How to Stop Taking Divots in Golf

Carving out a huge patch of turf from behind your ball - or worse, hitting the dreaded chunk shot - can make you want to put your clubs away for good. The opposite, skulling the ball across the green with a thin, blazing shot, isn't much better. This article cuts through the confusion and explains the simple, core reasons for these mishits. We will walk through the fundamentals of proper contact and give you foolproof drills to finally stop taking bad divots and start hitting pure iron shots.

Good Divots vs. Bad Divots: What's the Difference?

First, let’s clear up a common misunderstanding. The goal is not to stop taking divots altogether. With an iron or wedge, a proper divot is the signature of a well-struck shot. Think of the beautiful, bacon-strip divots you see professionals take on TV, that’s what we are aiming for. The difference between a good divot and a bad divot all comes down to one thing: where it starts in relation to the golf ball.

• The Fat Shot (or Chunk): This happens when your divot starts behind the golf ball. The club hits the ground first, digging up a huge pelt of turf and robbing the shot of all its power and speed. The ball often dribbles a few feet forward.
• The Thin Shot (or Skull): This is the opposite problem. The club's leading edge makes contact high on the ball's equator, often because the swing bottomed out too early or the player lifted their body up. The result is a low, screaming line drive with no control or the club completely misses the turf.
• The Perfect Divot: This is the goal. Your club contacts the ball first, compressing it against the clubface. The swing continues downward, taking a shallow slice of turf that starts at or just in front of where the ball was. This is what it means to "hit the ball, then the turf."

In short, you don’t want to stop taking divots. You want to stop taking them before you hit the ball. All your issues with fat and thin shots originate from the same swing flaw: poor low point control.

Understanding Your Swing's "Low Point"

Every golf swing moves in an arc, like a pendulum. The "low point" is the very bottom of that arc, where the clubhead is closest to the ground. Getting rid of bad divots and making crisp contact is simply a matter of controlling where that low point occurs.

For a clean iron shot, you need the low point of your swing to be a few inches in front of the golf ball.

When this happens, your club is still descending slightly as it strikes the ball, creating that powerful compression you're looking for. It then continues to its low point after the ball, brushing the turf to create that perfect "pro" divot. Fat and thin shots are just symptoms of a low point that's out of position.

What Moves the Low Point?

Two primary factors dictate where your swing's low point will be:

1. Weight Distribution: The low point of your swing generally follows the center of your weight. If your weight is on your back foot at impact, your low point will be behind the ball, leading to a fat shot. If you successfully shift your weight forward onto your lead foot, your low point will naturally move ahead of the ball.
2. Wrist Angles (Release): If you "cast" the club - meaning you unhinge your wrists too early on the downswing - you are essentially throwing the clubhead at the ball. This action forces the swing to bottom out too early, behind the ball, causing either a fat shot or forcing a compensatory move where you lift up and hit it thin.

So, the fix is clear: we need to get your weight shifted forward and train you to maintain your wrist angles longer in the downswing. The good news is, we can influence this heavily with a proper setup.

Setting Yourself Up for a Clean Strike

You can solve 80% of your divot problems before you even start the club back. A proper setup puts your body in a position where correct low point control becomes the natural outcome. Here's a simple checklist:

1. Ball Position in the Middle

For your short and mid-irons (wedges through 7-iron), the ball should be positioned in the center of your stance, right under the buttons of your shirt. A ball position that’s too far back can make your swing too steep, and one that is too far forward encourages a bad weight shift to try and reach it. Keep it simple and start from the middle.

2. Weight Favors Your Front Foot

Don’t start with your weight 50/50. At address, feel like about 55-60% of your weight is pressuring into your front foot (your left foot for a right-handed golfer). This presets your center of gravity forward and makes it much easier to keep your low point in front of the ball. It can feel a little strange at first, but it discourages the natural tendency to hang back on your trail leg.

3. Hands Ahead of the Ball

When you take your grip, let your hands hang naturally so that they are slightly ahead of the golf ball, pointing toward your front thigh. This creates a slight forward lean in the shaft. This position biomechanically encourages you to strike down on the ball and maintains the club's intended loft. If your hands are behind or in line with the ball, you're set up to scoop, which moves the low point back.

Three Foolproof Drills to Master Your Divots

Knowing the theory is one thing, but feeling the correct movement is another. These three drills provide instant, undeniable feedback and are the quickest way to groove proper muscle memory.

The Line Drill: Your Ultimate Low-Point Trainer

This is the most effective drill for contact. Find a spot on the driving range grass or, if that’s not possible, use a can of spray paint or chalk to draw a straight line on your lawn or mat.

• Place a series of golf balls directly on the line.
• Set up to the first ball using the checklist above (ball in middle, weight forward, hands ahead).
• Your one and only goal is to hit the shot and have your divot start on or after the line.

If your divot starts behind the line, you hit it fat. If there's no divot at all, you likely hit it thin. You don’t need a coach to tell you if you did it right, the mark in the ground tells you everything. Keep hitting balls, focusing on making your divot appear on the target side of the line.

The Towel Drill: Eliminate Fat Shots Forever

This drill trains you to avoid hitting behind the ball by giving you a physical consequence you really don't want.

• Lay a small hand towel on the ground.
• Place a golf ball about a grip's length in front of the towel.
• Set up to the ball and hit shots.

The feedback is immediate. If you fall back or cast the club, your swing will bottom out too early and you'll hit the towel before the ball - a very unsatisfying experience. To miss the towel, you must shift your weight forward and have your low point in the correct spot. This drill is fantastic for curing even the most stubborn fat shot.

The Flamingo Drill: Master Your Weight Shift

Sometimes you just need to feel what having your weight forward is really like. This drill exaggerates the sensation.

• Set up to the ball normally.
• Now, pull your back foot back so only the tip of your toe is on the ground for balance, like a kickstand. About 90% of your weight should be on your front foot.
• From this "flamingo" stance, take smooth half-swings.

You’ll be physically unable to hang back. Your body has no choice but to rotate around your stable front leg, which is a perfect rehearsal for the motion you want in your full swing. You might be surprised at how solidly you can strike the ball from this position. It proves that power comes from correct sequencing and sequencing from good balance and weight transferforward, not from leaning back and swinging hard.

Final Thoughts

Remember, the problem is not that you’re taking a divot, the problem is where you're taking it. Refining your swing to create a shallow divot that starts after the ball is the key to pure iron shots. By focusing on your setup and using simple feedback drills like the line or towel drill, you can train your body to control its low point and make ball-first contact the new normal.

Of course, theory and drills on the range are one thing, but replicating that feeing on the course - especially from a difficult lie - is a different challenge. When you're standing over the ball in thick rough or on an awkward upslope, the old habits can creep back in. For those moments when you're caught in a tough situation on the course and need a confident strategy, we can give you instant advice tailored to your exact scenario. Simply snap a photo of your lie, and Caddie AI can analyze it and tell you the smartest way to play the shot, removing the guesswork and letting you swing with commitment.