How to correctly repair your pitch marks and divots
Repairing pitch marks and divots is a vital part of maintaining quality surfaces and ensuring an optimal playing experience for all golfers.
Nobody wants to arrive on a green dotted with pitch marks or to see lumps of turf torn out of the fairway.
As golfers, you have a responsibility to leave the course as you find it and that means knowing how to repair any accidental or incidental damage you may cause.
You don't need to be a Master Greenkeeper to grasp the techniques behind repairing pitch marks and divots, but we asked one to explain how it's done.
Greg Fitzmaurice, Course Manager at Hunley Golf Club:
"As one of the most critical aspects of golf course maintenance, proper repair of pitch marks and divots is essential to preserving playability and turf health. A poorly repaired pitch mark will take weeks to heal, whereas one addressed correctly recovers almost immediately."
Pitch mark repair requires a light touch
The most common mistake when repairing a mark is to approach it like the ball fell vertically onto the green, pushing the turf into the ground. However, as the ball has travelled forwards, the turf is actually pushed up the green.
To correctly repair a pitch mark, insert a repair tool just outside the depression and gently lever the turf back towards where the ball came from.
Lifting from beneath actually does more harm, leaving a bare patch that doesn't recover and creating the ideal seed bed for weeds.
After working the mark back into place, lightly tap the surface flat with a putter to restore smoothness.
Done correctly like this takes a few seconds and should make it difficult to see a mark was even made. It also ensures a smooth green is maintained and prevents valuable course maintenance resources being wasted.
If you are stood around on the green waiting for your playing partners to putt, taking a few moments to address other pitch marks would be time well spent.
Divot repair encourages regrowth
On fairways and tees, divot management differs slightly. When a divot is intact, it should be replaced immediately and pressed down firmly to create good contact between the roots and the soil. This will speed up the healing process.
If shattered, use the provided sand/seed mix (if available), filling the void level to the surface. This promotes rapid re-establishment of turf and reduces weed intrusion.
Taking care of pitch marks and divots helps to maintain the golf course in the best possible condition, ensuring there are no unwelcome surprises for players – and it eases the load on us greenkeepers!
It can be easy in the midst of your round to forget to take care of these things, but it's simply a matter of developing good habits and making sure others are doing the same.
Like many things in life, a minor inconvenience in the short-term pays back 10-fold in the long-term!
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