Practice range has been a bit limited the last couple weeks. The back half doesn’t drain very well, and players have been asked to keep the balls within 150 of teeing area. Sometimes, I walk the range to clean up bags, move bag stands, tidy up. With so many short irons hit, I will often ask a practicing player, why did you chop up all the grass? Sometimes they say they are struggling, and other times they say “I’m trying to take a divot.” Why are you trying to take a divot? “Pros take divots, I should do what they are doing.”
Hold on one second. Pros take divots because they cannot NOT take divots. Let’s not get too technical, but there is a byproduct of shaft deflection hitting a fixed object, greater centricfical force… it’s basically a byproduct of having speed.
When you have way less speed than a tour pro, and you are purposely pounding the ground, all you are doing is midlessly pounding the ground. You won’t actually hit a good golf shot pounding the ground, you hit good golf shots by hitting the ball. It’s about focused intent.
Divots are results, they are not intentions. Think about this if you have a driver speed under 100mph, which is most people. If you don’t have speed, you won’t make a ball spin, and ball that does not spin, will not rise. If you hit down to make divots and you have no speed, you will simply get very low launch. Low launch, no speed, no spin, means no height, which means no distance and no stopping power. I’m not sure why you want to do that?
In summary, fast swingers simply take divots accidently. Slow swingers need to understand they are slow swingers and not be pounding the hell out of the driving range simply because they believe pros are trying to take divots. You can play good golf, and not take a divot.
