What is your club's policy on divots?

[Shorty]

What is your club's policy on divots?

[CG031]

What do you mean?...

Don't all golf courses ask you replace them?

[Shorty]

What do you mean?...

Certainly not. Many clubs specifically ask you NOT to replace them because they say they don't grow back.

[SergioFan23]

Place them atop your head like a coonskin cap.

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Replace them in the fairway, fill with sand on teeboxes.

[Sandman_88]

I have never played at a course that makes you replace the divot, but all have sand to fill them in with.

[Fourputt]

It depends. I didn't answer the poll because my answer isn't included. All of the carts at my home course have 2 bottles of sand/seed mix for filling divots, and that is the preferred method. But when there is no cart with a group, then they don't have the mix to fill in the divots with, so they are expected to replace divots as required.

Using the sand/seed mix is the preferred method because the grass actually grows back faster. A typical divot just dies if replaced... it is usually cut too shallow to have good root structure, so the grass just withers.

[alf174]

It depends. I didn't answer the poll because my answer isn't included. All of the carts at my home course have 2 bottles of sand/seed mix for filling divots, and that is the preferred method. But when there is no cart with a group, then they don't have the mix to fill in the divots with, so they are expected to replace divots as required.

My experience also; there wasn't enough options to choose from in the poll.

[Zeph]

I've always wondered why we are supposed to put them back. Only reasonable explanation I can find is that if a ball stop on that perticular place, it will sit on a divot rather than a hole in the ground.

The grass won't keep growing, the roots are cut off. If anything, wouldn't putting the divot back block out the sun and prevent good growing conditions? Filling it with sand sounds like the most reasonable thing to do in my eyes. Though, it would block out the sun too, but perhaps that is not a problem as long as the grass is growing. I'm no botanist, but my guess would be that the roots won't keep growing or re-attach themselves to the roots still in the ground. The divot you place on top will only cover it up and probably be moved when the grass is cut anyways.

Will it grow quicker filled with sand, can replacing the divot cause it to grow slower?

Most courses here don't have carts, I don't ride them anyways, so the sand option is hardly an option. They do have sand on the tee boxes.

[Jell0b0y]

Mine is replace divot but since I am a member of a Muni. most people don't replace or fix the greens. Heck I even seen a couple young guy park on the fringe of the green with there carts. I try to replace as best I can and fix extra on the putting greens. I figure I will help as much as i can until I can afford to go to the better club in my town hopefully after next year.

[retexan599]

Generally I replace a divot to the extent I can find the parts, and then pour sand around to fill the remaining empty places. When repairing with sand, the custom around here is: "fill your divot and one other" to help out the course. Looking around the web, the consensus seems to be that replacing the divot is a better healing action than not replacing it.

[bogeyhitter25]

Replace the divot in the fairway, and use sand on the greens.

[colin007]

i replace them, but now im wondering, will they even grow back?

[wedge player]

I have never played at a course that makes you replace the divot, but all have sand to fill them in with.

thats what ive always done

[alf174]

Replace the divot in the fairway, and use sand on the greens.

I hope you mean tee boxes instead of greens.

[denver_nuggs_15]

Certainly not. Many clubs specifically ask you NOT to replace them because they say they don't grow back.

I talked to a kid who's trying to get into golf course design. He's taking landscape architecture classes and all these different tree/grass classes. He says divots in the fairways grow back (unless they explode when you hit your ball). Divots in the rough or fringe along the fairways do not grow back. I've confirmed this with another person too (owns a landscaping business).

I was always told by courses to replace divots, so I do that. If they explode or turn into like 5 pieces, then I'll use sand. But, more than likely, I'm replacing divots.

[kafka01]

Generally we replace the divot, we dont really use sand. When not possible, we just leave them and the greenkeeper staff goes over the course in regular timeframes to fill them up.

I read somewhere once, that you have to replace divots within a timeframe of a couple of hours, else they indeed wont grow back.

[ANTC]

no club ive played give me sand to replace the divots, but i try to replace them when i do find them.

[iacas]

He says divots in the fairways grow back (unless they explode when you hit your ball).

He's wrong 90% of the time. Almost nobody takes a deep enough divot to preserve the roots. You've just shaved off the grass - replace them and they die. The mowers will blow them up later.

I replace all divots, because it's better to be sitting atop dying grass than below grass level on dirt, and my course(s) don't offer sand mixes to fill in divots (or I'd do that).