Conference 7.286::golf

    I was just recently told by a reliable source that a divot should
    be the size of a dollar bill. For what it's worth, I'm
    about fifty cents short!! 
                                      
    
    M. Barber

    George,
      I always look at a divot after a bad shot, sometimes after a
      good shot also to compare.
     
      I find you can get away with murder on Wedge through 7, but
     after that a divot can tell you a lot.
    
     If it's deep outside, thin inside your outside in swing is
    additionally being intensified by a strong right hand the closes
    the face at impct
    If the divot flies, left, also a bad swing. i always watch the divot
    of a pro and goes straight or even right, THEY almost never have
    an outside in swing.
    If the divot on a 4 iron is deep, again the hand action plus 
    outside in swing tells a lot. Taking the club back to the outside
    instead of inside is my biggest mistake: Besides width of stance
    it's usually , the starting of the down swing with your hands
    rather than a good hip turn that creates the deep divot,
    
      The exception is W thru 7 where you will take a deep divot but
    it's  ok since you have already hit the ball BEFORE divot/taking.
    In fact it's preferred.
    The higher the Iron, the less depth and length of divot.
    I work on a square take away and INSIDE back swing to help.
    Angelo
                       
    
    

    What is you don't take a divot.  Are you standing too far away from
    the ball, comming up?
    
    Pam

RE: .3

	Not taking a divot is just a symptom of a swing problem.  Standing too
far away at address, coming up?  A definite qualified maybe.  The problem with
not taking a divot is not coming down and through the shot.... the cause....
like any other in golf it could be a lot of things.  Starting with checking
the fundamentals is a good bet.



						KO

    re: .3/.4
    
    I disagree that not taking a divot is a sympton of a swing problem...
    Nicklaus and Hogan almost never took divots except with their wedges...
    they both had such bad swings and fundamentals that they would just
    lightly clip the grass below tha ball...one of the best teachers
    years ago in Texas never had his students start with a golf club
    but had the old fashion hand scikles(?sp) attached to the end of
    a shaft and for the first month a student learned how to swing the
    sickle until they were just clipping the grass and not sticking
    the sickle into the ground....
    
    for what it's worth..my 2 cents 

    
    
    Where does the divot start...???
    
               <- |
                  v
    	---------O---------
    	      |     |
    
    Beginning at the ball ? Before the ball ? After the ball ?? How much
    club should actually hit the ball ???
    
    Jim
    

In Ben Hogan's Book (I think called "Power Golf") he shows a picture of where
a divot should begin.  It should start slightly after the ball.  So when you
make a swing, the club hits the ball first and then continues on and makes a
divot.  This will decrease the amount of grass caught between the ball and
the club and should give you more backspin.

In general, the shorter the club, the longer the divot will most likely be.
For me, this is due to the fact that I hit a wedge with a steeper approach
angle then a 5 iron so that the ball gets backspin.

Mike

>In Ben Hogan's Book (I think called "Power Golf") he shows a picture of where
>a divot should begin.  It should start slightly after the ball.  So when you
>make a swing, the club hits the ball first and then continues on and makes a
>divot.  This will decrease the amount of grass caught between the ball and
>the club and should give you more backspin.

    Without having the benefit of the book in front of me, what does
    he say about the shape of the divot ? Ovular ? Or "dollarbill-like"
    as someone previously alluded to ?  Or "V" shaped ?
    
    George
    

    .5
    
        Jack and Ben bad swing fundamentals?
        Jack no divots?
                  have you tried ping pong?
                   Angelo
    

    re: -1
    
       In .5 replying to .4 I was being facetious about the swing
    fundamentals....yes Nicklaus and Hogan both took divots...usually
    only with the short (8-sw) irons but these divots were not what
    people usually associate a "pro takes a divot" pro with because
    the divots they took were not moving slabs of earth as some do...
    with the longer clubs (7-1iron) they both maintain the club should
    just lightly clip the grass as opposed to gouging large hunks of
    the earth...reason...ANYTHING getting between the clubface and
    ball reduces the chance of hitting the ball as it should be hit...
    therefore good club/ball contact requires the ball to be hit first
    then if you want to gouge out some turf so be it....
    
    yea tried ping pong but had trouble hitting down on the ball...table
    wouldn't  move outa the way.....from now on I'll try and remember
    the smiley faces....

    My ping-pong table has some great divots in it along with the wall,
    and the ceiling, the endtables, etc. etc. I rarely take a divot
    on the course though. Most of the time I will get a divot when hitting
    the 8 thru sw. Otherwise, if I take some dirt with my other clubs
    I ususally have poor results to show for it.  I do like the divots
    that look like a punk rocker mohawk though!!!

    re: .11
    
    			thanks for the chuckles...

    At least you guys have a sense of humor!
    I expected a ping pong table over my head!
    
          749.5,5,11, and Gordon    
                    I save my divots! Anybody else?
                      YTD comparisons, FYI., Angelo