Fixing ball marks properly

[chisag 18,671]

... I am still amazed at how many good players repair their ball marks improperly. The most egregious being lifting the turf underneath instead of pulling from the edges. I have played with high school, college and even mini tour players that dig and lift, breaking the roots and killing the grass leaving those brown spots on greens. The worst part is they are trying to do the right thing but have never been educated. I think it is a good idea to post a refresher every now and then so here ya go:
 

 

[ParFore74x 1,401]

We all have to learn somehow, this would definitely help. Should be mandatory for everyone on a golf course to watch this. 

[chisag 18,671]

1 minute ago, ParFore74x said:

We all have to learn somehow, this would definitely help. Should be mandatory for everyone on a golf course to watch this. 

 

... Amen brother and I was one of the ignorant, digging in my repair tool and lifting until I played with a Greenskeeper that went politely ballistic and gave me the lecture on why it is so bad for greens and showed me the proper way to repair a ball mark. 

[RollingGreens 2,359]

I’ll be honest I had to use a video. I never really had anyone teach me, we all start somewhere… I will say though over the weekend I did a fine repair job on some premium ball marks

[Kenny B 33,489]

Our greens are very firm except first thing in the morning after overnight irrigation.  When a ball mark made in the morning is not been fixed all day, it becomes dried out and the depression very hard.  The only way to repair it is to lift underneath.  Fortunately, the poa annua comes back quickly after the overnight watering.  

We are a muni.  I bet 80% of the players don't have a repair tool, and of those 20% that do, only a handful actually use it... and nobody that I know of uses a tee.  The worst offenders are our Men's Club who play early when the greens are wet.  I've played right behind them, and I repair many fresh ball marks.

[MattF 14,590]

I still use a Mark Mender repair tool.



Unfortunately the company doesn't sell individually online any more. Eventually I'll get a 2 prong fork thing.

[DiscipleofPenick 4,053]

I didn't figure out the right way to do it until a few years ago. Though sometimes in early season the ground is too firm and you have no choice but to lift from underneath. I have about a dozen two prong tools in my bag. The nicer public places hand them out, and whenever I've been fortunate to play a club, I grab one or two.

[Shapotomous 5,040]

It depends on the mark and the turf according to the greenskeeper at the cc I worked at back in the 70's.

If the turf is thick and is merely dented you can successfully repair by lifting without tearing it or the roots.  There is no need to lift from underneath so hard and far as to rip the turf as they show in the video. 

If the ball mark is severe and has torn the green then I pull from the sides as the video shows.  This happens on 'thin' turf greens a lot.  Bulle Rock has that type of greens and they provide a special repair tool with very short prongs and a 'shoulder' to keep from digging in too deep.  I'll get a pic of it added here at some point.

[cnosil 25,315]

Does anyone else find it ironic that in the video the incorrect method is demonstrated using a Cameron pivot tool .   I guess just because you can own a Scotty doesn’t mean you know how to fix a divot.  The tool itself could be considered poorly designed since it sets up to pry the divot in the incorrect manner.   

[ParFore74x 1,401]

I also started out with improper technique and was educated by a video. The players that bother me are the ones that obviously play regularly and should know better. I do my best to repair two or three on each green, hard to keep up some days. 

[MyWifesSwingCoach 735]

21 hours ago, chisag said:

... I am still amazed at how many good players repair their ball marks improperly. The most egregious being lifting the turf underneath instead of pulling from the edges. I have played with high school, college and even mini tour players that dig and lift, breaking the roots and killing the grass leaving those brown spots on greens. The worst part is they are trying to do the right thing but have never been educated. I think it is a good idea to post a refresher every now and then so here ya go:
 

 

[cksurfdude 10,917]

Last year I switched to a single prong - dunno but IMHO it encourages a pushing against the raised edges of the pitch mark, vs the 2 prong / fork type that seems to encourage the user to dig & lift from underneath more.....

Oh, PS: happily this year I'm getting to use the divot tool more

[Muckinfiddle 141]

I am a divot maestro. I take great pride in making the green look like my ball has never been there. That being said, I teach about anyone I play with the correct technique if needed.