divot question for golfers

I could be the result of an outside to inside move...but it could be something else...how deep are these divots? It would be helpful to see a picture of them. What do your shots look like? If you are taking a discernable divot with your fairway woods...you are likely too steep...There are a myriad of factors to consider, how tall are you? How close to the ball do you stand, what is the width of your stance, are you using a proper grip? The list could go on.

Your divot should be SLIGHTLY left of your target...the swing path is inside to inside...not inside to outside...

 

BTW, last time I checked, it was way more important where the ball went than which way my divots pointed...

 

What's your handicap? 5 years isn't that long, and if you're an outside-in slicer, you shouldn't be focusing on divots. Get some good instruction to straighten out your swing. Divots are something that may or may not enter into your game at a later time. Even when I played all the time and consistently shot in the mid-to-low 70s, I rarely took divots. It's just my belief that when you're focusing on that, you're looking past some of the fundamentals of the swing.

 

Step 1:

Grab a driver and an iron of your choice.

Lean the driver against a leg.

Line up to take a shot with iron.

Without twisting your shoulders, carefully retrieve driver and line it across front of shoulders.

That's the direction your shoulders are actually pointing in, when addressing the ball.

 

Step 2:

Grab a driver and an iron of your choice.

Lean the driver against a leg.

Line up to take a shot with iron.

Swing as you normally would, but STOP right before contact.

Without twisting your shoulders, carefully retrieve driver and line it across front of shoulders.

That's the direction your shoulders are actually pointing in, when striking the ball.

 

Step 1B:

Start with driver across front of shoulders, with goal of keeping shoulders pointed straight at address.

Step 2B:

When you STOP - using Driver as guide again, shoulders should be aimed at target.

Step 3: From here on out, keep it natural, as shoulders will be where they're supposed to be at those points if corrections have been made. It'll feel like you're pulling your right shoulder back... but it's actually straight!

 

So what do you do when you are right handed and your left arm is 2 3/4" shorter than your right arm???

 

take up tennis....just kidding, would need to see how/if you could grip the club properly...there are teachers who specialize in adaptive golf...but if you can grip the club, I suspect with some posture and stance adaptations a decent swing could be developed...might need to modify clubs...longer to accomodate the short left arm and play with a split grip ala Moe Norman...

 

What I have found is that I need to choke down on the shaft. This has been successful for myself except for the fact that I can no longer drive the ball 275-300 yards. But at least I don't have to go out fishing the ball out of the weeds or woods any longer.

BTW the reason for the shorter arm is from a shattered collarbone 30 years ago racing motocross.

 

My suggestions regarding longer clubs and split grip probabaly apply in your case. Might get some of your distance back...a caveat regarding lengthing the clubs...have it done by a professional club fitter because lengthing will require a substantial reduction in clubhead weight so as not to have unplayable, high swingweights...the Natural Golf/Moe Norman grips might be a great option...should be easy to find by googlin Natural Golf...

 

http://www.naturalgolf.com/ProShopProductDetail.aspx?CategoryID=2&ProductMasterID=197

 

Apologies if this a little late but I do not frequent this section of the site often:

From personal experience, you need to be checking ball position and the position of the right hand upon the club at address.
As has been previously identified the swing path is out to in (thus causing the divots to be pointing left of the desired ball to target line).
It is likely the divot will get slightly deeper as it progresses forward.

My concern would be, as it is with most novice golfers, that the ball is played too far forward the stance (ie closer to the front foot, the left foot in the case of a right hand golfer).
Whilst this can feel comfortable and having plenty of 'room' to swing he club it can corrupt the set up and then obviously the swing path.

The further forward the ball is played in stance the more the shoulders will open (aim left) and thus the right hand will likely be positioned more on top of the grip in to a weak position.
This will encourage the club to be picked up on the take away and travel 'outside the line', promoting an over the top, steep movement back to the ball.

It would be my suggestion to focus up on ball postion and ensuring more weight is positioned on the right half of the body.
This will enable the shoulders to be correctly aligned in relation to the target and that the right hand can be positioned in a more neutral position to produce a correct and more re-creatable swing path.
From here the swing may feel a little more rounded with the club head travelling around the body (rather than up-and-down) and you will hopefully find the divots will not only be shallower but will be square to your intended ball to target line.

Paul