If you’ve ever been to a driving range, you’ve probably seen signs like the one below asking you to manage your divot patterns in order to care for the course.

No matter how hard the superintendent tries, somehow their range still ends up looking like swiss cheese. And these bad divot patterns act like a domino effect on the range. Once enough golfers hit with incorrect divot patterns, it becomes even more difficult to hit using the right ones. Which ends up ruining the grass and the range.

So why is it so hard for golfers to follow these patterns?

Mostly because they don’t understand the right way to arrange their ball when hitting. Luckily, Hannah Gregg, a professional golfer on the Epson Tour, shared a great tip that should help clear up the confusion for most golfers—and hopefully make your superintendent’s life a little easier.

I can’t think of an easier way to explain this ??‍ pic.twitter.com/f2EkotBDYx

— Hannah Gregg (@hannahbggg) June 27, 2023

In the tweet above, you can see that Gregg breaks down hitting patterns on the range using numbers. Starting from one and working up to eight, you can see that golfers with a bad divot pattern hit their shots sporadically on the range.

But, golfers with a proper divot pattern are more organized, placing each new ball directly behind the one before it. This works because when using an iron, you should be hitting the ball, then the ground. So your divot should actually happen in front of your ball, not under it or behind it.

Not only does this contribute to the betterment of the range, but if you’re more cognizant about your divot pattern you can also use it as a tool to analyze what’s going on in your swing.

Try taking a look after you hit to see how deep or shallow your divots are, and where they’re pointing.

Having a solid divot pattern will allow you to recognize when something changes in your swing and how it’s affecting your game.

The post 1 picture that shows the best (and worst) way to take divots on the driving range appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Conor Thornton

Putting is the simplest of all the shots in golf. Being good with the putter doesn’t require as much physical prowess or technical ability as it does to be as good a ball striker as the best players in the world.

With some understanding of the key elements of start direction and distance control — and a little bit of practice -— pretty much anybody has a realistic opportunity to achieve a high level of competency, maybe even close to some of the best in the world in this one element of the game. 

In my role as PGA Professional at Riyadh Golf Club, I will help you unpack two easy-to-set-up drills that you can use anywhere — at home, in the office  (if the boss isn’t looking) or at your local course — in order to help you get started off the right way or further improve and enhance your skills on the dance floor.

Try out these simple exercises for yourself and discover the basic putting skills for yourself. To develop even further, visit the PGA Professional at your local golf course.

Finding Your Hold

The hold you have on the putter grip has a huge bearing on how you control the direction the club face points at impact, this is the biggest factor that will determine your ability to send the ball in your chosen direction. 

There is no one particular way to hold the grip as there are many proven ways that successful players do it, the key is finding the right one for you. 

Exercise: Gate Drill
The ‘gate drill’ is designed to help you discover which grip is best for you and also develop clubface awareness. Experiment with different grips and see which provides better control of the clubface direction at impact and therefore more accurate start direction of the ball. To set the drill up, you will need objects such as tees, balls or bottles to create a gate that you can send the ball through. 

Start by placing the objects a foot or so apart. Take approximately three steps away from the objects to find a starting position. 

The task now is to strike the ball and direct it into the gate, by repeating this you will become more aware of how the hands and wrist movement influence the putter face direction at impact. 

As you continue you can level it up by making the gate smaller or further away, you get to be in control!

Developing Distance Control

The speed the putter head moves at impact is the main factor to govern distance. Two of the ways to adjust speed are: rhythm and length of swing. In an ideal situation, you would discover your consistent rhythm and then control the speed of the putter by creating different lengths of swing.

Exercise: Ladder Drill
The ‘ladder drill’ is designed to create an environment for you to become aware of swing sizes and the distance they make the ball travel. 

To set the drill up, like the gate drill, use objects as a reference point to create a ladder effect with levelled steps. 

Place the objects at a distance apart that you feel comfortable, there is no right or wrong, you can alter to find something achievable or shrink to make the task more challenging. 

Starting one step back, putt the ball and try and get it into the first part of the ladder, from there try to get the next ball into the following part of the ladder and so on. You can experiment with bigger and smaller swings moving the ball into different sections of the ladder. 

You can create your own scoring system where perhaps you don’t move to the next level of the ladder until a you get a ball into the section you aimed for. Or for an extra challenge restart from the beginning if you miss one.

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Conor Thornton is a member of the PGA Professionals team at Golf Saudi-managed Riyadh Golf Club

More golf tips and instruction:
It is never too late to pick up a club for the first time — some tips to get started
Straight to the point for short-game success
Mobility and stability are key links in the chain to golf fitness
The chips are down if the hips are right
Looking for more power? It’s all about kinetic sequence forces
Understand golf’s power chain and how to avoid a weak link in your swing
Why solid putting starts with a sound set-up
Alignment is a fine balancing act to stabilise clubface
Why you are wasting your time on the range
Claude Harmon III’s simple impact drill
How Billy Horschel’s simple back swing move will make you a better ball-striker

The post WATCH: Putt in place on the dancefloor appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Here at the Peter Cowen Academy, we see a lot of people treating their short-game move too similar to their long-game move. It is still considered a movement and therefore we never want to restrict somebody, however, it is certainly a quieter movement than that of long game. We often see our clients who struggle with their short game having a lot of drive with their body, and pulling of the club, coming in the downswing as opposed to using the natural forces of the club moving through the ball. 

To do this we want to see the club head moving back more in line with the hands when the shaft of the club reaches parallel to the ground and from there it can work more underneath our hands through the ball with little compromise. However, we often see the club head rolling behind the hands and then golfers using forces within their body, manipulating the club back to the ball, often steepening the club, allowing the hands to get too far in front of the ball and compromising the strike.

With the short game, we would like to keep the movement as simple as possible to the point where we get a nice solid set-up. We let the arms take the club back, the club comes back to the ball (natural forces/weight of the club so there is no pulling on the club) and then the body turning will support the club through to finish. Typically, we will see the body being quieter until after the hit but please make sure it is still a movement through the ball.

To better strike your short-game shots, hit some balls where you swing back and stop, with the shaft parallel to the ground and the club head in line with your hands, using a mirror or camera to give you feedback to make sure you hit this position. Feel the club head starts the downswing first towards the ball and let your chest then take the club through to finish. You should feel your lower body being much quieter than normal. This is very much a technical exercise to build a feeling so I would not do this towards any target to begin with, the focus should be on the movement as opposed to the outcome of the shot. Then you can start to build this feeling into a movement with nice rhythm to take on to the course.

To help control that strike with your short game, look to get the club back more in line with your hands in the backswing, use the natural force of the club to get back to the ball and then use your chest to support the club through to finish.

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Euan Bowden is a PGA teaching professional at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club’s Peter Cowen Academy Dubai.

More golf tips and instruction:
It is never too late to pick up a club for the first time — some tips to get started
Mobility and stability are key links in the chain to golf fitness
The chips are down if the hips are right
Looking for more power? It’s all about kinetic sequence forces
Understand golf’s power chain and how to avoid a weak link in your swing
Why solid putting starts with a sound set-up
Alignment is a fine balancing act to stabilise clubface
Why you are wasting your time on the range
Claude Harmon III’s simple impact drill
How Billy Horschel’s simple back swing move will make you a better ball-striker

The post WATCH: Straight to the point for short-game success appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.