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First, let's get one thing out of the way:
You should not get relief from fairway divots.
Instead, you should learn to embrace them.
Patrick Rodgers, who won 11 times in his incredible college career at Stanford University (a record he shares with one Tiger Woods) hit his tee shot into the back of a sand-filled divot on the first hole of a playoff with Akshay Bhatia for last weekend's Barracuda Championship, a PGA Tour event played near Lake Tahoe, Calif., opposite The Open Championship.
Rodgers muffed his uphill approach shot short of the green, failed to get up and down and Bhatia two-putted to collect his first PGA Tour victory.
Yes, it was a bad break, and a bit of an unfortunate way for a tournament to end, but Rodgers had his chances over the preceding 72 holes to make sure the fateful 73rd wasn't necessary, including a missed birdie putt on the final hole of regulation.
Yes, Rodgers caught a bit of bad luck, but he also hit a substandard shot from that divot. In the majority of cases, a lie in a divot is one of many situations in golf that looks more dire than it really is. Good fundamental ball-striking technique, plus a couple of very minor adjustments, is enough to extricate yourself from this example of the rub of the green, one of the hallmarks of the game.
Want to hit a better-quality shot the next time you find yourself in a divot? As always, GolfPass' vast instruction video archive has you covered with these tips:
Martin Chuck - Breaking Bad Habits: On The Course
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This popular series hosted by top instructor Martin Chuck is like a mini survival-guide for any round of golf, full of practical solutions and tips. How to make solid contact when you find yourself in a divot is one of them.
Charl Schwartzel - Lessons With A Champion Golfer
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The 2011 Masters champion joined GolfPass in [2020] to shoot a comprehensive series on all facets of the game, hosted by fellow South African Andrew Rice. This segment is a double-feature: it covers Schwartzel's approach to hitting off of a cart path and how he would adjust to hitting out of a divot.
Devan Bonebrake - The Golf Fix
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The 16th episode of Season 11 of The Golf Fix is all about trouble shots, so naturally, Devan included a segment focused on hitting from a divot. He even includes a must-try drill that is a favorite of Tiger Woods.
Martin Hall - Build A Better Game Plan
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Martin Hall is one of the great communicators in golf. In this series, he helps you game-plan for your round, including considering what to do if you find yourself in a divot.
Alex Riggs - How To Fix Your Divots
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Even more important than knowing how to hit a ball out of a divot is knowing how to fill in a divot you've created. It's every golfer's duty to care for the course; here's how you can do your part and potentially ensure that someone who ends up in your next divot has as clean a lie as possible.
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