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| Ball mark just after the ball has struck the green |
Ball marks have increased tremendously on #2 green, due to
more people playing over the water. As a result, we wanted to take this
opportunity to remind players of proper technique. It is important for each
player to repair their own marks. It only takes a few seconds, and keeps the
greens in good shape for long term health and immediate play.
There are literally thousands of different repair tools that
work well. The Grounds department does not recommend one tool over another.
Every golfer should have their own repair tool every time they play. Even a tee
will work to repair a ball mark, and every golfer for sure has a tee they can
use. Below are a couple of resources on repairing a ball mark. There may be
slight variances in instruction, but the basics are the same. Some keys are:
- · Don’t pry or lift the turf up
o
This will bring soil to the surface and there
will not be any grass, resulting in a serious scar
- · Think about the angle at which the ball struck the green
o
If the ball
didn’t fall straight down then the turf shouldn’t go straight up! Low
trajectory shots have a shallower impact and the turf will need to be moved
back towards the initial point of impact. High trajectory shots will leave a
deeper mark and need to be fixed differently.
- · Take your time
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| Improperly repaired ball mark. Turf has been lifted and soil is present in the center instead of grass. |
o
One try
will not do the job, it will take 3 or 4 adjustments to get the mark back to
near-original
- · Fix more than yours alone if you can
o
If everyone fixed their ball mark there would
only be the most recent one to fix, but we know that is not the case. Finding
another one or two ball marks to fix is only helping everyone.
- · Don’t do it like the pros
o
Professional golfers (not our staff) are
notoriously poor at fixing ball marks. They are subscribers of the lift
technique. This provides a quick and smooth surface over which to putt but does
not properly fix the ball mark. Our professional staff has taken the time to learn
and teach the proper technique, but touring pros are mostly concerned with
making their putt.
Finally, we do perform regular maintenance of fixing ball marks,
but we can’t keep up. Far more ball marks are made than we have time to spend
fixing. Yet, it only takes a golfer a few extra seconds to fix their ball mark immediately
after it happens. This allows us to focus our resources elsewhere, but more importantly
it keeps the putting surfaces better for everyone.
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| Improperly repaired ball mark that is very slow to heal. |
Fixing your ball mark is an easy and important way to take ownership
over the care of your course.
Etiquette Reminder of the Month
Please don’t stand in one place for an extended period of
time to practice putting. Your footprints can be worn into the green.
See you on the course!
Joe
jvillegas@bwrc.org
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