Hitting a Ball Out Of a Divot.

2003Golf Tips

Sep 1

Written By

Hi, I’m Mel Sole, Director of Instruction at the Mel Sole Golf School, headquartered at Pawleys Plantation Golf and Country Club in Pawleys Island, SC. We conduct 1, 2 and 3-day golf schools, hourly golf lessons, and senior golf schools—any golf instruction program your heart desires. Give us a call at 800-624-4653 or 843-237-4993. We will be happy to book a commuter school or a package that contains accommodations, golf, and golf school.

Monthly Golf Tips by the Mel Sole Golf School.

This month's golf tip comes at the request of Penny Atkins of Hackettstown, NJ. Penny is a student of the golf school for many years. She was recently in a playoff for the ladies club championship. She encountered her ball in a divot after a beautiful drive right down the middle of the fairway. Needless to say, it affected the outcome of the match. Penny was unable to put her ball on the green, and her opponent made par.

I remember Payne Stewart's face as he approached his ball on the 17^th or 18^th hole of the fourth round of the 1998 US Open. Payne was either tied for the lead or one shot off. He hit a beautiful drive, and as he walked up to his ball and saw it in a divot, the reaction on his face said it all-- very little chance of getting the ball on the green. Payne went on to lose by one stroke to Lee Janzen.

The Problem.

The ball lying in a divot need not be all that bad. Take a look at the view of this ball in a divot.

Hitting Out Of a Divot.

The Solution.

With a fairly lofted club (anything up to and including a 7 iron), I place the ball in the middle of my stance. This helps me to strike a more descending blow. Allowing me to get the clubface on the ball earlier. My hands are also slightly ahead to help ensure a "ball first" hit.

Hitting Out Of a Divot.

Stay Down!

The real secret of this shot is not to come up. Because of the lie, the tendency is to rise in trying to get it airborne. It would be best if you HIT DOWN on this shot. That is why you must take a lofted club. Stay down on this shot slightly longer than normal.

Finish the shot with a FULL FOLLOW THROUGH-- don’t quit on the shot.

Use this simple technique, and you shouldn't have any trouble with divots in the future.

P.S. The day after I had written this article, I went out and played Pawley Plantation. On the 6^th, my ball landed in the middle of a fairly deep divot just in the rough. Because the divot was in the rough, the golfer made the decision not to fill it with sand. So here I was in a deep divot, and my wife said, “OK, hotshot, let's see you get out of this-- you said it was easy!”

I was 160 yards from the green, normally an 8 iron for me. I took a 9 iron, played it back in my stance, hit down hard at the back of the ball, and the ball soared straight towards the flag, hit the green and ran off the back edge onto the fringe—two putts from there for my par. So you see, Hitting Out Of a Divot can be done!

Source: Mel Sole Golf School.

Thanks for reading - Hitting a Ball Out Of a Divot. This should be a breeze for you in the future!

Hitting a Ball Out Of a Divot.