Many strive to create some sort of divot with their mid to shorter irons, mostly because they either top the ball or hit the ball thin. Or, they get on YT and discover that divots are the key to breaking 90. However, do we really need to create a divot to play great golf?
I see many very good players, 0-2 cap guys who create, at best, slight divots, and sometimes they brush the turf, even with shorter irons. They more "pick" the ball. Now are they compressing the ball? Maybe slightly, but their shots are on target to the greens with plenty of spin. In my opinion, while the perfect divot is something to strive for, it's also not something to focus upon for all but the more accomplished players because that can lead to chopping and flipping motions and all kinds of other bad habits.
I think it is far better to focus on a club head arc that is more like a commercial airliner landing on a runway vs. a fighter jet landing on a carrier until that is perfected. Then refine to hit the ball first, then the ground with the touchdown being at the ball without a cratered runway. However, chances are some shots will hit the ball first, then the ground without trying.
Stance width and ball placement play key roles as to how steep the angle of attack will be to the ball. Imagine if you had a narrower stance, like 12 inches wide, and played the ball to the right of your right foot. Would your angle of attack be super steep? Yes. From that same stance, if the ball was played to the left of your lead foot, would the angle be super shallow...yes. So somewhere in between is neutral, or a brush of the turf.
After tons of topped and thin shots, a person will be told by someone that they NEED to make a divot. This will become the entire focus of their swing. Thus their brain and body will work hard accommodate their desire. More often than not, and as usual, people overdo things and start narrowing their stance, moving the ball way back, then develop a swing only a lumberjack could love. But look! I made a divot! LOL.
Over focus on divots can also contaminate the longer clubs, especially the driver. As the club get longer, the player will often maintain a narrower stance, stand too close to the ball, play the ball too far back, and start flipping the right hand to stop the club from nose-diving into the ground. This puts excessive spin on the driver, and is also partially why many folks cannot hit a 5 iron much farther than their 7 iron. This is why hybrids have become popular because they help get the ball in the air. Even then i see guys hitting 10 yard high 24* hybrids with too deep of divots.
I was working with a guy last week who made divots. His divots started behind the ball, but...then got deeper into the ground post impact, almost an inch deep, like a downward ramp in a parking garage. This revealed his swing arc was very steep. So all we did was widen his stance about two or so balls and moved the ball up. After enduring the "Oh my gosh, this feels REALLY WEIRD" comments, 20 or so shots later his swing arc flattened out. He still wanted to throw his right hand at the ball because that's how he pre-trained himself with the chop/flip, but the improvement on several shots was amazing. His best shots were with a slight brush of the turf which resulted in much higher ball flight and distance, even with a PW. The running saying around here for guys who are learning is "if it looks or feels wrong, it's probably right".
I think folks who are trying to break 100, 90, or even 80 become overly focused on divots and thus they piece together a swing to appease the Divot Gods.