Read Your Divot
Get Rid Of That Ugly Slice

In teaching countless students over the years, I've discovered that what matters most to them is ball flight. Ball flight is created by an impact. The problem is that impact occurs so fast that it is very difficult to determine what happened. There is a clue that remains after impact that can shed light on that elusive moment of truth. That clue is the divot (or lack thereof). Think of your divots as an old-fashioned launch monitor. If you know how to read the divot, then you are well on your way to solving the impact puzzle.

There are four different conditions of impact that the divot reveals. They are location of the bottom of the swing, angle of the swing, path of the swing and depth consistency. All of these conditions are related, but it is helpful to separate them when trying to figure out what has occurred when you strike the ball.

Location Of The Bottom Of The Swing
This is the part of the swing that tour players are so good at. They hit the ball and the ground at precisely the same time. That is one reason why they are so effective out of the thick rough and tight lies. It is also the way they create so much spin on their iron shots. Many times, the average player is not even aware of the bottom of the swing. The divot can either be behind the ball, in front of the ball or at the ball.

In Front Of The Ball
If the bottom of the swing is in front of the ball, then the proper cure is to slightly lower the right side of your body at address (for right-handers). Lower your right hip, right shoulder and even tilt your eyes as if you were going to look for something just under the back of the ball. This will position your body in a way to ensure that you move the low point of the swing back to where the ball is.

Behind The Ball
One of the most common impact faults is having the low point of the swing behind the ball. For this situation, adjustments need to be made to move the bottom of the swing forward.

First, stay more centered. Use your shadow or a reflection and make practice backswings in which you keep your body in one spot when you turn. If you see yourself drifting to one side or the other, counteract that motion by consciously drifting slightly in the opposite direction. This will offset your tendency and give you a more efficient pivot, thus keeping the bottom of your swing in the right spot.

Second, turn through the ball more aggressively. If your body rotation does not keep up with the club in the downswing, then you will not be able to hit the ball and the ground at the same time consistently. You should actually start turning your lower body just a touch before you reach the top of the backswing. This will ensure that your body is initiating the chain reaction that is the downswing.

Finally, retain the wrist hinge longer into the downswing. At the top of the backswing, your wrists should be 100 percent hinged. At the moment of impact, the wrists should become fully unhinged. The problem is that most amateurs have their wrists unhinged slightly before impact. This makes the low point of the swing occur too soon. So hold onto your wrist hinge during your downswing. Not only will this move the bottom of the swing forward to the ball, it also will give you more potential for power.

Depth Of The Divot
The depth of the divot will give you an idea of what your swing plane is. A proper divot is just a clip of the grass roots. You do not want a bunch of sod flying. A divot is either too deep, too shallow or just right.

Too Deep Of A Divot
If you notice your divot is too thick, then you are coming into the ground steeply and must shallow out the impact. Shallowing the angle of approach will not only allow you to pick up additional yardage, but it will also give your body less of a jolt when you swing.

There are several ways to do this, but the easiest and most efficient way is to line up several golf balls on different tees. Imagine clipping the ball off the top of the tee without even hitting the tee.

If you do this and are still chopping down, then before you hit the next series of teed-up balls, make some practice swings about knee high above the ball, feeling as though you are hitting slightly up through impact. This helps to round out your swing.

If you are still not shallow enough, try practicing from a sidehill lie with the ball above your feet. The lie will flatten out your swing plane. This forces you to come into the ball more level, and you will cure the big divots.

Too Shallow Of A Divot
If the club is not hitting enough of the ground at impact, then the angle of approach is too shallow. When this occurs, much of the speed of impact is wasted up into the air instead of into the back of the ball. This is often caused by swinging too much around and not enough up and down. In this particular case, the arms are usually too closely tied to the turning of the body.

To steepen the impact, make slow practice swings with your backside against a wall. Feel your arms lifting the club up to avoid hitting the wall. If the arms and club go up on a steeper angle, then they will also come down with more angle. This will give you the desired approach into the ball.

Another drill to fix the shallow divot is to practice with the ball below your feet. If you come into the ball too shallow in this situation, you will hit the ground before the ball. The only way you can hit the ball first is to steepen your swing plane.

Direction Of The Divot
There are three options for your divot's direction — pointed too far to the right, too far to the left or straight at the target. The direction of the divot and the ball position are closely related. This is due to the fact that the swing is a circle. Because you are standing to the side of the ball, the circle is tilted toward you. The path of the downswing comes from the inside, while the through swing works back to the inside. That arc is only pointed toward the target for a brief moment. If impact occurs too soon on the arc, the divot will point to the right. If it occurs too late on the arc, the divot will point to the left. This is why tour professionals are always working on their setup and ball position. If the ball position is wrong, it will affect all the other angles of the swing, making a correct divot all but impossible.

Keep in mind that because the swing is from the inside and back to the inside, you will notice that the tail end of a correct divot will point just slightly to the left (for right-handers). Do not let this fool you. That is just the geometry of golf.

Divot Pointing To The Left
This is the most common divot in golf because the majority of players fade and pull the ball. If the divot is pointing to the left, then the first order of business is to move the ball back in your stance. Moving the ball back will allow you to catch the ball more on the inside path and make the divot point more to the target.

Divot Pointing To The Right
If a divot is pointing too much to the right, then the ball position is too far back in the stance. The ball is being struck before the club has had time to reach the point on the arc that is aiming at the target. To fix this problem, simply bump your ball position forward slightly in your stance. This will give the club additional time to swing on the arc and allow it to be pointing toward the target when it strikes the ball.

Depth Consistency
There is one other element to the divot that deserves mentioning. It is the depth consistency. This is related to how the clubs fit you. An ideal divot is level from left to right, an indication that the entire bottom of the club hit the ground at the same time. Your divots can either be toe deep, heel deep or just right.

Toe Deep
This is when the right side of the divot is deeper than the left. It is an indication that the clubs are a bit flat for you. If you are 5 feet 10 inches or taller, or have relatively short arms for your height, watch for this one. The face will look slightly to the right at the moment of impact, and the ball will tend to curve to the right. This indicates that your clubs need to be bent more upright or lengthened, or both.

In rare cases, the lie angle and the length can be correct, but the shaft is too soft, allowing the toe of the club to droop too much during the swing. A good clubfitter will be able to detect this abnormality.

Heel Deep
This occurs when the left side of the divot is deeper than the right. It is an indication that the clubs are a bit upright for you. If you are 5 feet 9 inches or shorter, or have relatively long arms for your height, you'll want to be on the look out for this one. The face will look slightly to the left at the moment of impact, and the ball will tend to curve to the left. In this case, your clubs need to be bent flat or shortened, or both.

Remember, analyzing your divots will help you understand your game more and get you on the road to lower scores.