What is it with people? Why don't they repair ball marks?

[mjf]

After work yesterday, I went to Stonebridge to play 9 holes. Due to the weather and the very wet course conditions, the place was pretty much abandoned which was just fine by me. However, I was shocked at the number of un-repaired ball marks on the greens. I fixed no fewer than 5 ball marks on EVERY green. Several of them were within 4 or 5 feet of the pin so there's no way that somebody simply missed them.

So... What is it with people? Why don't they fix their ball marks?? For me, I rather enjoy repairing my own ball mark because it generally means that I hit a green in regulation or at least a pretty good shot from a reasonable distance away. Also, I think it's good karma. I figure if I repair some extra ball marks maybe the green will pay me back... eventually.

What really ticks me off is that these ball marks were probably not left unrepaired by weekend hackers... Only avid golfers would be playing this early in the season in conditions like we've been having lately. It's pretty sad really. The greens at Stonebridge are already spotty at the best of times and this sort of thing isn't helping.

What's the solution for this?

Thanks.
MJF

PS. Stonebridge West 9 plays LONG from the back tees when all of your tee shots skip back a foot after landing!

[GarthM]

Hear hear...I too find myself repairing way too many ball marks every time I play. Does not seem to matter where either.

Keep up the good work mjf, maybe between the 2 of us we can fix them all...

Oops I just woke up from that pipe dream....

Come on people, repair your freakin' ball marks and at least one other on every green and we can all putt a little better without even trying.

End Rant.

[byerxa]

It p.o.'s me as well!. I don't get it - players making these marks should know better. I suppose laziness is in play here. For me its an ego booster repairing a ball mark after a good shot. I also try to get as many as possible while I'm at it.

Combined with courses who won't move their pins around much, you can see some greens get pretty chewed up.

[NoBack]

Rule of thumb when I play, make one ---------- fix 6

[jvincent]

Ditto. Lots of unfixed ball marks out there this afternoon. Given the number of greens I hit on the West nine, my fix to make ratio was very high.

[broken27]

I tend to fix as many as I can while my playing partners are lining up putts and stuff (as long as I'm not interfering with their ability to concentrate). It really sucks to miss par or better because there's a half-inch crater between you and the hole.

Dan

[davemiddle]

divots. divots divots you forgot about all the divots, ball marks some people do not think they make them but how can you miss the flying piece of earth after your shot

[mjf]

divots. divots divots you forgot about all the divots, ball marks some people do not think they make them but how can you miss the flying piece of earth after your shot

I didn't forget about divots. I just thought I'd stick to only one subject for my rant!

MJF

[bbad]

divots. divots divots you forgot about all the divots, ball marks some people do not think they make them but how can you miss the flying piece of earth after your shot

Probably the same way they think that driving their cart down the middle of the fairway when it's wet isn't harming anything

[oldmaninblack]

Good rant ... my dad always said fix your own ball mark and 1 more on every green. I've only failed to find the extra one on hard mid-summer greens. Found a putter head crater at Greensmere Tuesday, which really burns me. Thanks for making a crater so we'll all know you missed a 3 footer and don't worry it'll grown in again in a MONTH OR SO!

Put your divot back and any that are close enough so you don't slow down play.
Unfortunately at this time of year a lot of divots are more of a spray of mud and grass that couldn't be put back if you tried, but a lot more of them are beaver pelts that even a blind man could find and put back.
Not many of our courses have greeskeepers that will go around and fill all the divot holes with sand/seed every night. Maybe people think the grass grows in again overnight all by itself?

[jvincent]

Unfortunately at this time of year a lot of divots are more of a spray of mud and grass that couldn't be put back if you tried, but a lot more of them are beaver pelts that even a blind man could find and put back.

You said it.

I had a really good one today, full lob wedge into the green from 85 yds out. The ball landed 10 feet from pin. The "divot", ~18-20" long and lob wedge wide, travelled a good 20 yards.

Yes, I replaced it.

[KenB]

Yes yes yes..... my secret joy, repairing my own - and so relaxing - not being pushed by the group behind and repairing a couple more, but MAKES ME ANGRY!!!! when the the greens are are like moon craters!

[Golfpeasant]

So... What is it with people? Why don't they fix their ball marks??

Why do people litter, dispose of oil products in drains, hurt animals, hit their wives or children, steal from friends, scratch peoples cars with keys, hit and run, drink and drive, etc.

Because a percentage of people are selfish a-h's.

[mpare]

The failure to repair ball marks is bad enough, but what really gets to me is the failure to put back one's divots. Today I replaced enough to them to sod a lawn ... and they were rugs that had not been replaced by others who, I would assume, cannot bend over to pick them up.

