Follow these simple tips on playing from a divot by Golf Monthly Top 25 coach Barney Puttick, and you'll start making birdies from poor lies.
These tips will help you if you often mishit the ball when playing from a divot, or you make the same swing when your ball is in a divot instead of making adjustments to compensate for the poor lie.
This is one of the most frustrating scenarios in golf – you’ve split the fairway with a great drive only to find your ball in a divot.
But don’t panic! If you can make a couple of small changes to your address, you should be able to hit a good shot.
Start by moving the ball back in your stance so that your hands are ahead of the ball at set-up. This will help you find a nice, descending blow that will ensure you catch the ball first.
It’s important to stay down over the shot – there is a tendency to flick your hands at the ball to help it up, but you need to trust the loft of the club to do the job for you.
Finally, take one extra club as you are likely to lose a little distance. If you can do these things, you might be surprised how good a shot you actually hit.
Remember!
- Move the ball back in your stance
- Hands ahead of the ball at address
- Focus on making a downward, descending strike in order to catch the ball before the turf behind the ball
- Stay down over the shot
- Resist the urge to flick your hands at the ball to help it up
- Let the club do the work and handle the poor lie for you
- Take one more club than you normally would do from the same yardage out of a perfect lie
- Also play for the ball to release a little further than it normally would with a sweet strike from the fairway
