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Repairing Ball Marks


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Please give this site a read, and watch the videos, to learn how to properly repair ball marks.

Proper Ball Mark Repair .

Erik J. Barzeski —  I knock a ball. It goes in a gopher hole. 🏌🏼‍♂️
Director of Instruction Golf Evolution • Owner, The Sand Trap .com • AuthorLowest Score Wins
Golf Digest "Best Young Teachers in America" 2016-17 & "Best in State" 2017-20 • WNY Section PGA Teacher of the Year 2019 :edel: :true_linkswear:

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Hope people give this a look-I would love it if more golfers at the courses I play at paid more attention to fixing ball marks on the greens. My rule has always been to try and fix my ball mark and two others per green.

BO THE GOLFER

In my Top Flite stand bag:

Driver-Ping G400+ 10.5 degrees regular flex Hybrids-Ping I25 17 & 20 degrees stiff flex Irons-Ping I3 O-size 4 through lob wedge regular flex Putter-Nike Oz 6

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Excellent stuff - this is how I do it (and have been told on many occasions it's incorrect).

If only more people would make the effort.

WEAPONS:
Taylormade R9 10.5 L Grafalloy Prolaunch Platinum stiff 65g
Taylormade R9 15 NU YS+6 stiff 65g
Taylormade R9 19 NU YS+6 stiff 65g
Taylormade Tour Preferred 4-PW KBS Tour X-Stiff Cleveland CG12 RTG+ DSG 51Cleveland CG12 RTG+ DSG 55Cleveland CG12 RTG+ DSG 59Yes! Tracy II putterTitleist...

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Great Link Erik. This is how I was shown to fix ball-marks when I was a kid. I've scolded many folks useing the "push-up" method over the years.
I've spent most of my life golfing - the rest I've just wasted.

In my bag todayâ¦.
Driver: 2009 S9-1 10.5
19d Hybrid4-SW:2008 FP 58/10 Mizuno MP T-10Putter: White Hot XG Sabertooth
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...My rule has always been to try and fix my ball mark and two others per green.

Dude - my home course needs more people like you around

:P
In the bag Nike SasQuatch SuMo 10.5* {} Tiger Shark Hammerhead 3w, 5w, 3h {} Nickent 3DX Pro 5i-PW {} Titleist Vokey 250.08* {} Cleveland CG11. 54* {} Callaway X-Tour 58.11* {} Carbite Tour Classic Putter {} Titleist ProV1x

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Thanks for posting this. It is very informative. While I didn't pry up quite like the video shows as being the wrong way, I didn't always do it 100% correctly either. I will from now on though. Thanks!

I think most golfers (myself included) kind of take it for granted that they know the correct way to do this but in reality they either don't, or they don't do it consistently.
In My Bag ( Superlight 3.5):

Driver: 9.5* Burner SuperFast, Matrix Ozik XCon 4.8 Stiff
Fairway Woods: Steelhead III, Uniflex Steel (3w, 5w)
Hybrids: Big Bertha Heavenwood 4H, Uniflex SteelIrons: Victory Red Full Cavity, Stiff (5-AW)Wedges: WALTER HAGEN,...
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Now I'm going to have to find one of those sharp ball repair tools..

In my Grom:

HiBore XLS 10.5 / ProLaunch Blue
Ti Great Big Bertha Warbird 3 Wood
Killer Whale 5 WoodPinemeadow Command 3 Hy Eye 2 + 4-9 Irons 588 RTG 49 "Special", Gunmetal 56, RTG 60 White Hot #5 Tour B330-RXEpoch Tees Royal Oaks Golf Club

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Hope people give this a look-I would love it if more golfers at the courses I play at paid more attention to fixing ball marks on the greens. My rule has always been to try and fix my ball mark and two others per green.

I try when I enter to the green to fix all ball marks that I see until I reach my ball. In my local course there is a lot of people that are playing their 3 or 4 round of their lives and they leave all the marks on the green, I hate them!

