DivotMat helps you find the right path to a better golf game

By Mike Bailey,
Senior Staff Writer

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A specially formulated paper on the DivotMat produces marks that tell you much about your golf swing. (Courtesy of DivotMat)

Perhaps the biggest frustration golfers have when they practice is that they can't always feel what they're doing. Now there's a product called the DivotMat, which not only can help them immediately diagnose what is going on in their swings but also provide good training at home away from the golf course or range.

The DivotMat, which is endorsed by Fred Couples, was invented by an avid golfer who owned a printing company. Richard Tiffin came up with the idea of a hitting mat that would leave a mark, simulating a divot. The trick was to develop a paper that wouldn't tear. The paper also has a complex layering system that allows ink, upon impact, to show through the surface, which has nine pictures of golf balls. Once you mark up a page, you simply throw it away and attach another page to the mat.

How the DivotMat helps your golf swing

Most good players can tell how they are swinging simply by looking at their divots. In other words, if the divot (for a right-hander) goes to the left, the player is most likely coming over the top. Out to the right could indicate a block, while a divot slightly right would probably indicate a fairly good swing path for a draw.

There's also the notion of whether the divots are inside of the golf ball, on it, or outside of the golf ball (too close at setup), which is difficult to diagnose on the course or the range since the ball is no longer there. To do that, you usually need impact tape on the club.

And finally, the DivotMat will measure how much behind or ahead of the ball you may be striking, although I think the key here is being able to strike an exact point consistently.

"This is such a good training aid because people have a hard time hitting a specific spot," said Laird Small, director of the Pebble Beach (Calif.) Golf Academy. "It's a wonderful tool for players to be able to learn about impact. It's all about impact."

Small, who was the 2003 PGA of America Teacher of the Year, said the mat works well for players of all levels, but it's especially effective for beginners, who often go to the range or get a lesson and can hardly make contact with the ball, much less shape it. The DivotMat can train them to correctly make the motions that will produce consistent contact with a spot so that when they do hit balls, it's much easier.

Small, who uses it with his own students, said the DivotMat can help in three important areas. First, it will help players maintain their swing radius and center of the swing, which is located between the shoulders and must maintain constant (or at least in the same position at impact as it was at address). Secondly, it will promote an intuitively better weight shift in the downswing. And third, learning how to make consistent marks on the mat, which should be in front of the golf ball, helps players learn to keep the right wrist back through impact. If you lose that angle early, the mark will be behind the ball (scooping).

The DivotMat: The verdict

When I first tried the DivotMat, I wasn't sure how valuable it would be until I gave it a couple of tries. My first inclination was to hit behind the ball, because I perceived the two-dimensional rendering of the golf ball as being a ball that was buried beneath the surface, so I swung accordingly.

I then realized the trick was to try to hit the same spot time after time and not worry about the golf ball, only using it as a point of reference. Once I set up properly, for example, and just made swings imagining a golf ball sitting on top of the picture, my marks were in front of the golf ball, where they should be. The value in this training then is to make the same proper mark over and over again, grooving a stable center and motion.

The DivotMat seems like it would be particularly effective for beginners, removing the trepidation and fear that most people initially have when learning the game. I can see where it would be particularly helpful in the northern states, where you might not get to hit a ball for several months because of winter weather.

The kit comes with a sturdy grass-like mat with a cutout for an impact board, a tablet of special sheets, instructional DVDs by Small and a carrying case. Suggested retail is $99.95. For more information or to order, visit www.divotmat.com or call 800-943-4868.

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March 8, 2010

Mike Bailey is a senior staff writer based in the Houston area. Focusing primarily on golf in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean and Latin America, he contributes course reviews, travel stories and features as well as the occasional equipment review. An award-winning writer and past president of Texas Golf Writers Association, he has more than 15 years in the golf industry. Before joining the WorldGolf.com team in 2008, he held positions at PGA Magazine, The Golfweek Group and AvidGolfer Magazine. Read Mike's golf blog here and follow him on Twitter here.