[Jim Franklin]

 I saw two pros putting their ball in front of their divot when warming up. The TPC Boston range was torn to shreds. I wonder how many other pros do this and how many people watching will go back to their ranges and do the same thing. It is hard enough with the knuckleheads that take huge squares out of the grass and now this.

[JESII]

Saw Chappell doing it...strange!

[Steve Lang]

   Whether they put it in front or behind divot, they're still cutting grooves.. and patches.  But they're playing for their livelihood and isn;t that the price one pays for hosting any event, pro or amateur? 


I find it more distressing that one time "tournament" players don't fix divots on the course or pitch marks on the greens..

[Will Lozier]

  Whether they put it in front or behind divot, they're still cutting grooves.. and patches. 

I find it more distressing that one time "tournament" players don't fix divots on the course or pitch marks on the greens..

Yes, directly behind is not ideal for recovery either.


Worse is watching Touring pros fix ball marks on greens incorrectly, by pulling up the roots!  

[Jim Franklin]

  Whether they put it in front or behind divot, they're still cutting grooves.. and patches. 

I find it more distressing that one time "tournament" players don't fix divots on the course or pitch marks on the greens..

Yes, directly behind is not ideal for recovery either.


Worse is watching Touring pros fix ball marks on greens incorrectly, by pulling up the roots!

Where is best to hit on range for recovery? I always heard a straight line was best as you used a lot less of the area so others could enjoy hitting off grass as well. What am I missing?

[Peter Pallotta]

It's the strangest thing, how otherwise thoughtful and responsible grown men can behave on a golf course. I have a friend I sometimes play with -- husband, father, psychologist, former captain of his U.S. division II basketball team, and in all these areas the most gentle, respectful, sane, non-drinking, non-swearing, rule-abiding, golf-loving fellow you'd ever want to meet. (When he hits his 3rd or 4th bad shot in a row, the angriest he ever gets is to frown and say "well, I'm going to have to do better than that").  And yet on every single (Par 3 or short Par 4) tee of every single round we've ever played together, he pulls out his iron and takes 3 practice swings....and takes divots every single time!  I've seen it happen a hundred times and I still don't quite believe it. He wants to take divots, and doesn't seem satisfied until he's gotten one of just the right size (whatever that is) and has had it flying off in just the right direction (who knows where). He's so calm about it and so unruffled that you start almost thinking that it's normal.  I've mentioned it to him, others have mentioned it to him, we've wondered out loud in his presence what the poor super will say and have to do to repair the mess, and we've pointed out that there doesn't appear to be any correlation between the quality of his last divot and the quality of his actual shot...and he acknowledges all this and yet keeps doing it as if nothing were more important than that he get the right "feel". Very strange. I think it is a deep sense of entitlement, i.e. I've paid my money and I'll do what I like if it's not again the rules; but it is a sense of entitlement that I don't see from him in any other area of his life.

[Will Lozier]

Where is best to hit on range for recovery? I always heard a straight line was best as you used a lot less of the area so others could enjoy hitting off grass as well. What am I missing?

Jim, when I worked as an assistant pro my super told me he preferred a scattered almost random pattern despite the slightly larger cumulative area taken up - this was useful after giving many lessons where I would work my student backward in rows and ultimately take up a square yard or so. I can only assume that the seed mixture can do it's job a bit better working on smaller patches?

[Bill_McBride]

Where is best to hit on range for recovery? I always heard a straight line was best as you used a lot less of the area so others could enjoy hitting off grass as well. What am I missing?

Jim, when I worked as an assistant pro my super told me he preferred a scattered almost random pattern despite the slightly larger cumulative area taken up - this was useful after giving many lessons where I would work my student backward in rows and ultimately take up a square yard or so. I can only assume that the seed mixture can do it's job a bit better working on smaller patches?

The pros at my club tee up almost every ball during a lesson.  Is that a good idea?

[Will Lozier]

The pros at my club tee up almost every ball during a lesson.  Is that a good idea?

No

[Bill_McBride]

The pros at my club tee up almost every ball during a lesson.  Is that a good idea?

No

 Why not!  The tees for irons are almost flush with the turf but the divots are less in depth. 

[Will Lozier]

The pros at my club tee up almost every ball during a lesson.  Is that a good idea?

No

 Why not!  The tees for irons are almost flush with the turf but the divots are less in depth.

Bill,


Because learning to compress the ball against the turf - trapping it if you will - and taking a divot after contact is the essence of a crisply struck iron shot. I can certainly see the value in doing so with a beginner or even a good player who is getting too steep. But, to do so with every student seems counter productive to the learning process.


