Divots (rant)

[ezra76]

Just watching the LPGA on GC and see Paula Creamer taking huge a$$ divots on her practice swings. I've seen a few guys do this and it irks me a bit since they never replace them. It really jerks me when I've seen guys do it on par 3 tee boxes. One guy I played with hacked of 7 or 8 of them with a wedge on a par 3 box.

What are your feelings?

[Topflite_D2]

I think that you shouldn't take that big of divot, and on practice swings you shouldn't take one at all. I think their caddies replace them don't they? My dad seems to think you shouldn't take one at all but they are all part of hitting down and through. What does he know he's not a golfer. He thinks he could out drive me with a baseball bat.

[neill91_maui]

i agree i dont like it when people do that

[Wi-Golfer]

Originally Posted by Topflite_D2

He thinks he could out drive me with a baseball bat.

Never having seen you hit a drive maybe he could????
What I do know & this is 110% true is last year one of the guys from work whom I golf with quite a bit starting telling me that he felt he could probably hit a golfball furthe with his bat then he could with his driver...he really isn't very good with the driver.

Anyways we were playing a rd at lake Windsor & when we reached the 8th hole he pulls this aluminum bat outta his bag..I would have used a wooden bat but hey whatever works I guess. He tried 3 times, with the 1st one being a complete miss, the 2nd one went maybe 50 yds & the 3rd one was this really ugly slice that divebombed into the small creek lining the entire right side of the hole.

[ezra76]

Originally Posted by Topflite_D2

I think that you shouldn't take that big of divot, and on practice swings you shouldn't take one at all. I think their caddies replace them don't they? My dad seems to think you shouldn't take one at all but they are all part of hitting down and through. What does he know he's not a golfer. He thinks he could out drive me with a baseball bat.

I only mean practice swings. Actual swings? I'd take a divot with a driver off the deck, you could twist your ankle in my SW divot if I didn't replace it.

As to the baseball bat, bet him. Make it interesting, start with driver and $10 for every club you hit longer than his bat. I'd guess he have a shot somewhere around 7 or 8iron.

[Topflite_D2]

Well he probably could I can only drive 200-210. He said he used to hit golf balls 500 yrds. I doubt it. haha I'll have to see if he'll take me to the driving range. I agree you shouldn't take a divot on the practice swings, although I occasionally do it but I fill it in or try and find my divot.

[Wi-Golfer]

Originally Posted by Topflite_D2

Well he probably could I can only drive 200-210. He said he used to hit golf balls 500 yrds.

He is either screwing with you or needs to up his medication amount.

[Pa Jayhawk]

Originally Posted by ezra76

\One guy I played with hacked of 7 or 8 of them with a wedge on a par 3 box.

What are your feelings?

I'm thinking a guy taking 7 or 8 practice swings in itself would be enough to make me want to kill them. Pro's I don't really have a problem, they have a caddy that knows how to take care of the course. I think if I saw a guy take more than one divot during practice swings I would likely ask they if they would like to borrow a shovel to save time. I usually try not to take a divot on a practice, but occasionally I will. I guess the key is making sure you repair what you do.

[Sandpiper3]

Never take divots on a practise swing, if i do, id be redoing the practise swing cuz it probly wasnt very good.

On my practise swing i focus on diff parts depending on what shot im hitting. If it's a draw, I focus on keeping my right heel down through the shot and hitting the inside left part of the ball (so i'd swing like that swing path on my practise swing), and opposite for a cut, i try to feel im pushing up off my right toe and letting the club cut the ball, hitting in outside right part of the ball.

My practise swing is all upper body, i dont have my knees bent, so the club never goes all the way down to the ground, I still have a decending feeling into "impact" on my practise swing, it just never hits the ground.

(that would be so much easier to explain in person instead of typing on a damned forum).

I actually played with a dude a few weeks ago that took like 3 divots per routine, i told him on the 4th hole that i remember the course workers had a shovel, it'd make whatever he was trying to do a lot easier. He never took another divot practising again the rest of the round

[Topflite_D2]

Originally Posted by Wi-Golfer

He is either screwing with you or needs to up his medication amount.

He wasn't screwing with me I don't think, maybe it was because he was breathing in 2 stroke fumes at the race track all day

[Augster]

Why wouldn't you take a divot with a practice swing? You are supposed to be simulating your upcoming shot.

Why would anyone do something TOTALLY DIFFERENT with a practice swing as opposed to the shot at hand?

When a player is taking a practice putting stroke on the green, they are trying to simulate and guage the upcoming shot. Does anyone here do something TOTALLY DIFFERENT than what they plan on doing on the upcoming putt?

Visualize. Practice stroke. Real Stroke.

[PhillyEagle]

Has anybody actually hit a golf ball with a baseball bat? The ball goes a lot further than it does with a driver.

[Topflite_D2]

I would have never guessed that it would. Does anyone know why that would be? I don't have enough coordination to hit one with a bat.

[Topflite_D2]

Originally Posted by Pa Jayhawk

I guess the key is making sure you repair what you do.

Originally Posted by Augster

Why wouldn't you take a divot with a practice swing? You are supposed to be simulating your upcoming shot.

Why would anyone do something TOTALLY DIFFERENT with a practice swing as opposed to the shot at hand?

When a player is taking a practice putting stroke on the green, they are trying to simulate and guage the upcoming shot. Does anyone here do something TOTALLY DIFFERENT than what they plan on doing on the upcoming putt?

Visualize. Practice stroke. Real Stroke.

I think that if you only take 1 or at most 2 divots it would be alright, but like PA said make sure to fix them when your done.

[eclark53520]

Originally Posted by Augster

Why wouldn't you take a divot with a practice swing? You are supposed to be simulating your upcoming shot.

Why would anyone do something TOTALLY DIFFERENT with a practice swing as opposed to the shot at hand?

When a player is taking a practice putting stroke on the green, they are trying to simulate and guage the upcoming shot. Does anyone here do something TOTALLY DIFFERENT than what they plan on doing on the upcoming putt?

Visualize. Practice stroke. Real Stroke.

My practice strokes i am thinking about what kind of shot i want to make...and i over dramatize that particular stroke....

Like if i am trying to hit a draw, i will swing WAY inside out and make sure i turn my wrists over....now, if i actually hit my ball this way it would be a duck hook into the weeds...however, during the actual swing it is toned WAY down, but it still gets me into a inside out swing path and since i have started doing this it has helped my shot shaping ability immensly....my practice strokes are NOTHING like my actual stroke


BTW, i DO NOT take divots with practice strokes, and i hate it when people do...i think its a waste of perfectly good turf

I have hit golf balls with an aluminum bat...i dont remember what they did though...i was probably 10 and bored