Are you a sweeper or a digger?

[Eracer]

Originally Posted by Fairway_CY

Wait... you mean you guys do this consistantly?

If I hit 10 shots from the same lie with a pitching wedge... I'll hit it 10 different ways.

I'm guessing you move your head a bit...

[JEFF4i]

Originally Posted by Eracer

I'm guessing you move your head a bit...

Probably right.

My thing is, the greens here on the non-Championship courses, are pretty soft.

Thus, depending on my lie, length, and approach, I might want a dig, or a high flying pick, where it lands soft.

[niblick]

Originally Posted by JasonMacIsaac

Too deep of a divot will lose clubhead speed and cause too much spin to control.

baloney. the divot occurs after the ball leaves the clubface. so what effect could the depth of the divot possibly have on clubhead speed at impact or the amount of spin generated?

[Youngun5]

to those of you that take bigger divots...do you have wrist problems as a result?

thats part of what has kept me from dedicating to a truly descending strike...wrist problems.

[usa1950]

No wrist problems for me. And I'm more than a digger, I'm a gouger. On wet days, I take divots longer than 8 or 9 inches sometimes. They are shallow, and pretty much the same depth all the way through. Definitely a 3 or four incher on normal days, with normal contact.

I even take a little divot with my hybrid from the fairway which is probably bigger than all these pickers take with a wedge.

I hate picking the ball. When I do, I hit the ball thin, at least one groove low. I lose spin, and sometimes a little distance as well as a flatter ball flight/trajectory.

My swing path is probably TOO steep in all reality, and I should shallow it out just a bit, but still remain a digger. But that would take lots of range time... a luxury I don't have right now.

I'm intrigued by all you pickers... keep the thoughts coming.

How many guys on tour are genuine pickers? I see a lot of divots flying out there......

[gunning4u]

Originally Posted by JasonMacIsaac

Too deep of a divot will lose clubhead speed and cause too much spin to control.

That is just wrong.

You want to hit the ball first and the divot should start just at the front part of the ball and the deepest part of the divot or your swing bottom should be 3 to 4 inches ahead of the ball. I read Bobby Clampett's book The Impact Zone and that is the one thing he focuses on is getting your swing bottom 4" out ahead of the ball. He said the higher the handicap the closer to the ball the swing bottom is.

I try to take a divot on all shots of the deck even with a 3 wood I try to take a little chunk of turf out ahead of the ball and big ass divots with my shorter clubs.

[DaGris]

theres a difference is making a huge divot and catching it fat. when I catch one fat, my wrist hurt. I'm more of a sweeper but on some shots I want to make a nice divot, you can do that without catching it "fat"

[DaGris]

what we really need is a poll on how you pick your nose?...sweeper or digger?..I'm a digger! no need to leave any way up in there.



.....GOOD NIGHT! SLEEP TIGHT! and God bless!

[gunning4u]

Originally Posted by DaGris

what we really need is a poll on how you pick your nose?...sweeper or digger?..I'm a digger! no need to leave any way up in there.

Imagine that a Bears fan that picks his nose.

[Fairway_CY]

Originally Posted by Eracer

I'm guessing you move your head a bit...

I'm going to assume this is true. Truth be told, I'm fairly consistant w/ my 6 iron through sand wedge.

6 iron = picked
7 iron = shaved
8 iron through sand wedge = divot 5" long that takes the turf but leaves the soil below alone

Where my game lacks is the short game. A typical hole for me would be as follows:

Driver - 245 yards in the fairway
7 iron from 150 out just to the right of the green
Pitching wedge flubbed 8 feet forwards
Pitching wedge skulled over the green
Pitching wedge pin high, but 12 feet right
2 putts

If my short game improved, I'd be shooting in the high 80's instead of the low 100's. I just don't have the time to dedicate to the practice at the moment. I play about 8 times a year, and I get to the range about 10 times a year. When I hit the range, it is typically to get the 'feel' for my swing after a long layoff... and I am playing the next day, so I don't want to tire myself out.

But - I'm pretty sure that I DO move my head, which results in a lot of my pushes or pulls. I guess my short game wouldn't be as big of an issue if I'd hit more greens.

*shrug*

CY

[JEFF4i]

Why only 2 wedges?

[Eracer]

Originally Posted by niblick

baloney. the divot occurs after the ball leaves the clubface. so what effect could the depth of the divot possibly have on clubhead speed at impact or the amount of spin generated?

The divot tells the story of the clubhead.

1. I would think that if you had a deep divot, it would indicate a steep swing, which tends to produce more spin.

2. If the swing is steep enough, couldn't the ball actually be compressed into the turf, thus reducing some of the ball speed?

I'm pretty sure about #1, not so sure about #2, since I know the ball leaves the clubface pretty quickly.

[Fairway_CY]

Originally Posted by JEFF4i

Why only 2 wedges?

If you are asking me, it is because, as I said, I don't have the time to play often, so purchasing additional wedges would be pointless for me because I don't get to practice enough to 'learn' the distances, etc.

A few years ago, I played in a league that traveled the state... and I played about 20 times a year. Then, it would have made sense for me to have multiple wedges because I practiced often... but - at that time, I was playing with a set of K-Mart clubs. I made the decision to invest some money in fitted clubs in January of 2005. I practiced like crazy for 2 months in the winter, began playing again in March and played every week for about 2 months. Then, I ran out of time and had a lot going on at home with the kids, etc. Decided to not play as frequently. I played 2 more times that season, not at all in 2006... and then when we moved back to the north-west part of the state, I started playing again last season.

Now - I'm trying to get the time and money to play more frequently. When I do... new wedges will likely be on my list, but... for now - it's not something that would make sense, especially financially, for me.

If you weren't talking to me... ignore everything I just posted.

CY

[niblick]

Originally Posted by Eracer

The divot tells the story of the clubhead.

1. I would think that if you had a deep divot, it would indicate a steep swing, which tends to produce more spin.

2. If the swing is steep enough, couldn't the ball actually be compressed into the turf, thus reducing some of the ball speed?

I'm pretty sure about #1, not so sure about #2, since I know the ball leaves the clubface pretty quickly.

A steep attack does produce alot of spin. But that's not what he said. And lots of guys play excellent golf with steep swings and lots of spin.

For #2, no. The whole "mash the ball into the turf" thing describes a feeling. If you get ball first, the ball goes up. With any kind of positive loft, the ball can only go up.



No one "hits down on it" more than Boo, and watch the close up of impact. That ball never moves down. Low launch angle for sure, but it goes up right from the start.

[MCDavis]

Sweeper....