Golf Tips: Repairing Pitch Marks

This Tuesday Tip is a big deal.  There is nothing worse than yahoos who don't fix their ball marks on the greens.  Not only is it inconsiderate for the players who have to follow, but it is also harmful to the green to leave the marks without repairing them.  Today we are going to talk about the right way to fix a ball mark, and the right tools for the job of course. The Right Way With a divot tool (preferably a HOP! Green Repair Tool), lightly twist the edges or push the edges of the ball mark inward to close the depression.  While twisting and pushing the turf, listen and feel what you are doing.  Be careful not to tear the turf or you may do more damage to the green. Once the depression is covered, use your putter head or shoe to tap down and smooth out the surface. [caption id="attachment_3487" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Click to see larger version...[/caption] In some cases a small piece of the turf may come loose and might be sitting on the green near the pitch mark.  This piece will not grow if you put it back in the hole, so throw it off the green into the grass somewhere. The WRONG Way Many people push the forks of their divot tool into the edge of the mark at an angle so their forks end at the center and bottom, then lift the center of the pitch mark up.  This is the wrong way and the green will take much longer to heal. Right Tool Naturally we're biased here at Frogger.  We'd love you to use what we consider the best, the HOP! green repair tool.  You can pick one up in the Frogger Online Store.   More importantly though, use whatever you can get your hands on to fix the green: keys, tees, divot tools etc.  Everyone will benefit from your repair and someone might make their first birdie because the green is smooth. Because many people don't fix their ball marks, I make it a policy when walking around the green reading my putts to repair any ball marks I can find.  I'll usually fix five per green, and sometimes even 10 on holes which have short approaches and a lot of ball marks.  I believe this builds up positive golf karma.  Somewhere later a putt will drop because of that karma!