Pitch Marks - Who and Why?

[CR McDivot]

I think that if one realistically considers it, most pitch marks are made from 100 or more yards out. At least that is my experience, seldom do I find marks resulting from less than full swing shots.

So... Whom is it that hits greens from 100 or more? Typically this is NOT the weekend hacker, rather the intermediate to better player.

Why are these supposedly more serious golfers leaving pitch marks all over the greens? Do they not know better... or are they so caught up in themselves that they overlook the common courtesy of repairing their pitch mark.

I try to repair all my marks, and any other I find. Unfortunately, if the pitch mark has aged more than a few hours in this high desert climate repair won't do a whole lot.

You take the game seriously?

FIX YOUR DAMN MARK!

[Piz]

Hear! Hear!...I bide my time, on the green, watching others putt, tending the flag stick, noting the location of extraneous golf clubs...and repairing ball marks!  Who doesn't repair at least one ball mark?  Why would you not forego naval-gazing, for a brief instant, to repair a ball mark?  The same people leave their hoof prints in bunkers and discard candy wrappers...insouciantly!

[Patch]

It also depends on how soft the  "  green is. I can make a ball mark with high flop shot of under 20 or so yards on some greens. Others I can hit from longer distances, and there is no mark what ever. 

Another problem is some folks don't know how to properly fix ball marks. They do more damage than fixing.

As for fixing them, I will fix as many as I have time for on each green. 

[chilepepper]

https://www.gcsaa.org/course/communication/informationforgolfers/repairing-ball-marks

 just takes a few seconds, I don't get why folks are oblivious to fixing marks. 

[colin007]

I think many casual golfers are more concerned with where their ball ends up then where it actually landed. This might be a difference in distance of 10 yards or so. They're so happy to have just hit the green that they excitedly go up to their ball and they forget all about the damage it made when it landed. I think these people should be exiled to the new dwarf ice planet that they discovered in the outer reaches of our solar system past Neptune. 

[bkuehn1952]

6 hours ago, CR McDivot said:

So... Whom is it that hits greens from 100 or more? Typically this is NOT the weekend hacker, rather the intermediate to better player.

Why are these supposedly more serious golfers leaving pitch marks all over the greens? Do they not know better... or are they so caught up in themselves that they overlook the common courtesy of repairing their pitch mark.

I think you under estimate the weekend hacker's ability.  My experience is unaware people come in all levels of ability and leave unrepaired ball marks.

[mcanadiens]

I know a few people that will forget their ball marks if you let them. Some are true hackers and some aren't.

One in particular, is a pretty good player that hits his share of greens. I've fixed his on more than a couple of occasions. I should probably grow a pair and point it out to him more often than I do.

[paininthenuts]

7 hours ago, CR McDivot said:

I think that if one realistically considers it, most pitch marks are made from 100 or more yards out. At least that is my experience, seldom do I find marks resulting from less than full swing shots.

So... Whom is it that hits greens from 100 or more? Typically this is NOT the weekend hacker, rather the intermediate to better player.

Why are these supposedly more serious golfers leaving pitch marks all over the greens? Do they not know better... or are they so caught up in themselves that they overlook the common courtesy of repairing their pitch mark.

I try to repair all my marks, and any other I find. Unfortunately, if the pitch mark has aged more than a few hours in this high desert climate repair won't do a whole lot.

You take the game seriously?

FIX YOUR DAMN MARK!

We have an "adopt a green scheme". Mine is hole four. The idea is that every time I play that hole, I look for and repair pitch marks

[DaveP043]

I'm another habitual pitch-mark fixer, and I'm often amazed at how many marks there are.  It just struck me that playing in carts (buggies), or even the use of trolleys, may be partially to blame.  If I'm walking and carrying my bag, I'm walking from the fairway to my ball, right over the green most times, so I walk right past my pitch mark.  Its easy to see, and obviously its easy to fix.  If you're coming onto the green from the side or the rear, the pitch mark may not be quite so evident.  This isn't meant as an excuse, a player should always look for his pitch mark and fix it, no matter how he's getting around the course.  But if the player doesn't walk right past it, they may not take the time to go look for it.