Regards

Driver: 905R 9.5° (UST Proforce V2 Stiff) | Fairway: 906F2 15° (UST Proforce V2 Stiff) | Hybrid: 585.H 21° (S300) | Irons: AP2 4-PW (Project X 6.0) | Wedges: Vokey Design 52.08, 56.11 & 60.11  | Putter: Studio Select Newport 2 

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Great link thanks! I am going to be honest here and probably get scolded but I was a pusher upper..I didnt know any better and nobody ever showed me. I have always wondered how to fix the ball marks and now I know. I will educate all my golfing buddies who dont have a clue either.
"When I play with him, he talks to me on every green. He turns to me and says, 'You're away.' "
-Jimmy Demaret referring to Ben Hogan

In The Bag:
Driver: Cleveland HiBore XL (10.5 -conforming)3 Wood: MacGregor V-FOIL5 Wood: Mizuno MP-001Irons: Ben Hogan BH-5 (4-PW)Wedges:52 - Nike SV Tour56 - Cleve...
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Eric,
A pretty good link. For another view on how to fix ball marks with a new style of repair tool that won't hurt the turf check out www.greenfixgolf.com

David C. Cleveland

In My Bag:

Driver: Big Bertha 4603 Wood: Big BerthaHybrid: Rescue Dual 3 19 degreeIrons: Big Bertha 2006Wedges: x forged mdPutter: 33 inch Natalie center shaftedBall: HX TourHome Course: Wellshire Golf Course, Denver, COVisit my musings at...

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Great post sir, I will be forwarding this to my playing partners. So those 2 or 3 times a year they hit a green they know what to do

My Bag

Driver: Sumo 460 10.5º Stiff
4 & 7 Woods: T-40 Stiff
Irons: Tight Lies GT 3-PWWedges: Tom Watson SignaturePutter: Daiwa DG-245Ball: One PlatinumGone Golfin'
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Eric,

Yeah, but you can tell they are trying to sell their product. Watch the video demo at this link...

Greenfix demo When he demonstrates the traditional tool he purposely uses the WRONG technique with it to make it look bad. This is what we like to call a marketing ploy
In My Bag ( Superlight 3.5):

Driver: 9.5* Burner SuperFast, Matrix Ozik XCon 4.8 Stiff
Fairway Woods: Steelhead III, Uniflex Steel (3w, 5w)
Hybrids: Big Bertha Heavenwood 4H, Uniflex SteelIrons: Victory Red Full Cavity, Stiff (5-AW)Wedges: WALTER HAGEN,...
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It would appear that I'm doing this correctly. Yay!

It helps that the first time I hit a green on the fly I had a greenskeeper in my group and he showed me how to do the fix. I was so excited that I finally got to make a fix.

In addition to my own marks, I still fix a few each time I get a chance, usually if I'm waiting for others and have either holed out or have read my putt but have to wait. There's a lore around here that when Corey Pavin was the captain of the UCLA team, he made everyone repair 5 marks on each green they played in practice rounds at the nearby private courses that had granted the team playing privileges. I'm not on the team (handicaps north of 20 don't make it on D1), but I still try to follow the rule, albeit on lesser courses :)

Thanks for the link, by the way. Will be forwarding.

-- Michael | My swing! 

"You think you're Jim Furyk. That's why your phone is never charged." - message from my mother

Driver:  Titleist 915D2.  4-wood:  Titleist 917F2.  Titleist TS2 19 degree hybrid.  Another hybrid in here too.  Irons 5-U, Ping G400.  Wedges negotiable (currently 54 degree Cleveland, 58 degree Titleist) Edel putter. 

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Obviously, its going to help if you do it properly. . .Personally, I would simply like to see mooooooooore players at my course repair their marks. I fix at least 1 a hole. Sometimes on a par 3, I will fix 3 or 4--suckers are everywhere.
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wow...check this out.



And the fellow used a tee....yikes This guy is good.

You don't know what pressure is until you've played for five dollars a hole with only two in your pocket - Lee Trevino

MP-600 @ 10.5°
Insight BUL 3-wood @ 15°
Insight BUL 5-wood @ 18° IDEA a2 4i Hybrid @ 23° MX-25 5-PW MP-R Series 52° > 50°/05° MP-R Series 54°/10° MP-R...
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Great thread, thanks very much.

I have not been golfing very long, and I only started hitting greens within the past week. I am very happy that I got this lesson right now, as I have been fixing the few ball marks I have made with a prying motion. Today I fixed my ball marks, and the other ones I saw, with the proper pushing motion and it really did work better.

I also have been fixing at least one or two ball marks per green. It's just the right thing to do. I also seem to be the only person in my usual group who seems to care about fixing tee divots with the seeded sand they provide.... I need to educate my playing partners about fixing their divots without being rude.
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Last year I bought a bag of 50 metal divot tools on eBay for $10. I keep several of them in my bag, so when a I see a playing partner about to walk away without fixing a ball mark, I ask them if they have a repair tool. If they say no, I give them one of mine. I've shown a few guys the right way to do it too.

Titleist 907D1 10.5°
Titleist 906F4 15.5°
Titleist 906F4 18.5°
Wilson Staff Pi5 3-P
Titleist Vokey 56.14Cleveland CG12 60°Scotty Cameron Newport Two

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