How do you hit a shot from a fairway divot? (Video) - by Pete Styles
How do you hit a shot from a fairway divot? (Video) - by Pete Styles

We’ve all been in one of those very unfair situations, where you’ve blasted the ball down off the tee, straight down the middle of the fairway. You are pleased as punch, you are walking upto it and then as you getting nearer to the ball you realize it’s in somebody else’s divot. Someone has been there before you, havent replaced the divot and your ball is lying in the bottom of it. And it feels quite unfair, doesn’t it? Because you think, I have hit a good shot here, and it’s probably one of the rules that most people in the game of golf would want changing. You’ve hit a good shot and you’ve been punished because somebody else didn’t put their divot back. But, here is the best way that you can try and play out of that divot to make the most of a bad situation. First things first, we are going to take plenty of loft, even if we don’t think this club is going to reach the green. For example if I am 180 yards away and I am in a divot. Five iron, four iron might be the club that I would normally play. But from that position, I’m probably not going to get five or iron four iron out of theat lie. So I am better of going down through a more lofted club like a wedge and just getting the ball back in play, the more lofted club will cut the turf and get the ball flying again. The next thing I am going to do is try and play with quite a sharp descending blow. So I am going to play the ball back in my stance, then I have the ball toward the back half of my stance. Then to grip down on the golf club, that would make my swing even steeper. I am then going to keep my body weight quite aggresively on my left side and really chop, and chop the ball out and forwards. And I’ve shifted that ball out about 100, 110 yards down there. So I have not reached the green on that 180 yard shot, but I’ve now only got another pitch onto the green. Whereas if I tried to get too aggressive with a five or four iron, maybe I wouldn’t have shifted it at all, and maybe I would have a lot further shot with my next shot going into the green. So, if you are unfortunate and you’ve finished in the divot, play the ball back in your stance, grit it down on a quite lofted club, lean on the left side and be sharp and aggressive. Try and avoid any feeling of leaning back and scooping the ball. That won’t work for you.

 2015-03-31

We’ve all been in one of those very unfair situations, where you’ve blasted the ball down off the tee, straight down the middle of the fairway. You are pleased as punch, you are walking upto it and then as you getting nearer to the ball you realize it’s in somebody else’s divot. Someone has been there before you, havent replaced the divot and your ball is lying in the bottom of it. And it feels quite unfair, doesn’t it? Because you think, I have hit a good shot here, and it’s probably one of the rules that most people in the game of golf would want changing. You’ve hit a good shot and you’ve been punished because somebody else didn’t put their divot back. But, here is the best way that you can try and play out of that divot to make the most of a bad situation. First things first, we are going to take plenty of loft, even if we don’t think this club is going to reach the green. For example if I am 180 yards away and I am in a divot. Five iron, four iron might be the club that I would normally play. But from that position, I’m probably not going to get five or iron four iron out of theat lie. So I am better of going down through a more lofted club like a wedge and just getting the ball back in play, the more lofted club will cut the turf and get the ball flying again. The next thing I am going to do is try and play with quite a sharp descending blow. So I am going to play the ball back in my stance, then I have the ball toward the back half of my stance. Then to grip down on the golf club, that would make my swing even steeper. I am then going to keep my body weight quite aggresively on my left side and really chop, and chop the ball out and forwards. And I’ve shifted that ball out about 100, 110 yards down there. So I have not reached the green on that 180 yard shot, but I’ve now only got another pitch onto the green. Whereas if I tried to get too aggressive with a five or four iron, maybe I wouldn’t have shifted it at all, and maybe I would have a lot further shot with my next shot going into the green. So, if you are unfortunate and you’ve finished in the divot, play the ball back in your stance, grit it down on a quite lofted club, lean on the left side and be sharp and aggressive. Try and avoid any feeling of leaning back and scooping the ball. That won’t work for you.