Repairing Divots on a Golf Course

A divot is created by the majority of iron shots that are hit off of the fairway.  After contact is made with the ball, the club continues on into the ground lifting a layer of turf and the underlying soil of the fairway. Divots are both the turf that is scraped up, and the scarred area in the fairway where the turf had been before the shot. Today we discuss the divot in terms of what they tell you about your golf swing, the importance of repairing them, and the correct way to repair a divot.

Upon first glance a divot may just look like a patch of earth that has been removed after a golf shot. However, a divot is much more than just a piece of turf and soil, it gives you a lot of information about your golf swing. Lets take a closer look.  A divot tells the direction of your swing path and also how well you struck the ball, depending on angle and placement of divot.  The direction the divot is pointing is the direction that your club traveled through impact. This can be a great tool to look at if you are struggling with alignment on the course.  There should be contact with the golf ball before there is contact with the ground. If there is a divot in front of where the ball rested then you have made proper contact.  A deep divot tells you that you hit a “fat” shot while the opposite will show you that you hit a “thin” shot.

While divots are an important teaching tool, they also can tear up a golf course if they are not repaired correctly. By repairing them correctly the golf courses we play on can stay in great shape and be enjoyed by each golfer that plays there.  There are two ways to properly repair a divot. One, if the divot comes out in one piece then the divot can be placed back where it flew from.  The second way is to fill the divot with sand so that the grass can go back in more quickly and effectively.  This helps insure when the turf recovers it is level with the surrounding turf.

Divots are more than just patches of removed grass, they teach us more about our golf games and how to get better.  Lets do our part and repair our divots properly to preserve the beauty of the courses we play.  At Honours Golf we know that getting the most out of your game is important, so take these tips with you to the course the next time you play.  Enjoy your next round at well-manicured Honours Golf Course, where golf is more than a game.