Cheers

[Bill_McBride]

The pros at my club tee up almost every ball during a lesson.  Is that a good idea?

No

 Why not!  The tees for irons are almost flush with the turf but the divots are less in depth.

Bill,


Because learning to compress the ball against the turf - trapping it if you will - and taking a divot after contact is the essence of a crisply struck iron shot. I can certainly see the value in doing so with a beginner or even a good player who is getting too steep. But, to do so with every student seems counter productive to the learning process.


Cheers

Got it, thanks

[Jim Franklin]

I was told that the straight line going back a few feet and then move over so that there was now four inches of grass between the old line and the new line was best. Now if you have limited play feel free to hack up an acre of grass, but when you have a smallish range and lots of play, it would be nice to save some grass for other members to use. Just a thought.

But teeing in front of your divot is just selfish.

[Mark Pritchett]

][IMG]http://i437.photobucket.com/albums/qq95/pritchettmark/Divotpatterns_zps1tto0til.jpg

[JJShanley]

I find that the straight line divot helps me keep my concentration on the range. 

[Wade Whitehead]

I'm pretty sure that preferred divot pattern depends on the grass.

At least in the mid-Atlantic, bent ranges recover far more quickly when a straight line (not scattered or concentrated) is utilized.

WW

[Jon Wiggett]

Divot patterns on the range are to do with the ability of the player. A player who hits the ball consistently well will remove a square piece of turf with their divot pattern which will be of an even shallow in depth. This is down to a mindset of repeating the same routine over and over coupled with desire for precision and neatness. Whether it is this that leads to consistency or consistency that leads to this is a bit of a chicken and egg situation. It is however a mindset and will not change even if the greenkeeper would prefer so.


Scattered, random divot patterns are usually done by players who also have random shot patterns.

[Kalen Braley]

They have mats that simulate divots now....problem solved?

[MClutterbuck]

It's the strangest thing, how otherwise thoughtful and responsible grown men can behave on a golf course. I have a friend I sometimes play with -- husband, father, psychologist, former captain of his U.S. division II basketball team, and in all these areas the most gentle, respectful, sane, non-drinking, non-swearing, rule-abiding, golf-loving fellow you'd ever want to meet. (When he hits his 3rd or 4th bad shot in a row, the angriest he ever gets is to frown and say "well, I'm going to have to do better than that").  And yet on every single (Par 3 or short Par 4) tee of every single round we've ever played together, he pulls out his iron and takes 3 practice swings....and takes divots every single time!  I've seen it happen a hundred times and I still don't quite believe it. He wants to take divots, and doesn't seem satisfied until he's gotten one of just the right size (whatever that is) and has had it flying off in just the right direction (who knows where). He's so calm about it and so unruffled that you start almost thinking that it's normal.  I've mentioned it to him, others have mentioned it to him, we've wondered out loud in his presence what the poor super will say and have to do to repair the mess, and we've pointed out that there doesn't appear to be any correlation between the quality of his last divot and the quality of his actual shot...and he acknowledges all this and yet keeps doing it as if nothing were more important than that he get the right "feel". Very strange. I think it is a deep sense of entitlement, i.e. I've paid my money and I'll do what I like if it's not again the rules; but it is a sense of entitlement that I don't see from him in any other area of his life.

It seems like the club needs a Captain that can talk to him once, and suspend his playing privileges the second time.

[MClutterbuck]

I'm pretty sure that preferred divot pattern depends on the grass.

At least in the mid-Atlantic, bent ranges recover far more quickly when a straight line (not scattered or concentrated) is utilized.

WW

It certainly depends on type of grass. I some cases grass will grow laterally from rhizomes quite quickly. For example, bermuda grass in late spring. In other cases it will depend on seed used to fill in the divots. In any case, a long line will concentrate more shots and allow for more players, and leaving grass between lines will allow for grass to fill from the side or sand/seed mix to be contained.


 

[JJShanley]

Divot patterns on the range are to do with the ability of the player. A player who hits the ball consistently well will remove a square piece of turf with their divot pattern which will be of an even shallow in depth. This is down to a mindset of repeating the same routine over and over coupled with desire for precision and neatness. Whether it is this that leads to consistency or consistency that leads to this is a bit of a chicken and egg situation. It is however a mindset and will not change even if the greenkeeper would prefer so.


Scattered, random divot patterns are usually done by players who also have random shot patterns.

I came to a similar conclusion (despite my earlier post) as I returfed the local range yesterday.  The minimalist in me loves a straight line divot, but the pull-hook in my doesn't allow it.  Is Bob Rotella available for therapy sessions on my student insurance?

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