Looking at your divots provides you with valuable information about your golf shots in relation to both the connection you are experiencing and the direction of your ball flight.

Place a marker down on the floor in line with your golf ball, but on the far side of it. Now play your golf shot. If you didn’t take a divot, this suggests you are not striking down with the club head enough at the ball and that you are catching the golf ball on your upswing, which is incorrect and you will tend to hit the top of the golf ball a lot. If you notice that your divot started before the marker, you are striking the ground before the ball instead of striking the ball first and reducing the distance that you are hitting the golf ball.

This divot position results in a lot of heavy, or fat, golf shots. The ideal place to see the start of the divot is in line with the marker or slightly after the marker. With this divot you will have struck the ball first and will have delivered all of the club head speed into the ball for maximum distance, so work on adjusting where the divot starts to this position.

You also need to look at your divots for their direction relative to the target as this will provide you with information as to your swing path.

Your swing path is the direction that the club head is moving in as it strikes the golf ball. If you stand back behind your divot once you have made it and look towards the target, you will see your swing path direction.

If the divot is towards the target, your swing path was correct and if the club face was aiming at the target as you struck the ball, you will have hit a straight shot. If your divot is towards the target but your ball finished on the right of the target then you know that your club face was open or aiming to the right of your swing path as you struck the ball. If your divot is straight towards the target and the ball has missed the target to the left then your club face was aiming to the left of the swing path as you struck the ball.

If you experience a large curve in your golf ball flight then the club face was aiming a great deal left or right of the swing path, depending upon which way the ball curved. If the ball only curves slightly then the club face is only just aiming left or right of the swing path, dependent upon whether the ball curved left or right during its flight.

Look at your divot direction for information on your swing path direction and then you can work out your club face position at impact from the direction that the ball flew in.

Ideally, work on getting your divots directly in line with the target and then with the club face aiming at the target you will hit straight shots accurately at the target.