Miles Bennett
Golfers often strive to take a divot when hitting irons and wedges, as this can lead to solid contact and proper impact, launching the ball higher and farther. However, this can be one of the greatest challenges for golfers, as it goes against the instinct to help the ball into the air. To hit a divot, golfers must learn to compress the ball by striking it first and then taking a divot. This can be achieved through proper posture, ball position, wrist angles, and body rotation. Drills such as the Release Drill and low point control drills can help golfers improve their divots and overall swing.
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What You'll Learn
Keep your eye on the ground in front of the ball
Keeping your eye on the ground in front of the ball is a great way to improve your divots and overall golf game. This technique helps you focus on the point of contact with the ball and ensures a more consistent swing.
To start, set up a drill to help you visualise the correct swing path. You can do this by placing a tee or alignment sticks a few inches outside your swing path. Alternatively, spray or draw a straight line on the grass and place the ball directly on top. These techniques will help you visualise the correct swing path and ensure your clubhead makes contact with the ground in the middle of your stance.
When you're ready to swing, focus on the ground in front of the ball, this is where your swing should bottom out to hit the ball and then the ground. Keeping your eye on this spot will help you achieve the correct swing path and divot after the ball.
It's important to note that your ball position can impact your swing. If the ball is positioned too far forward in your stance, it can be difficult to make contact with the ball before the ground. Play around with your ball position to find what works best for you.
By focusing on the ground in front of the ball and mastering your ball position, you'll be taking consistent divots and launching the ball higher and farther in no time.
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Ensure the ball position is correct
To ensure the ball position is correct, it is important to understand that a good divot starts just in front of the ball at rest. This means that the club should make contact with the ball and then the ground. If the divot starts behind the swing, it will result in a poor shot. Therefore, the ball position should be such that the clubhead makes contact with the ground in the middle of your stance.
To find the correct ball position, you can take a practice swing and observe where the club hits the ground relative to your stance. For most shots with irons, the ball should be in the centre of your stance. This will allow for a more consistent bottom of the arc on every iron shot, which will help improve ball striking.
To improve your ball position, you can also try a drill where you spray or draw a straight line on the grass or mat, and place the ball directly on top of the line. You should then try to make contact with the ground just after the line without hitting it. This will help you control where your club contacts the ground and improve your low point control.
Another tip to ensure the correct ball position is to keep your eye not on the ball but about an inch in front of it. This will help you get the feeling of striking the ball with the back of the blade. You can also place a strip of duct tape or a towel behind the ball and adjust the distance to see how close you can get it to the ball without hitting it.
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Keep your wrist flat to slightly flexed at the top of the backswing
Keeping your wrist flat to slightly flexed at the top of the backswing is an important aspect of achieving a good golf swing. It is a challenging technique to master, as it does not come naturally to most players, but it is well worth practising as it can lead to more distance, a penetrating ball flight, and straighter shots.
To achieve a flat wrist at the top of your backswing, you must first ensure that you have a good grip on the club. The grip is the foundation of your wrist position. A neutral grip, where you can see 2-3 knuckles on your left hand at address, is generally a good goal, as it makes it easier to maintain a flat or slightly bowed wrist. If you hold the club too much in the palms of your hands, it will be challenging to feel the necessary wrist angles and generate power.
Once you have mastered the grip, you can begin to work on your backswing. As you swing back, feel for the correct wrist position. Your left wrist should be virtually flat at the halfway point in the backswing, with a slight increase in left wrist hinge (upward wrist cock or radial deviation) while also rotating the forearms to the right. This is a tricky part of the swing, as it is easy to add too much wrist cock, which can alter the swing plane and clubface position.
To help you learn the correct wrist action, you can try the Ruler Drill. Place a small plastic ruler or credit card along the back of your glove hand so it rests against your forearm. As you swing back, you should feel the ruler move away from your forearm, indicating that your wrist is flattening or slightly bowing. If you feel the ruler digging back into your forearm, this means that you have re-cupped your wrist.
To further reinforce the correct wrist position, you can use the HackMotion app, which provides real-time wrist-angle data to help you find and maintain the right position throughout your swing. The app includes the Top of Backswing drill, which can help you create muscle memory and achieve a flat lead wrist at the top of the backswing.
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Make sure your clubhead makes contact with the ground in the middle of your stance
Making sure that your clubhead makes contact with the ground in the middle of your stance is crucial to executing a golf shot effectively. Here are some detailed instructions to ensure you achieve this:
Firstly, address the ball by taking your stance with the ball positioned in the middle. This is the foundation for ensuring proper contact with the ground. Place the ball slightly forward of center in your stance; this will promote a downward strike and help you make contact with the ground in the desired area.
Secondly, focus on your body alignment. You want your body to be aligned so that the club takes the correct path and makes contact with the ground in the middle of your stance. Set up with your feet, hips, and shoulders parallel to the target line. This alignment will help you make a swing that is consistent with the target line and promote a more controlled shot.
Next, during your backswing, maintain your body posture and balance. This is key to ensuring that you can make a controlled downswing and deliver the clubhead back to the ball and ground in the correct position. A steady and balanced backswing will help you make a precise and powerful downswing, increasing your chances of making solid contact with the ball and the ground in the desired area.
Finally, as you transition into the downswing, focus on keeping your eye on the ball and maintaining your body posture. You want to deliver the clubhead back to the ball while maintaining the balance and posture you achieved in the backswing. This will ensure that the clubhead strikes the ball and makes contact with the ground in the middle of your stance.
Remember, this is a precise and coordinated movement and requires practice to perfect. Focus on maintaining balance and delivering the clubhead back to the ball and ground in the middle of your stance for a solid and effective shot.
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Practice drills, e.g. the Release Drill
The Release Drill
The Release Drill teaches you to train the critical “P7 to impact” zone, ensuring your hands stay forward and your lead wrist doesn’t flip. This is a great drill for building consistent, compressed contact.
To perform the drill, spray or draw a straight line on the grass or mat. Place the ball directly on top of the line. Swing and try to contact the ground just after the line—never before it. Keep 80–90% of your weight on your lead side through impact. Monitor your wrist angle; the lead wrist should be more flexed at impact than at setup.
Other Practice Drills
- Place a tee in the ground, not quite flush, behind the ball. Strike balls without hitting the tee.
- Scratch a line on the grass perpendicular to the target and make practice swings hitting a little to the target side of the line.
- Draw a line with paint on the ground perpendicular to the target line. Place the ball one to two inches in front of the line. With a PW, begin with half swings, then 3/4 swings, and finally full swings. The divot must be in front of the paint line.
- Place a thin towel 4 to 6 inches behind the ball. Swing without hitting the towel.
- Use alignment sticks. Try starting at the front of the sticks and working your way backward.
- Place a broken tee or leaf after the ball. Focus on making contact with the tee/leaf after the ball.
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Frequently asked questions
A divot is the chunk of turf that flies off when a golfer makes contact with the ground.
To hit a divot, you need to hit down on the ball so that it goes up. This means that your club should make contact with the ball, followed by the ground.
Here are some tips for hitting a divot:
- Focus on making contact with the ground after the ball.
- Keep your eye on the ground about an inch in front of the ball.
- Ensure your clubhead makes contact with the ground in the middle of your stance.
- Keep your wrist flat to slightly flexed at the top of the backswing to lessen the chance of flipping the club at impact.
