What Do Golf Divots Tell You?

Every golf swing leaves a story behind on the turf, and learning to read your divots is like learning to read the final page. That patch of displaced grass is the honest, unfiltered truth about your swing path, attack angle, and contact quality. This guide will walk you through exactly what your divots are telling you and how you can use that information to hit cleaner, more consistent iron shots.

First Things First: A Good Divot Happens After the Ball

Before we analyze the details, let's establish the most important rule of clean iron shots and healthy divots: the club must hit the ball first, and then the turf. Many golfers mistakenly believe the club needs to scoop the ball off the grass. It doesn’t. For tour-level contact, you need a downward angle of attack with your irons. The club compresses the ball against the clubface, and then it continues its downward arc to take a slice of turf in front of where the ball was.

If you can ingrain this one thought - hit the little a ball before you hit the big ball (the earth) - you are already halfway to better ball striking. Your divots tell you if you're accomplishing this. A divot that starts where the ball was or (even better) slightly in front of it is the goal. A divot that starts behind the ball is what causes heavy or "fat" shots.

Reading Your Divot: The Three Key Indicators

Your divot provides three critical pieces of feedback on your swing. By looking at its direction, its depth, and its starting point, you can diagnose your most common swing faults with startling accuracy.

1. Divot Direction: The Footprint of Your Swing Path

Imagine a straight line running from your ball to your target. The direction your divot points relative to that line reveals your swing path. The clubhead travels where the divot goes.

Divot Points Left of the Target (for a Right-Handed Golfer)

What it means: This is the classic signature of an "out-to-in" or "over-the-top" swing path. Your club approached the ball from outside the target line and cut across it to the inside. This path is the primary cause of a pull (a ball that starts left and stays left) or a slice (a ball that starts left and curves weakly to the right).

Common Causes:

• Your first move from the top of the swing is with your arms and shoulders, throwing the club "over the top."
• Lack of lower body rotation, forcing the arms to take over and swing across the body.
• Setting up with your shoulders aimed left of the target (open).

A Simple Fix: The Gate Drill
Place an object (like a headcover or a spare water bottle) just outside and slightly behind your ball. Your goal is to swing without hitting the object. This forces you to drop the club into the "slot" on an inside path, approaching the ball from the inside and swinging out towards the target. It will feel strange at first, but it quickly trains the correct initial movement in the downswing.

Divot Points Right of the Target (for a Right-Handed Golfer)

What it means: This indicates an "in-to-out" swing path. The club approached the ball from well inside the target line and swung out to the right. While a slight in-to-out path is desirable for a powerful draw, an excessive one can lead to a push (a ball that starts right and flies straight) or a hook (a ball that starts right and curves hard to the left).

Common Causes:

• Your lower body slides forward too fast without rotating, getting your arms "stuck" behind you.
• Poor sequencing, where the hands and arms fire too early instead of the body leading the way.
• Pushing off the back foot too much and for too long.

A Simple Fix: Feel the Rotation
Focus on what your chest is doing through impact. As you start down, your primary feeling should be unwinding your torso. A great swing thought is to feel like your chest is pointing at the ball at impact and finishes facing the target. This encourages your body to rotate and clear out of the way, giving your arms the space they need to swing down the line instead of getting stuck and forced to flip out to the right.

Divot Points Straight at the Target

What it means: Congratulations! This is the sign of a neutral a "square" swing path. Your club was traveling directly down the target line at the moment of impact. This is the foundation of consistency and straight shots. Keep doing what you're doing!

2. Divot Depth: The Story of Your Attack Angle

The thickness of your divot tells you how steeply or shallowly your club is approaching the ball. The perfect divot is often described as looking like a dollar bill - long and shallow, not a deep ditch.

Too Deep or 'Chunky' Divots

What it means: You have a very steep angle of attack. You're "chopping" down on the ball with an axe-like motion rather than sweeping it with a rotational swing. This can produce shots that fly low and spin a lot, but it’s an inconsistent way to play, often leading to punishingly fat shots where you hit the ground way before the ball.

Common Causes:

• Too much weight on your front foot at address.
• A very armsy swing with little body turn, which promotes an up-and-down lifting motion.
• A "ball-bound" anxiety where you try to hit *down* on the ball too hard.

A Simple Fix: Feel the 'Roundness' of the Swing
Remember, the swing is a circle around your body, not a ferris wheel going straight up and down. A great practice feel is to make a few continuous, "whooshing" practice swings without stopping. Don't worry about the ball - just feel the clubhead circling around your hips and shoulders. This promotes a shallower, more rotational attack angle that sweeps the ball instead of chopping at it.

Shallow, Missing, or 'Scuffy' Divots

What it means: You have a very shallow, or even an ascending, angle of attack. You are a "picker." Your club glances the ball off the turf with little to no compression. This is the number one cause of thin or "bladed" shots that scream across the green. You’re likely trying to help the ball get into the air.

Common Causes:

• Hanging back on your right side (for right-handers) through impact.
• Trying to "scoop" or "lift" the ball with your hands and wrists instead of trusting the loft of the club.
• Poor weight shift, where your low point is too far behind the ball.

A Simple Fix: The Foot-Forward Drill
Hit some gentle half-shots with an 8 or 9-iron. After you make contact, take a small step with your back foot towards the target so you finish balanced on your front foot. This forces your weight and momentum tomove through the shot and towards the target. It makes it almost impossible to hang back and scoop, encouraging a downward strike and a real divot after the ball.

3. Divot Starting Point: Mastering Your Low Point

Finally, inspect exactly where your divot began. Was it behind, at, or in front of the ball's original position?

Divot Starts *BEFORE* the Ball

What it means: Your swing's low point is behind the golf ball. disaster. This means the club hit the ground first. You hit it "fat" or "heavy." Even a slight miss here robs you of massive distance and consistency.

The Fix: This is almost always a weight-transfer issue. The drills above, particularly the "Foot-Forward Drill," are perfect for fixing this. Your clear goal on every iron swing should be to finish with nearly all of your weight on your lead foot, with your belt buckle pointing at or ahead of the target.

Divot Starts Directly *IN FRONT* of the Ball

What it means: Perfect! This is the holy grail of iron play. It proves you achieved ball-first contact, compressing the ball against the face before the club entered the turf. The low point of your swing occurred just ahead of the ball, which is exactly where it should be for crisp, powerful iron shots.

If your divots look like this - shallow, straight, and starting after the ball - you’re doing everything right. Your job is simply to groove that feeling until it’s second nature.

Final Thoughts

Your divots are your swing's signature, offering honest feedback on your path, attack angle, and low point. Learning to read them means you're never guessing about what went wrong - you have the evidence right at your feet, guiding you toward a more powerful and repeatable golf swing.

Understanding your divots is a powerful skill, but sometimes you just need an expert opinion on the spot. If you’re faced with a tough lie in the rough or simply aren't sure what your ball flight is telling you, we designed Caddie AI to act as your personal swing diagnostician and on-course strategist. You can ask questions about why you might be taking deep divots to the left, or even snap a photo of your ball in a tricky spot to get instant, clear advice, turning guesswork into confident swings.