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Looking at your divots when you are out playing on the golf course, or practising off the grass, can provide you with valuable information about what is happening with the club head as you swing it through impact. If you understand the implications that the divots that you make have for your golf swing, then you can make any corrections that may be necessary to help you improve.

Divots can give you two sources of information about your golf swing and the movement in the golf club. The first source of information relates to your angle of attack, or the angle that the club head approaches the golf ball at before it strikes it. If you look at the depth of the divot that has been taken, you can discover whether the golf head approached the golf ball from the correct angle or not. If the divot is deep, one centimetre or more in depth, then the club head approached the golf ball from a very steep angle. As a result, the club head has struck the golf ball and then dug into the turf, creating the deep divot. This will result in shots that do not travel their maximum distance towards the target as the energy in the club head is travelling towards the ground rather than towards the target.

Directional information can also be discovered from divots by standing directly behind them and looking from them straight towards the target. If the divot is pointing to the left of the target, then the club head did not move directly along the target line as it struck the golf ball. A divot aiming to the left has moved on an out to in swing path. Conversely, a divot aiming to the right of the target means that the club head travelled on an in to out swing path.

Understanding this and understanding how swing path and club face effects ball flight can then help you to alter your swing to improve your accuracy. If you are wanting to hit straight shots at the target, then your divots need to point straight along the target line.

Divots do not give you any information about your body alignment. You can have aligned yourself perfectly well at the target but then made a swing that causes a divot to point either left or right of the target.

Divots do not show you any information about how you aimed the club face. Divots provide information about the angle that the club head approached the golf ball on and the path that the club head moved along as it struck the golf ball.

Divots provide valuable information regarding your golf swing, provided you understand how the ball flight that you see relates to the club face position and its swing path through impact. Knowing this will then allow you to make any necessary changes that are required to become more accurate with your golf shots.