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Divot ahead of ball

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Carolina Golfer

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Ok, we all know that taking a divot ahead of ball will create a flushed shot. But, it is so elusive. I believe your supposed to sequence correctly and or hip bump in the downswing. But, it never works. Does anyone artificially create this condition by swinging and taking a divot ahead of the ball with a hands/arms swing? Won't this just cause casting? Cheers!
 
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Carolina Golfer said:
Ok, we all now that taking a divot ahead of ball will create a flushed shot. But, it is so elusive. I believe your supposed to sequence correctly and or hip bump in the downswing. But, it never works. Does anyone artificially create this condition by swinging and taking a divot ahead of the ball with a hands/arms swing? Won't this just cause casting? Cheers!
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I’m not sure I fully understand but a hands swing as described screams timing based swing to me. Could mean casting or inconsistencies.

If you get the ball first, you will have a divot in front of the ball.
 
I think your are correct. It is elusive for most of us. I do have extended stretches where ball first contact is pretty consistent but am still mostly a “picker” vs. a digger.

Have been a couple short but nice runs where I was taking good divots with the wedges. Felt like I was doing a much better job getting to my left side and clearing the lower body. Even then though I couldn’t carry it through to the longer clubs.


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I only ever focus on making ball first contact. For me the divot seems to just happen when I do. Deeper on shorter clubs, pretty shallow to pretty much a brush on longer irons (4 and 5 iron).

I know some instructors say focus on the spot in front of the ball or some discuss weight transferring more to the front foot, some on shallowing out the club but making sure to lead with the lower body....etc etc. Seems everyone has a different visualization and trigger and I won't claim to know what's best (or what's correct or relevant). All I know is when I don't over squeeze the grip, feeling nice and loose in my swing and don't rush my down swing, I am able to focus on making ball first contact and it flies pretty nice (and far) whenI do .....and miraculously, there always seems to be this nice looking divot that was just in front of where my ball used to be ~shrug~
 
Divot ahead of ball

I used to be terrible at this. 2 seasons at Golftec got rid of this and now I’m a ball first contact kind of guy. I still have to work on it and hit the odd fat shot.

If you sway in the backswing you’re moving the bottom on your swing arc back and have to work twice as hard in the downswing with your weight shift to get that bottom arc forward. You’ll always bottom out behind the ball. I’d video your swing face on and see if you’re swaying off the ball. There are several YouTube drills to help with this.

Next, if you cast you’ll hit behind the ball. Search up hands forward drills on YouTube to help with this.

Essentially you have to have a proper backswing with no sway, a proper weight shift on the downswing and hands forward at impact.

If you continue to struggle, I’d seek the help of a pro.
Hitting behind the ball robs distance and leads to inconsistency.
 
We have a driving range on FM 1960 in Humble that has a target about 35 yards on average from the hitting areas. It has a post with a small target on top that stands about 6 or 7 feet high from the ground. In order to feel that nice ball-first, divot second "down and through" shot, I'll hit some hard, low punch 6-irons and try to catch that target. That effort really helps me on starting the ball over my intermediate target, and reinforcing that great iron feeling of hitting the ball first.
 
Otis32 said:
I think your are correct. It is elusive for most of us. I do have extended stretches where ball first contact is pretty consistent but am still mostly a “picker” vs. a digger.

Have been a couple short but nice runs where I was taking good divots with the wedges. Felt like I was doing a much better job getting to my left side and clearing the lower body. Even then though I couldn’t carry it through to the longer clubs.


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Click to expand...

Is there a significant difference between being a picker vs a digger?

I’m naturally more a picker, but I’ve always wondered if I should change that.
 
Rusty Casino said:
.....If you sway in the backswing you’re moving the bottom on your swing arc back and have to work twice as hard in the downswing with your weight shift to get that bottom arc forward. You’ll always bottom out behind the ball. I’d video your swing face on and see if you’re swaying off the ball. There are several YouTube drills to help with this...
Click to expand...

Well said. Before seeing it I was going to comment something similar but this is stated much clearer than anything I would have written.
 
EltyGolfs said:
Is there a significant difference between being a picker vs a digger?

I’m naturally more a picker, but I’ve always wondered if I should change that.
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Probably not for Very Good to Tour Level golfers who have a consistent swing bottom. There are hall of famers that fall in either category.