[Vinny Cap]

This get me a little steamed as well.

I remember when I first started playing golf and couldn't wait till I made a pitch mark that was mine so I could fix it.  My bud took a pic for me as I was all excited.  I generally have to fix at least two that always seem to be on my line putting.  I usually will fix two or three as others line up their putts on every hole.

I have played with others who watch me fix the marks and just sit there, looking at their mark and will not fix it... like I am the one to do it.  I have spoken up a few times to either go on deaf ears or have them play dumb like what, did I make that???

I have taught my son how to repair them and remember when he made his first one.  He was more excited than I was.

Not to go off topic but the foot draggers that tear up the greens and the people who spit sunflower seed all over the greens get me steamed as well. 

[Lefty-Golfer]

the guys are my club do a pretty good job of cleaning up after themselves, if you are playing the same course week after week or multiple times a week it is incredibly stupid not to. That being said when I go to public courses even most of the high end ones there seem to countless full blown holes from many people. I think it is just a matter of it you care or not and if people think it will have any impact or them in the future or not.

Fairway divots are kind of the same story.

[davechen]

Yeah, I always fix my ball marks and usually fix a number of them on every green.  It gives me a small bit of satisfaction knowing that I leave the course in a better condition than I found it.

Normally I play the public county courses in my area.  And, yeah, folks don't always fix their marks.  But I noticed that when I got to some of the more upscale courses, their ball mark problems are as bad or worse.  They ought to have better, more experienced golfers playing there, but there seem to be more unfixed marks.

[saevel25]

8 hours ago, CR McDivot said:

So... Whom is it that hits greens from 100 or more? Typically this is NOT the weekend hacker, rather the intermediate to better player.

You fail to consider that there are substantially more worse players than better players. 

Lets say that a the better players hit the green 20% more often than a worse player. If there are over 20% more worse players than better players than there would be more pitch marks done by the worse players just by volume instead of accuracy. 

 

[Grinde6]

It does amaze me at how many ball marks there are on the greens.  I played a couple warm up holes yesterday before league and I fixed 7...yes 7 very noticeable ball marks on one green while I was putting out.  At the course I play at the lake on the weekends I was seeing marks on a couple greens that looked like someone had a Odyssey Sabertooth putter and was slamming the back side into the green all the way off from the flag in the direction they were walking.  I saw this on 2 holes and then I drove up asking the groups in front of me if anyone had a Sabertooth putter, found it was 3 groups ahead of me and sure enough it was a Sabertooth putter and a early 20s guy.  Had a couple words with him, and didn't see it the rest of the round.  Ignorance and complete lack of respect on the course is something that irks me to no end.

To the OPs claim, I see it with all skillsets, not just the good golfers that don't fix their ball marks.  I think the better players actually fix their marks more, its the higher handicap golfers that don't because they aren't used to hitting the greens as much so its not a habit for them to be looking to fix a ball mark.

[DeadMan]

Yep, really annoying that people don't fix their ball marks. I always fix as many I can see and have time for on the green. Usually, that's at least 2 that I fix. I wish everybody would do this, or at least fix their own ball marks.

[rehmwa]

I usually fix a few each green if it's bad (and I grumble and bitch about the conditions).  If I leave my own mark I'm scanning for it as I'm proud I hit the green and I want to know how much rollout, etc I got - so it's good info.

Sometimes I'll also go grab a rake ofrom the bunker and move it around to that one side where there are no rakes at all (and yet three are piled all within a couple feet of each other at that one spot on the green side where my ball NEVER ends up near).

Not because I care, but because of the OCD, retentiveness, and the voices in my head.

[cutchemist42]

If I hit the green, Im then looking for 2 more to repair. If Im behind a slow group, I'll repair more even if I didnt hit the green. This is a suggestion our course posts.

[colin007]

Just a reminder, push the high side back into the middle, do NOT pull up from the center. That is the wrong way to fix it.