Are you a Divot Taker or do you hit it clean?

[Deemac]

This topic was prompted by the photos that were posted a while ago by MPX of the state of the turf after two different Mizuno tour pro's had their warm-up session on the range before a tournament round. One left the turf virtually in tact whilst the other left it completely devoid of grass...

I go to my practice area regularly, and I must admit that the greenkeeper must curse me after I've finished - as he likely needs a 10kg bag of grass seed or a couple of sq/m of turf to make good the area where I've been practicing.

I take a divot with every iron, and with my wedges they are rather juicy!! And yet, I play with a guy who is also off of 7hcp and he hits the ball really clean and never takes a divot.

Don't get me wrong - I'm happy to take a divot, as it assures me I'm coming in steep and compressing the ball as much as possible...

How about you - do you take a divot or do you hit it clean?

 

[db.]

I take a shallow divot

 

[Nooner]

Clean. I really can't get my head around the taking a divert and still getting the distance. As a result I very rarely get any spin on the ball so I think when I can start playing again I may take lessons for the first time.

 

[MPX]

I like a nice thick square divot that goes straight back into the hole it left. First time I played in the US I couldn't get my head round them exploding and filling the gap with mix instead. Somehow doesn't feel right.

 

[Deemac]

I like a nice thick square divot that goes straight back into the hole it left. First time I played in the US I couldn't get my head round them exploding and filling the gap with mix instead. Somehow doesn't feel right.

Ditto on that!!!

BTW MPX - Have you taken the Tour Pro Poser Test??

 

[Terry]

If the conditions are dry I take a shallow divot with the MX25`s yet I sweep with my BH apex.when I use them (rarely).
Must admit I watch with envy those who will hit say 50 balls on the range using the divot they took with the first swing(well almost)for all subsequent shots. Most courses over here tell us NOT to replace divots but fill with sand or mix as the replaced divot will not regrow although I suppose if you dug deep enough to take roots and all.

 

[ChuckD]

My divots progress. I take very little with a 4-5i, but as I get into the 6-7i its gets more obvious, 8 through the rest of the wedges, I take fair chunks if the grass is tightly mown. When its wet or the fairways are soft, even more so as I have the confidence that the ground is going to allow my club the cut through it. Where I grew up was a nature paddock out the back of my house. Reckon I scalped a good square meter of grass every week.

 

[rrhb]

The teachings behind the swing I use say that I should be hitting it clean or taking a shallow divot about the size of a credit card.

In reality, about half the time it's a clean hit, another quarter it's with a shallow divot, and the rest are more than shallow with varying depths.

 

[Mizo]

My divots progress. I take very little with a 4-5i, but as I get into the 6-7i its gets more obvious, 8 through the rest of the wedges.

Pretty much the same here, the higher the number, the deeper the divot.
Think that's the way it makes the most sense to my logic also.

 

[Dave Lyall]

I take a nice healthy divot with every iron.The only time I really "nip" the ball is with the rusty wedges from about 50yds and in when required.
I feel the same on this as Deemac,the assurance I am coming in steep and compressing the ball the way I like to. In fact if I'm not squeezing out these nice square "juicy" divots it's off to the range for me to find out where I'm going wrong.
Just how it's always been for me and hopefully always will be.

 

[dhwhite]

I like a nice thick square divot that goes straight back into the hole it left. First time I played in the US I couldn't get my head round them exploding and filling the gap with mix instead. Somehow doesn't feel right.

Replacing the divot with the turf you took is not the best play. 1. The replaced divot never grows back even if you stand there and stomp it down 2. the dying divot you replaced will be extracted by the next mower to come down the fairway and will dull the blades of that mower. Just toss the divot off the fairway and fill the hole with mix. The course staff will take care of the rest-thats what you pay "greens fees" for...you're not a greenskeeper...your focus is to play golf. Enjoy.

 

[db.]

Not sure where you play, but mix is not readily available on the fairways of my course

 

[Deemac]

Not sure where you play, but mix is not readily available on the fairways of my course

+1 Having a bottle of mix attached to the golf cart is not a UK thing!!

US and continental EU no problem, but here in the home of golf, it's "stomp" the divot!!

 

[hvcarvalho]

And... is there any solution to the guys like me that like to walk the course?

It doesn't seem very easy to carry a bottle of mix with us in the bag!

The only one I can remember is... STOMP THE DIVOT!!!

 

[DCB]

Having spent a lot of time and effort to get my ball striking sorted out in the last couple of seasons, I'm definately into the divot taker camp now.

For years I've been a picker or grazer and have suffered as a consequence. With a better downward strike through the ball I've got to take a divot. Learning how I'm swinging can be aided by looking at the divot and its depth and direction.

Mind you, after all that, I'm still playing like a donkey at the moemtn ;-)

 

[db.]

My first answer was a bit vague, my divot size definitely depends on the club I use. My short irons I take a decent divot, my mid irons the divot is shallow and long irons I bruise the surface. Not sure if this is correct, but hey it works for me.

 

[ChuckD]

Interesting about the divot replacing. I normally use the iron to drag the surrounding grass back into the divot, then level with sand. Our fairways are Kikuyu so sand and seed is not an option. Once you dig some root structure back into the void, it recovers within a week. Unfilled divots, and pitch marks that people dont fix or fix wrongly drives me freakin nuts.

 

[BoostLE]

Definitely a divot taker. I feel bad for the grass so on the practice range I move the ball a little more forward and pick it clean. Our carts have divot mix attached to them so I just fill it afterwards. If the divot I just scalped stayed in one peice (not usually) I'll stomp it back in.

 

[Shorty]

I hit it clean. It just works best for me. Catch the ball first on a very slightly downward angle. Taking mostly blades of grass and rarely any dirt, like a scapel. Most of my shots stop pretty fast but don't spin back.

 

[DazMiz]

I love to take a divot from 7 iron through to wedges, ball just before the turf so as to get as much compression as possible. With long irons i tend to strike it clean, with perhaps the slightest of divots. I feel that with the MP irons you almost need to take a divot in order to get it right and get the feel. With my old T zoids that wasnt necessarily the case. I also think that the MPs cut the turf much better, possibly because of the sole and bounce.