For me the shallower attack angle is more natural and it seems to give a better chance at a more consistent swing bottom. Like any hack it doesn’t keep me from struggling with bouts of fat and thin shots......


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I am definitely a picker and the only time i am taking a divot is on a fat shot, i have tried to work on it but doesn't work with my swing.
 
OP- I've personally noticed that I'm not attempting to focus on the creation of the divot. Rather, I use the divot as an indicator of making sure that I'm finding the correct Low Point in my swing, which should be after contact. I can't say specifically, but if a divot after ball contact is the result of casting, then I'd think that player would be skulling the majority of their shots.

When I was first learning to play golf, I recall working rather diligently on creating the divot after ball contact. I feel this is a good first step

EltyGolfs said:
Is there a significant difference between being a picker vs a digger?

I’m naturally more a picker, but I’ve always wondered if I should change that.
Click to expand...

Many tour pros are able to effectively change whether they're the "Picker vs. Digger" depending on the type of shot which they're attempting to make. From my understanding, a deeper divot is usually the result of a steeper swing plane, which tends to be more common when attempting to impart more backspin on the ball. Whereas a shallower divot (or no divot) can be commonly associated with a shallower swing plane.

The size of the divot can also be associated with the club type, as well. Based on observation (and videos I've seen), short irons and wedges will have a steeper (aka "digger") divot, and long irons and woods will likely have a shallower, or no divot (hopefully you don't create a divot when striking a 3 wood or 5 wood off the deck). This can be attributed to the length of the shaft associated with the club, as clubs with higher-loft almost always have a shorter shaft (unless you play with equal-length clubs).

-Bishop
 
I rarely leave much of a divot with my irons, but usually do so with my wedges, where I try to hit the ball high. I hit my irons much like fairway woods. Whether this is good or not, I haven't any idea. I get reasonable distance, so it doesn't seem to be hurting me.
 
Carolina Golfer said:
Ok, we all know that taking a divot ahead of ball will create a flushed shot.
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Ah, no. Simply taking a divot ahead of the ball will not automatically create a flushed shot. There are many other factors: path, face angle, and AoA being a few of the more critical ones.

Carolina Golfer said:
I believe your supposed to sequence correctly and or hip bump in the downswing. But, it never works.
Click to expand...

A hip bump has next to nothing to do with the location or quality of your divot. Assuming you stay in your posture and don't get the clubhead stuck behind your body on the downswing, the clubhead will generally enter the ground under the logo on your shirt and bottom out directly under your lead arm's armpit. Thus if you move your head forward on the downswing you'll move your divot forward. If you move your head back, you'll move your divot back.

Carolina Golfer said:
Does anyone artificially create this condition by swinging and taking a divot ahead of the ball with a hands/arms swing? Won't this just cause casting? Cheers!
Click to expand...

This is a recipe for a weak, inconsistent swing. Not the way to go.

Start by rotating the club around your body and focus on making sure the logo on your shirt is just in front of the ball at impact. Your lead hand should feel like you are turning your knuckles toward the ground as you approach impact. This will promote getting the divot in front of the ball. At first this may feel restrictive, but it will allow you to get very consistent at where the clubhead bottoms out in relation to the ball. After you get good at this we can add some elements that will increase swing speed while still keeping the ball first then divot contact.
 
I am an arms swinger secondary to a broken back and cannot turn very well. I take divots which have helped create spin for me. Try the "laganater" training tool to get the lap needed to stop "scooping" of the ball at impact and get the proper wrist lag.
 
does hitting the ball first provide better distance as well as spin?
 
jimk_54 said:
does hitting the ball first provide better distance as well as spin?
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Yes, and more consistent distance and direction too.
 
leftshot said:
Yes, and more consistent distance and direction too.
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I completely agree with leftshot; striking ball first is almost always best (an exception would be with certain bunker shots, like greenside with fluffy sand). The less you have to impede your strike on the ball, the better. In reference to distance, I also agree with leftshot; it becomes much more consistent when striking the ball first. Generally, any obstruction between the clubface and ball (dirt, grass, sand, etc.) will alter the consistency of the total distance. In some cases, distance will be shorter, but can sometimes actually be longer (as in the case with flyer-lies, or if the grooves of your clubs are no longer present, like due to dirt or mud).

-Bishop
 
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