The correct way to repair a pitch mark

[mweston1016]

All,

Just been sent this. I'm not suggesting for one minute you knowledgeable don't know how, but I'll certainly be alerting one or two dodgy characters in my society to watch it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvNVBjI3rhs

[Filmed at Cleobury Mortimer Golf Club]

 

[MikeH]

Crikey!!!! Andy Cole's changed a bit since he was up front for Newcastle and Man United

 

[The_LHC]

Interesting and yet I've never seen a pro give more than two stabs with his pitch mark repairer to any mark?

 

[John_Findlay]

Good wee piece. I have to confess to only learning how to do it correctly a couple of years ago, after nearly 30 years of playing. I guess if you're shown correctly in the first place then it's easy peasy.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Its great but how many members at your club a) do it at all or b) do it correctly. If yours are like mine I'm guessing not many and I'm sad to say in a lot of cases it is the oldies that are to blame especially midweek. I've forwarded the link onto my club secretary and hopefully they'll get it put up on our website.

 

[viscount17]

good idea Homer, I'll (try) to do the same

 

[Leftie]

I'm sad to say in a lot of cases it is the oldies that are to blame especially midweek.

Consistent as always Homer.

Most of the "oldies" as you put it that I know rarely hit the ball on to the green with height or pace so don't cause many pitch marks in the first place. They usually run it in instead which is why so many are deadly from 50/100 yds in.

When I play during the week, I am an early starter (usually 1st or 2nd group out) and the many pitch marks I repair look reasonably fresh so must have been made later the previous day, possibly by those younger ones who still work for a living who have taken time off for a few holes/round, or maybe visitors.

There again, they might have been made by juniors or even the ladies. You forgot about them this time.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Sorry Leftie but I played with two older gents recently and both were hitting wedges in from around 70 yards and neither repaired even with some gentle coaxing. I've seen it particularly on a Tuesday and Thursday which are the days most of our seniors roll up. It isn't just my club. I've asked HID the question and she said her greenkeepers have the same problem at Sand Martins after their roll up on a Monday.

I'm NOT saying they are the only culprit or that none of them do it but from my own experiences they are the ones that don't seem to. Whether that is ignorance, lack of mobility to bend down, or laziness I don't know. If you are talking about running it in instead of pitching then that covers most of our ladies and so would rule them out of the equations

Ours is a private members club so we don't tend to get too many societies or visitors and the problem lies purely down to members. Now that the nights are drawing in I doubt many are getting out of work early enough to make the marks in the evenings. I can only go on what I've seen and heard. Maybe we've got a set of delinquent pensioners giving the oldies elsewhere a bad name. I'll check them out for hoodies next time

 

[JustOne]

In my opinion ALL clubs should have some sort of MOT before you're allowed on it and a course marshal for ongoing finger wagging (and to make the slow ladies let the young guns through!).

 

[Smiffy]

What's a "pitchmark?"

 

[Leftie]

What can I say H?

Different clubs, different quality of members?

I had the pleasure(?) of Smiffy, JustOne, and AW as guests at my club last Friday. We went out about mid-day when most of the vets had finished/finishing. It would be interesting for their comments about excessive unrepaired pitch marks.

I wait to be shot down in flames

 

[Smiffy]

What can I say H?

Different clubs, different quality of members?

I had the pleasure(?) of Smiffy, JustOne, and AW as guests at my club last Friday. We went out about mid-day when most of the vets had finished/finishing. It would be interesting for their comments about excessive unrepaired pitch marks.

I wait to be shot down in flames

I thought your greens were like potato fields thanks to the wrinkly old gits Rog.
Sorry

 

[Robobum]

What's a "pitchmark?"

It normally refers to a piece of ground prepared specifically for a sporting event ie Football pitch, Cricket pitch etc.

And it's Darren by the way.

 

[Smiffy]

What's a "pitchmark?"

It normally refers to a piece of ground prepared specifically for a sporting event ie Football pitch, Cricket pitch etc.

And it's Darren by the way.

Thanks Claude

 

[Parmo]

I sent this to my local pro hoping he would place on the back of score cards

He seems to think cheap kitchen advertising more important though.

I really hate watching golfer think they are repairing pitch marks but all they are going is damaging the greens

 

[drawboy]

Why is it that the members who usually moan about the quality of the greens are the ones who never repair their pitch marks? stop being lazy sods repair them! it takes 10 seconds. if everyone repaired 2 extra per round you would be free of them for ever within 2 weeks and you would make the green keepers lives a lot easier, allowing them to get on with more time consuming tasks such as bunkers and tee preparation.

 

[The_LHC]

I sent this to my local pro hoping he would place on the back of score cards

He seems to think cheap kitchen advertising more important though.

I really hate watching golfer think they are repairing pitch marks but all they are going is damaging the greens

I think I can see part of the problem, part two of the don'ts there says do NOT twist the repairer in the turf, but that's exactly what the "expert" in the video did, so who do you believe?

 

[Leftie]

I thought your greens were like potato fields thanks to the wrinkly old gits Rog.

Is that an excuse for your "fine" (ahem) display of putting then?

 

[Losttheplot]

I sent this to my local pro hoping he would place on the back of score cards

He seems to think cheap kitchen advertising more important though.

I really hate watching golfer think they are repairing pitch marks but all they are going is damaging the greens

I think I can see part of the problem, part two of the don'ts there says do NOT twist the repairer in the turf, but that's exactly what the "expert" in the video did, so who do you believe?

Also on the video when the pro goes to the second pitch mark he puts the repairer in from the back and pry's up the compressed soil exactly like point 1 of the wrong way to do it.

A bit of a conflicting approach from a common poster and a pro.

 

[Fyldewhite]

The bottom line here is that following the repair it should be pretty difficult to even see where the pitch mark was if you have done it correctly. If it's still obvious then you haven't. How you do it doesn't really matter as long as you loosen the compacted grass, raise the bottom of the pitch mark and basically get it all back where it was originally before pressing it back down. You do see the example of poor repairs in the video time and time again though so any instruction is good.