#GolfPhysics #EfficientSwing #DivotDebate
The Science Behind Hitting a Divot in Golf
Have you ever wondered why golfers often hit a divot behind the ball when using their irons? 🤔 Well, let’s break it down in simpler terms. When a golfer strikes the ball with their iron, the clubhead comes into contact with the ground after making contact with the ball. This interaction between the clubhead and the ground is what creates the divot that you see on the turf.
Energy Transfer and Efficiency
Now, you might be thinking, wouldn’t it be more efficient for golfers to avoid hitting a divot and transfer more energy directly to the ball? 💭 While it may seem logical to eliminate the divot for a more direct impact, hitting a divot actually plays a crucial role in the efficiency of a golf swing.
Here’s why hitting a divot is necessary for an efficient transfer of energy in golf:
1. **Impact Compression:** When the clubhead strikes the ball and then the ground, it creates a compression effect that helps transfer more energy to the ball. This compression allows the golfer to generate more power and distance on their shots.
2. **Ball-First Contact:** By hitting a divot behind the ball, golfers ensure that they make ball-first contact, which is essential for accuracy and control in their shots. This contact allows them to strike the ball cleanly and control the trajectory of their shots.
3. **Divot Depth:** The depth of the divot can indicate the quality of the golfer’s strike. A shallow divot may suggest a thin or fat shot, while a deep divot indicates a solid strike with proper ball-turf interaction.
In essence, hitting a divot behind the ball is a natural and necessary component of a golfer’s swing for optimal energy transfer and shot control. By understanding the science behind hitting a divot, golfers can improve their technique and enhance their performance on the course. 🏌️♂️⛳
So, the next time you see a golfer take a divot behind the ball, remember that it’s all part of an efficient and effective golf swing! 🏌️♀️ #DivotDebate #EfficientSwing
If you’ll look at a super slow-mo of a golfer hitting an iron shot, the divot happens after contact with the ball. They try to go for a downward angle at the ball to get backspin for a straight flight and soft landing.
Source: Was a golf nerd for several years.
The divot is on the front side of the ball, after the ball has left already. You comprsss the ball into the turf when you hit it, then you bottom out the club and make a divot
You want to avoid hitting a divot, but you also want to hit the ball as low as possible to get the face of the club to hit the ball at the right angle.
Intentionally making a divot is part of giving the ball backspin.
By hitting the ball before the bottom of your swing, the club will spin the ball backwards, so it gets more hang time through the magnus effect, and will also travel less far or even back up after hitting the ground.
The club would have struck the ball before the ground. It can interfere with your follow through, but not the energy transfer.
Others have explained the divot itself, but I think it’s worth adding that “efficient transfer of energy” doesn’t really matter when they’re not going for maximum distance anyway.
When I played regularly and got my handicap down to 12 I tried to never take a divot because I hated replacing them. However when I actually hit a really good long iron shot the divot happened after the ball strike.
Divot comes after the ball. If you hit the ground before the ball, it kills all the momentum and the ball won’t go very far. Known as “chunking” or “hitting it fat.”
Hockey players actually do this!!
Others have explained the answer well, but something you might find interesting is that this IS how hockey players hit a slapshot.
They hit the ice before the puck in order to bend and flex their stick. All that energy gets stored in the stick and as they follow through the stick snaps back to straight launching the puck.
It’s more effective because the stick “snaps” much faster than the human swing.
There has been multiple answers already explaining the concept but I’ll add on that there’s a video of another golfer being shocked when Tiger Woods didn’t make divots while on the range with him. Tiger said when he is on fire he usually doesn’t make a divot because he hits it pure
When you hit an iron, it’s not like hitting any other ball with a stick. You use the loft of the club to generate height, and the speed of your swing to generate distance. It’s because of that that the club creates a divot after contact and why it happens.
Generally if you’re using an iron, distance isn’t the primary concern, it’s elevation, accuracy, etc.
Ideally with an iron you want to initiate contact while the club is still going downward on the back of the ball, and let it roll up on the club face as you hit it. Since you’re looking more for accuracy, a higher shop with more backspin to limit roll is preferred. The pros can actually put so much back spin that the ball will hit the green and roll backwards. I’m more your weekend hack, so I will totally take a giant divot out before I scold the ball like 50 yards into the weeds.
It’s not about the energy, it’s about reducing friction between the ball and the earth. That’s why the divots are so narrow
Like others have said here you hit the ball before the ground (ideally) then the club head, which was on a slightly downward trajectory still, takes the divot. 100% of your divot should start at the ball then continue beyond where the ball was. Also, hitting slightly down into the ball imparts backspin on the ball and helps you stick it.
What no one else has mentioned is that the pros are usually also playing on very well groomed and maintained courses. The fairways have very short grass compared to most public courses and taking a divot in the fairway takes almost no effort (the ground is very soft, but not squishy if that makes sense). Many public courses the fairways have slightly longer grass than pro courses and the fairways, even if watered, are slightly harder.
Playing on a top end course with tight (short) fairways will throw off a lot of weekend golfers that don’t hit down into the ball and also like the ball fluffed up on grass a little as they are used to picking the ball off the ground vs hitting down into it.
Source: Caddied one summer at Oakmont CC in Pittsburgh and back in my playing days was a single digit handicap (though not at that course!)
Hm. When I hit with an iron, the divot came juuuuuuust a millisecond before hitting the balls. I applied blunt force to the ball, instead of a follow through. I don’t know how to explain it, but controlling the ball was easier with this method. I only did a follow through on drives and parts of the fairway because I just wanted it to go far in one general direction.
They hit a divot in front of the ball. You hit ball first, then follow through into the ground.
A lot of wrong answers here. The only reason to have a divot is it gives you a bigger margin of error on your swing if you are coming down into the ball. Sweeping through the grass on a fairway lie if done well will give a great ball flight too. but you have to be almost perfect wheres when taking a divot you have a few grooves of leeway on your precision.
You use an Iron to hit and guide the ball in a certain fashion, not to wallop it as hard as you can to move it as far as you can. Thats what Drivers are for.