But what if there was a training aid that could help you reverse engineer your swing to hit it more consistently? You could raise the area where you are standing by an equivalent height (don’t ask me, I’m the least handy person in the world) Which, if you think about it, is a perfect example. A good divot should take about one inch down of the grass and about the width of a slice of bacon. If it’s deeper than that, chances are you’re going to hit it fat and end up way short. When it comes to reading your divot like a golf professional, you want to think about three things; direction, depth, and divot to ball location. Divot Direction

Another word that’s commonly used to describe the skill is called low-point control. To be clear, turf interaction and low point control are not the same but related. Do you have more questions about this cool new training aid? If so, hopefully we have answers in the FAQ section below. Do you hit real golf balls with it?

Build Shop Turnaround

Last but not least, I spoke to several people who have used the Acu-Strike over the long term. Almost all of them told me about durability issues. One golfer who had a much steeper swing told me that the Acu-Strike’s surface ripped after 100 shots. The mat has a strong rubber base with a removable board that has sequins on it. When your club touches the surface, it clearly changes from green to white. For example, maybe you’re too far over the top and the divot is always left of the target. Or, maybe you’re too shallow, and your divot is facing right. Then, it’s time to analyze and assess your divot to make necessary swing changes as needed. Assessing Your Divot

The cool thing about this board is that it’s incredibly easy to use, unlike most training aids. You can take this thing right out of the box, grab a club, and start making swings. With this device, you’ll also notice if you don’t get any divot at all. If the grass barely changes from green to white, you’re likely going to thin the ball and sail the green. Unfortunately, we don’t always get to practice on real grass and see what story the divot actually tells. A lot of golfers have to practice indoors or outside on mats, especially during winter months.If you push the golf ball, your divot will be to the right of your target. Just like the other example, the face at impact will determine if it’s a push cut, straight push, or push draw. The Divot Board’s brilliance is its simplicity. All you do is place the ball on the circle, hit your shot, and you’ll get a clear visual indication of what happened. Here is a video showing some examples of striking different parts of the board. Also, divots will change size depending on the club you hit. They should also be larger with wedges and short irons than with longer clubs. With longer clubs, your swing naturally shallows more, so the divot will be thinner. Divot to Ball Location The sooner you can understand the basic ball flight laws, the sooner you can become a more consistent ball striker. Through some combination of weirdness and nerdiness, I tend to get deeply fascinated by some rather obscure topics. Last year, I dove down a rabbit hole on the concept of practicing — without a golf ball.

For example, if you’re on the range hitting pull cuts, you can use the board to verify the divot pattern going left. Then, using the board, adjust your swing as needed to get a straight divot. Once you do it a few times on the device, hit some actual balls on the range to hone your new swing. Can you buy a replacement pad? While amateur golfers might make some bad moves and end up hitting grass, then the golf ball. This results in all kinds of mishits. Ideally, you want it about 1-2 inches in front of the golf ball to ensure you hit down and through the shot. When you stand on grass, typically the ball (which weighs less) sits on top of the blades of grass, while your feet sink into the grass more (as you weigh more). Thus, having the ball slightly above foot level is better to replicate the on-course situation. Whether you’re looking for a golf gift for someone else (or yourself), or just want to get some seriously productive practice in during the winter months, this is going in my “must-have” pile for golfers. We show you how to replace your Divot Board pad to insure that the sequins point the right way and you have a stong adhesion between to board and the new pad.Once you swing a few times, you will likely start to notice tendencies in your game. As you know in golf, old habits die hard. Even if you can’t make it to the driving range or course as much as you’d like, this training aid will help you groove a great swing at home. Plus, it’s so small and portable that you can take it to the practice tee for a more efficient session. While it was only my first time using this training aid, it helped me realize how critical turf interaction is. It gave me an idea of what I was doing wrong, what I was doing right and how to find more consistency with my shots after analyzing the swing results.