel I get really picky. I've had to make a concerted effort to hold that bend and raise the handle this year to overcome it.
 
When I started I was a sweeper/picker, I spent an entire season (my second season iirc) learning to properly hit down on and compress the golf ball. Was a rough year, but more than worth it.
 
Used to dig a lot. Now, I have become more neutral as I changed some thoughts around and got better technique.
 
I take small divots with good shots, maybe the size of a playing card. If I take a bigger divot, it's probably from a poor swing.
 
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