Golf balls seem to be the easiest sport. It doesn’t move so it seems like it would be very simple to hit. Maybe because it shouldn’t be that hard, we make it harder than necessary. Our bodies are not responding to moving balls so it is easier to focus on the things that our bodies need to do. Most high handicappers aren’t aware of what it takes to make a ball fly.
When hitting a ball, the first thing to do is to not try to raise the ball off the ground. Balls that fly high into the sky and then drop gently to the ground are what we all love. A punch shot that flies along the ground but ends exactly where it was intended is not as satisfying as one shot shot high and majestic.
You must strike the ball downwards to propel it into the air. As the ball becomes airborne, it creates a pinching effect by pressing the ball down against the ground. The divot will be used to determine whether the ball has been hit at the right angle.
Good fairway play requires you to take a divot. You want to hit the ground with your chip shot, even if you are not hitting the ball after the ball strikes. However, due to a lack of club speed, you will never actually need to take a dive. You will have to take a full shot from fairway. The look of the divot is going tell you much about your swing.
The high-handicapper will take a steep angle to swing at the ball. This can lead to divots as large as a crater. Another option is to sweep the ball at it, trying grab any divots as much as possible. Every approach will lead to misses on a regular basis. What you want is a shallow divot that is approximately the size of a dime bill in front the ball. You can learn a lot from your divots by looking at them.