Correct Divot Making?

When ever I go to the range I always take a large amount of divots. Almost with every iron, the shorter the club(eg. wedges) the bigger the divot. After I finish a bucket of balls my area is a dirt patch. Is this ok? I feel as if I'm tearing the range to shreads.

You go the the range to get better right? Well getting better to me happens to involve taking a large amount of divots. Is this correct? I don't see many other dirt patches.

Just to let you know I do replace the divots after I'm done. The least I can do for the superintendent.

Thanks for your time.

You SHOULD take a divot.

Now, are your divots BEFORE the ball or AFTER the ball?

If you're on your game you should have a divot after the point where the ball was. To check this mark the ball's position with a t and see where the divot lines up. You can also tell how you're striking the ball by the divot. It should be pointing a bit to the left of the target line (right handed) since you club path comes back inside the target line after impact.

If you watch the pro's practicing you'll see each time they place a new ball they carefully place it at the edge of the existing divot. For instance there was a picture of VJ's divot and it was a long narrow line. As he hit each sucessive ball it got a bit longer and longer.

I think practice ranges expect to have to repair divots, it's not like a golf course. Usually they seed the practice areas and move the t boxes back so that by the time they get to back the grass has grown back at the front of the t-ing area. Just like on the real t-box on the course. At leaset that's what they do at the range I go to.

I take 'em like Vijay does - in a line. When you take your first big one of the day, you hit your next ball from directly behind your first divot, then hit your next ball directly from behind that divot, etc. What you end up with is a long single line that aims right at your target.

By the time I get done hitting balls, I usually have 3 lines. It allows you to take divots but take up lot less area of the range doing it.

Sometimes the divot is before and sometimes it is after. I know when i chunk a ball and when I don't. I'm trying to get better to where every shot is well struck. Thanks for your comments though, james.welsh. Greatly appreciated.