[BullDog]

The failure to repair ball marks is bad enough, but what really gets to me is the failure to put back one's divots. Today I replaced enough to them to sod a lawn ... and they were rugs that had not been replaced by others who, I would assume, cannot bend over to pick them up.

I am mocked by many, but I usually spend lots of my time waiting for the green to clear on par-3's filling divots with the sand/seed mixture you often find beside the tee blocks. I've never seen anyone else use those boxes - though I've often found broken tees and cigarette butts in them...

[Golfbum]

Well I think the reason a lot of people do not fix ballmarks is they just dont realize they made one. On top of that some are just to damn lazy to fix them. This afternoon at my home course I fixed my own ball mark on a par 3, and 6 more as I walked to my ball. Most of those were day old marks.

I once golfed with an old guy, years ago. He did not fix his ball marks. I asked him to repair them and his comment was "Why should I bother, I don't have to put through them" Duhhhhhhhhh
I asked him how he felt about putting through ball marks and he said "I don't like it" So why not fix them I asked? He had no comment, and after the next hole he had no playing partner as I jumped off at the parking lot

At my home course last year they started a program that seemed to work well. They took the members, divided them by 18 and each group of members was responsible for repairing ball marks on their assigned greens. This seemed to work well, and if someone in your group made a ball mark on your green they were gently reminded to repair it! As a member of the Members Committee I am going to make sure that list gets posted again this season.

Then again, a lot of people do not know how to properly repair a ball mark.

Another pet peeve of mine, DIVOTS Nothing ticks me off more than seeing a big chunk of sod laying 10 feet in front of a huge divot. Someone was just too damn lazy to walk up, pick it up and replace it. Those are the same people who roll their ball out of a divot if it ends up there. They think it is unfair to have to play from a divot. Hmmmmmmmmmmm

Bottom line, some people just do not care or have any respect for the courses and the game of golf. You will never change their attitudes towards it either. So we have to grin and bear it, fix ball marks and divots and enjoy the game.

[jens]

A golf course worker from EL once told me that when you replace your divot it will not grow back. He told me this as he had the task of filling the craters with sand/seed mix.

[mpare]

A golf course worker from EL once told me that when you replace your divot it will not grow back. He told me this as he had the task of filling the craters with sand/seed mix.

For some types of grasses that may be the case, but I doubt that this is true for all grasses. Divots that are replaced certainly appear to grow back. Were it otherwise, wouldn't we see a lot of dead spots on the fairways where the divots were replaced?

[BullDog]

For some types of grasses that may be the case, but I doubt that this is true for all grasses. Divots that are replaced certainly appear to grow back. Were it otherwise, wouldn't we see a lot of dead spots on the fairways where the divots were replaced?

I saw a sign at a golf course once - it said something like this: "Replace a divot after creating it, and it will start to heal in 24 hours. Don't replace a divot and it will take a year to come back."

It makes sense - if put back into place and there's any moisture present, the little piece of sod has a fighting chance. Let everything dry out, any combination of sand and seed will take weeks if not longer to restore to the previous condition.

[Gobble_It]

I am mocked by many, but I usually spend lots of my time waiting for the green to clear on par-3's filling divots with the sand/seed mixture you often find beside the tee blocks. I've never seen anyone else use those boxes - though I've often found broken tees and cigarette butts in them...

I don't take divot with my swing...so I'm not guilty but I would trade for replacing divots with < 100 score

[Golfpeasant]

A greenskeeper said to me once, and I don't know, so if someone KNOWS for sure, please confirm: if you take a divot with the roots, put it back, itll replant; but if you've chopped a lot of the grass off the roots, put some seed or sand there...the roots will be protected, but putting the grass back will do nothing.

Its been a while, so I don't know if I have it right.

[dbleber]

Played yesterday at my home course and every green I was on looked like it was hit with artillery! I went around and fixed as many as I could, now one playing partner was on the same page as me as we both expressed our dislike of the offenders. The other was wondering what we were doing and I knew right away that he was an offender! Just doesn't make sense, this is when the greens need all the help they can get, these people who do not fix their ball marks will also be the ones to complain when the greens do not look like the ones on TV. As for divots, I replace them when they come out as a chunk but I find that a lot of the time I get the ones that are just little peices of grass that fly all over the place. Those are not replacable in my opinion.
Denny

[Sakuraba]

I play most of my golf in the evening after work, and when the sun is setting, all the imperfections show up like crazy on the greens. Perhaps its harder for some players to find their ball mark during the day...

The dragged spike mark gets me angry, but for me the most irritating abuse of a golf course is the trail of huge divots. I'm talking about 6 or 7 all 20-30 yards apart down a fairway. You can tell its the same offender. I hope that guy's ball lands in a divot every time he hits a fairway. When you see how much damage one golfer can do to a hole, I guess its comforting to know that a lare % of players are leaving the course a little better than they found it.