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 Welcome to Play Smart, a regular GOLF.com game-improvement column that will help you play smarter, better golf. 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.

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.

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Additionally, you will notice whether you are striking the ball on the heel or toe of the clubface. Fight Fire With Fire While I absolutely love this product, and I foresee it becoming a vital part of my practice routine, there are some things you should be aware of. It Is Raised Off the Hitting Surface Typically, players get away with striking behind the ball on a range mat (as it just bounces up and gives the player a false-sense of competence). However, when using the Divot Board, even though a fat shot is more forgiving than on grass, you’re going to see your error visually. When looking down at the board, you will start to do anything you can with your golf game to try and get those perfect smooth marks of the club. Seeing a club path that goes outside in or inside out can be frustrating and will require you to make swing adjustments.

This is where pro golfers really shine. They can strike the golf ball first (in an optimal position on the clubface), and then their club will interact with the turf. If you see the practice area of any PGA Tour professional, you’ll see a neat arrangement of divot patterns after their session is complete. Your swing will change the turf from green to white where a normal divot would appear. After you finish the swing, now it’s time to do some detective work and read your divot. Is it straight at your target? Right? Left?

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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. 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?

Since I started Practical Golf, I have tested hundreds of products in almost every category imaginable. Because my time is limited, I’ve said no to hundreds more. Most of my “no’s” are for training aid inventions that continue to flood the market. Despite the inventor’s best interests, most of them are junk and will not help you become a better golfer. Golfers will try just about anything that promises to improve their game.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? Despite being a skilled iron player, turf interaction is the one part of my game that I don’t feel entirely comfortable with. While I don’t have issues with hitting heavy iron shots on the course, I still do brush the grass lightly before impact, and if I’m going to make a mistake, it’s usually a thin shot. 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. 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.