$%?&* Ball Marks!!

There is NOTHING that annoys me more than people who don't fix their ball marks on greens. Divots explode sometimes, sand traps are never the same once they've been raked the first time, tee boxes let you place the ball abve the grass, but ball marks are inexcuseable.

It only takes about 5 seconds to repair a pitch mark, and you can get the little tool for, get this, FREE , at most golf courses.

Did you know that an unfixed ball mark can take a minimum of 2 weeks to grow back in, but one thats repaired takes about 2-3 days to disapear.

I've noticed that the greens at Stonebridge are taking a real pounding. They've given the marshalls those high tech tools to repair as many as they can, but thats no excuse for not fixing at least your own. Every hole I can fix at least 3 or 4 other than my own. Thats 3 or 4 too many. Those of you that fix your own or more, keep up the great work :D , those that don't fix even their own, shame on you :nono. Take a few seconds to try to make it smooth for the next group. You'll sure appreciate it when you're in the group behind.

Etiquette...etiquette...etiquette.

My rule of thumb is to fix 2 ball marks per hole.

Before you go off on a rant....

I've heard from some greenskeepers that there are more than one reason for little round brown spots on the green. Sure, some of them are from ballmarks, but some of them are from pests and fungi.

I find it hard to swallow that less than half of the people are fixing their ballmarks. Actually, for many of the hackers, they can't hit a green from more than a chipshot away. So if everybody is fixing 2... or more... then that means that 2/3 or more of the people are not fixing ballmarks? Seems rather odd... all the groups I play with fix ballmarks.... My average is only 50% greens in regulation... so I'm only hitting half the greens to start with.

I suspect that there are a bunch of them that don't fix the ballmarks properly, and that is a main reason why the little brown spots remain. If you lift the bottom of the ballmark up and leave an airspace under the ballmark, it won't heal properly. You have to uncompact the entire perimeter of the ballmark, then tamp it back into place.

I have a bigger beef with courses that don't put out divot mix on their short par 3 holes that get overrun with divots. The divots on a teeing area won't heal back. But if there's divot mix to fill the holes with, it will heal back very quickly.

Speaking of ball marks...

Just wondering what the proper way to fix a ball mark would be?

Do you just stick the ball mark repair tool in the middle and pull up or work it around from the outside?

:wave

DO:
Stick your tool in the green just outside the turf where it is compressed and push gently to the center of the pitch mark. Repeat all the way around to even the soil out. This moves the blades and roots more or less back to where they were.
Then tap it down with your putter to smooth it.

DO NOT:
Poke your tool under the pitch and raise the dirt to level. A lot of people do that and it does more harm than good, ripping roots, leaving the compressed soil compressed, and causing an airspace under the pitch, as Spidey pointed out.

I'm not sure if the number of unrepaired ball marks on the greens has increased, but it does seem that (at least at the courses I have been playing on) there doesn't seem to be as many signs as there used to be reminding golfers to fix their marks. It seems to me that five or ten years ago it was pretty standard to see a sign on the first, or the first couple of holes, reminding golfers to fix their marks...and one other!

Now I know you shouldn't have to tell someone to do this, but a little reminder doesn't hurt. And who knows, with the number of new golfers who take up the game each year, maybe there is a need to point out that this is part of the game.

And spidey, you would have gone nuts if you had played in our group last Saturday at Emerald Links. We were right behind a group of novices who were hitting irons off every tee, and it seemed as if all four gouged the biggest divots I have ever seen on virtually every tee. Unfortunately, all they had was sand buckets (without seed it seemed) and so even though we filled a fair number of the craters, I expect it would take most of the season for them to repair.

Emerald Links is well known for having plenty of divot marks on their greens. Their greens were never asthestically pleasing.

Just need to add a slight twist to Dan's instructions
Here's a link with pictures from the guys who know...


http://www.gcsaa.org/media/divot.html

At one of the courses we play in Florida, you are given a ball mark tool on the first tee and reminded to fix your ball marks. The rangers will watch and if they see you hit a long or high shot into a green and not fix the mark, they will warn you once and if they catch you a second time it's bye bye. It seems to work because their greens are always great.

I wish they did that here larry!

Played yesterday and just shook my head in disbeleif:shakehead

It was my first afternoon round this year so I can see a bit more marks because of that but................ on one hole there were 4 deep ball marks all within 2-3 feet of the flag. :mad:

And why?? They must have hit good shots or at least finish the hole and would have seen these. And then, did the groups following those that left them there not see the marks????? I mean, they were noticeable to me and my playing partners from 30 feet. :sleepy

I am one of those that will fix as many as I have time for on any and all greens. Behind the guys putting, of course. :bigcheek

I'm another one who sees non-stop greens with craters. I tried to start this year with a maximum of 60 "repairs" per round. Twice I've only got to the 13th hole.
Very frustrating!! Should I consider going to 100 each day or just give up??
Of course I only repair when we've got lots of time waiting for the group(s) ahead of us to move on.
Does anybody want to start on that topic?????????????

I played Champlain today.... I won't get into how bad the group ahead of us slowed the whole course down... enough people got into that in another thread...

After the first 9, I had fixed over 40 ball marks. On one par 3, I fixed 9 marks and some pretty big (some of you refer to them as craters) Buddy in front of us even banged his putter into the green and didn't repair it. Yes I complained to the marshall but I didn't see the marshall go to that foursome. It was horrible. The guy was out of control. Definitely one of the worst round I have had. Even what I made the Shhtick suffer though at Nation was not anywhere close to that.

Played Meadows this morning at 630 (first foursome on the ocurse). There were plenty of ball marks on the greens from the day before. :crying

We fixed so many marks today that I know the groups behind us are going be happier although I believe they will fix just as many as we did.

This is something that the courses should put on signs, throughout the course just as they do with cart direction signs. Having peopl repair their marks just make it a far better time for all.:bigcheek

the Nation was a good day.....:bigcheek

As for ball marks...

As some of you know, I work at Cascades occasionally. I was there on Saturday and I handed out around 15 ball mark repairers to each of the marshalls (now we have 3 per day on weekends). I told them to watch some groups near greens and for the players who didn't fix their ball marks, the marshall would get off his keister and walk onto the green and fix these marks. The marshall was also instructed to remind players to fix ball marks and if they didn't have the tool, well, the marshall would hand one out to them. :)

When all was said and done (not to mention 220 golfers later), we went through 96 repairers, and not the plastic ones. Oh yea, BTW, 4 1/2 hour round as well:peeking

My point is, as players, we aren't the only ones who should be repairing these things. With so many marshalls sitting on their arses doing nothing but complaining to players about how slow (or fast) they are, FIX THE DARN BALL MARKS WHEN YOU CAN. It only takes a 5 seconds...........stickit

Played at Dragonfly yesterday and not only were their greens in fantastic shape (a little slow, but in perfect condition grass wise) but they have excellent signage reminding golfers not only to repair their ball marks on the greens but with clear instructions as to how to do it. I didn't see any marks of a significant nature throughout the round, and there were plenty of golfers out on the course. So I really do think that reminders and signs can help to keep the greens more playable.

Dragonfly has the best greens I've played this year. I've been to Eagle Creek, Stonebridge and Emerald Links among others.

I feel bad for Stonebridge because they have a great course but the greens are taking a beating. I'm not sure why, but people don't repair ball marks.