You can evaluate your golf swing by studying the mark your club leaves on the grass near your ball. Combine what it tells you with the flight of your ball, and you'll be left with a pretty good idea of any swing faults and what you need to work on, or with positive reinforcement about how well your swing is grooved that day on the course.
Step 1
Learn to take your divot after the ball. Most amateurs leave a divot at or behind the ball, says 2010 Ryder Cup European captain Colin Montgomerie, but a proper swing lets the club strike the ball cleanly, then the ground about an inch after the ball. Hitting the ground first reduces power and can cause a push or a pull if the toe or heel of the club hits the ground first.
Step 2
Create divots that point slightly left of the target if you prefer to fade the ball. Montgomerie's normal shot is a fade, which means a slight turn of the ball in flight from left to right for a right-handed golfer, so his divots tend to point a few degrees left of the target line.
Step 3
Take divots that point slightly right of target for a draw. According to Golf Illustrated, this kind of divot means the club has taken a slight inside-to-out path to produce a ball flight that, opposite a fade, turns slightly right to left.
Step 4
Fix your grip or release if your divots are straight but the ball flies otherwise. Hank Haney, Tiger Woods' former instructor, says it's a sure bet that the club is arriving at the ball closed or open in this case. Your grip is the first place to check for a fault.
Step 5
Leave some roots behind. A divot shouldn't be so deep that it can be replanted without adding topsoil, and it shouldn't be so shallow as to be unnoticeable. Montgomerie says you should be able to see some roots left in the divot. Woods says taking too-deep divots means your swing is too steep and you can't control the distance well.
Tips and Warnings
- Whatever divot you take, always replace them or fill them with sand the course provides. Leave the course in good shape for other golfers.
Things You'll Need
- 6-iron
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