Divots

It is fortunate for the rich golfer who started in a country club. Here they started and practiced their golf swing on real turf. With them, they must have mimicked what they see on TV, the divots flying after every shot. Divots to them become second nature - their muscles always anticipating that dig-into-ground feeling.

Pity us poor golfers. We bought our first golf set from the "SALE" rack and can only practice the swing on a piece of carpet inside the bedroom. We even have to use the shortest club and purposely flatten the swing to avoid hitting the ceiling of the bedroom. Worse is we learned to instinctively jerked up the left shoulder after hitting the plastic ball lest we ruin our floor. It is not unusual that the Missus to find scratches on the floor and ceiling. On my case you can even find a hole in my dropped ceiling caused by the rubber trainer that is not suppose to fly out of the head of the club. I still wonder where that rubber trainer went when it created that hole. After thirty years + years, it has to be still in there.

Well it is time for me to learn to make a divot. I am still not a member of a country club so I cannot learn it from real turf. I must learn it on artificial turf in the driving range - I can afford that now... How do I do it, that is the question.

Swing Check Points - the New Testament

Check points for a total body swing:

1. Club set-up:
   
• The left hand holds the club while aiming to the target. The right hand then grips the club. Purpose: To ensure that one does not open up the shoulders while aiming.
  
• The shaft points to the left shoulder and aligned with the left arm which makes the right shoulder droop lower than the left shoulder. Purpose: This simulates the clubface allignment at the moment of impact.
• The arms are purposely held hanging straight down towards the ground, thereby, accentuating the drooping of the right shoulder plus there is a noticeable right angle created between the club and the arms. Purpose: The arms are hanged straight down and the club held almost at a right angle (almost cocked already) to promote the automatic cocking of the club. Like mentioned in the PLANE - cocking by the right hand along the plane should never be employed.
  
2. Grip: The interlocked fingers are more in. The palms are facing each other where the left hand you may think is weak and the right hand may think is strong. The hands are felt as a one solid mass. The V of the right hand is felt more - to make the cocking easier and automatic. Purpose: Not too sure - ensures against fanning the clubface at the same time having a stronger grip? Or, maybe the grip works better with the chin-to-chin technique?
   
3. Stiff right knee: The relative position of the right knee stays at right angle to the target line at all times during the backswing. Purpose: The same as the next one - accuracy and power.
4. Flat foot stance: Ensure that both feet are planted on the ground securely. The left sole and heel only lifts up when pulled by the upper body, else it stays down. Purpose: To ensure that the club comes back consistently.
5. Plane: DO NOT USE WHATSOEVER. Purpose: Shanks can easily happen when visualizing of the plane. Just stick to the chin-to-chin technique. However, although it is not conciously employed with this technique, the roundhouse swing of the shoulders functions the same way.
   
6. Chin-to-chin: The left shoulder pushes the whole club away into a roundhouse motion until the left shoulder hits the chin. Then the roundhouse motion is brought down, around and through the ball - without stopping until the right shoulder hits the chin. Purpose: to make a complete pendulum swing for power and consistency.