Bought this with not much hope given where I live the ground is hard-packed and rocky (Arizona). As long as you hold onto this thing tight and go slow, it's fine. It does get caught up on rocks but I found if you wiggle this back and forth to loosen them it will continue. If it doesn't, then you have to dig the rocks out to proceed. If you go fast and hit a rock, this device will about rip your arms off. I operate it with my thighs on either side when it gets low into the ground so it hits my legs to provide some stability. Going slow and easy is the way to prevent "whiplash". If you're just digging into regular dirt type ground this should work no problem. So far I've dug nearly 40 post holes with it without many problems.