What exactly does the perfect divot look like?

[vectorinvestor]

My divots on the driving range today pointed a little inside out, is this ok? or is the perfect divot exactly straight at the target? If its not then is this considered to be called "getting stuck"?

And yes I was pushing the ball, the hard thing though is trying to figure out if I need to release harder to get the shot straight or is the problem that the swing path needs to be corrrected?

[Mr_Change]

Re: What exactly does the perfect divot look like?

I don't take much divot myself, but when I'm hitting a straight shot with a little draw, my divot starts straight and has a small curve to the left. showing the club was going straight through the ball and coming back inside on plane.

[LowPost42]

Re: What exactly does the perfect divot look like?

Yes, you were getting stuck - if your divot points right, you hadn't squared up at impact. In fact, your divot should be straight or even ever-so-slightly left, for a RHG.

[gord962]

Re: What exactly does the perfect divot look like?

A divot to the right only tells you your path is going inside-out. If your shot was a straight push, that means you hit the shot with your face square to the swing path, but not square to the target line, meaning your club face is open. If your clubface is square to the target line and the divot goes right, this will create a shot that starts to the right (push) and turns into a draw.

[vectorinvestor]

Re: What exactly does the perfect divot look like?

Scary,

I was hitting straight pushes so not only do I have to work on my swing path but squaring the clubhead also.

How do I get unstuck? I use a swing thought to begin the downswing by bumping my hips toward the target, I guess I'm letting my hands drag too much huh?

[gord962]

Re: What exactly does the perfect divot look like?

You may not have to work on your swing path, depending on how far right you are going. If you are missing targets by 15 - 20 yards or more, than yes, start to worry. Otherwise, you should be fine. As long as you can get your clubface square at impact, your ball should draw back into the target area.

Check your clubface alignment at impact with this drill:

In your address position, grip a golf club (of similar length) with each hand. Slowly take the clubs away with your normal backswing and go through your normal motion for the downswing. Stop at your impact position. More than likely one (possibly even both) club faces are not in line with the target. Adjust your grip (stronger or weaker depending on if the clubface is open or closed) and repeat the drill until both clubfaces are square at impact. Once you have the correct hand positions for both hands, try hitting a few balls and see if this had made any difference.

[LowPost42]

Re: What exactly does the perfect divot look like?

If it helps, Dave Pelz has noticed that most pros have their distances down for their woods to mid irons, but their accuracy is a touch suspect... so even if your aim is a little off... well, it's OK.