Ball Mark Repair Thread

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by deasy55

Why are ball/pitch marks also called divot marks? Is it an American thing? I didn't come across it until I joined this site and this is a predominantly American site, which is why I ask that.

I agree with you that it's an American thing.  I've no idea why 90% of the contributors on golf websites use a "divot tool".  I have never seen one myself, but I wouldn't be caught dead without my "green repair tool".

[Zeph]

I think so. I had never heard of them called anything other than "pitch marks" until the internet.

I would venture to say that a divot is not a pitch mark (or vice versa) but common (mis)usage has made it acceptable

In the same way that a lot of people call the tee the "tee box" when a tee box is actually a box full of sand.

This is another one that would cause confusion in other golfing countries.

I suppose they think that a lot of tees are basically box (square) shaped.

A divot is the turf you rip out of the ground, not the hole it leaves. You can of course create a small divot with a ball hitting the green, but you don't want to fix or replace it. You fix the ball mark on the green, and you replace the divot at the fairway.

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by Shorty

I think so. I had never heard of them called anything other than "pitch marks" until the internet.

I would venture to say that a divot is not a pitch mark (or vice versa) but common (mis)usage has made it acceptable

In the same way that a lot of people call the tee the "tee box" when a tee box is actually a box full of sand.

This is another one that would cause confusion in other golfing countries.

I suppose they think that a lot of tees are basically box (square) shaped.

I grew up with both "pitch marks" and "ball marks", but we only used the term "pitch marks" when the ball was embedded (fairway or green).

The teeing ground is rectangular, much like batter's box (baseball term). Golf isn't America's national pastime, but in North America we use some rather baseball sounding terms like Grand Slam (not sure whether tennis or baseball used that first), swinging for the fences, Southpaw (e.g. Mike Weir), and probably others.

[deasy55]

Would this be considered a divot repair tool? Since I don't think you could repair a divot with a normal pitch mark repairer

[sean_miller]

You're having trouble comprehending that some people refer to the dent made by a golf ball a "divot"?

Why would a spade be necessary for replacing a bit of turf? If it isn't whole, with a bit of soil and roots intact, then it's not viable. It's gonna dry up and die. Like this thread detour.

Originally Posted by deasy55

Would this be considered a divot repair tool? Since I don't think you could repair a divot with a normal pitch mark repairer

[deasy55]

It was a joke. No need to get all serious about it

Originally Posted by sean_miller

You're having trouble comprehending that some people refer to the dent made by a golf ball a "divot"?

Why would a spade be necessary for replacing a bit of turf? If it isn't whole, with a bit of soil and roots intact, then it's not viable. It's gonna dry up and die. Like this thread detour.

[iacas]

I took a big divot with my 9I the other day. Try as I might with my divot repair tool I couldn't get it to look very good. Finally I gave up and just put the dislodged part of the divot back in and stepped on it.

I too vote for "pitch mark" or "ball mark" or something, but I don't really care enough if someone wants to call it a "divot repair tool." I know what they're talking about.

[FowlPlay]

Originally Posted by rusty

I think part of the problem is that courses do very little to educate the public on the issue. Few courses give out repair tools or, if they do, they sit in an unassuming box next to the scorecards and pencils in the pro shop.

I played one course that had a little informative sign in the pro shop that asked people to repair their ball marks and had a little drawing to show the proper way to do it. Cheap - easy - and it seemed to be at least somewhat effective. I think most people simply have not been shown how to do it or didn't know they were supposed to.

Nobody else saw this? Kinda stupid to believe that everyone who picks up the game of golf has been informed of this.

I just picked up playing the game again, and even when I used to play as a kid, no one informed me of this.

If you really wanna fix the problem, you need to spread the word on how to do it properly, rather than say "I hate how inconsiderate people are!" When in all reality they were being "inconsiderate" because they did not know.

[Boyder]

I took the time today to repair at least 2 to 3 ball marks per green I played .... obviously a few of the older ones don't take to repairing as easily as newer ones, but at least I made the effort. Not sure if it will help, but since I play this course 3 to 4 days a week, I figure I can at least make some impact if I continue this .....

[Zeph]

I have come across a couple of divots on the green actually. Or rather, the hole it leaves, the divot was gone. God knows what makes people take a full swipe with an iron on a green.

[benredik]

Originally Posted by Zeph

I have come across a couple of divots on the green actually. Or rather, the hole it leaves, the divot was gone. God knows what makes people take a full swipe with an iron on a green.

I only know Phil Mickelson

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by benredik

I only know Phil Mickelson

Phil Mickelson has never made a full swipe on a putting green (Rule 25-3 forbids such an act).  He has chipped from the putting surface before in a tournament, as have many other pros, and a few misguided (in my opinion) weekend amateurs.  Such damage on the green is more commonly caused by some idiot taking a swipe at his ball in disgust after missing a short putt and carving a chunk out of the green.  Jackasses like that should be drawn and quartered.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by Fourputt

Phil Mickelson has never made a full swipe on a putting green (Rule 25-3 forbids such an act).  He has chipped from the putting surface before in a tournament, as have many other pros, and a few misguided (in my opinion) weekend amateurs.  Such damage on the green is more commonly caused by some idiot taking a swipe at his ball in disgust after missing a short putt and carving a chunk out of the green.  Jackasses like that should be drawn and quartered.

Phil has come very close to taking a full swing from his OWN putting green, which is why 25-3 is irrelevant.

[Zeph]

Yeah, we're not talking about finding the wrong green here. No rule forbid you to do something like that. It was a pitch shot though, and he did it properly, leaving nothing but a dent in the green. No leading edge digging into the green. I've seen him do it twice, and more has probably done it on the same green as below. [VIDEO]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KQ3PDDhFuw[/VIDEO] Those marks I have seen were full $1 bill divots.

[Valleygolfer]

Am I the only one that gets secret satisfaction repairing a ball mark to perfection....Wth is wrong with me......stoopid ocd.

[David in FL]

I wish you played the same courses I do...... .....sadly it seems as if far too many people get no enjoyment at all in repairing their ball marks!

[shockingslicer]

Nah , i love fixing em up as well , even other peoples

[brettski01]

Ours got so bad a while ago it got brought up in the presentation in a tournament. It was ridiculous. Every hole there was a ball mark in your putting line