TST Member Review - Birdicorn Ball Mark Repair Tool

[saevel25]

Product Name: BIRDICORN DIVOT TOOL + BALL MARK
Product Type: Accessory
Product Website/URL: https://birdicorn.com
Cost: $22 

Ratings (out of 5):
Quality: 4/5
Value: 2/5
Effectiveness: See Below  
Durability: 4/5
Esthetic Appeal: 4/5

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My Member Review

Typically, I am not a fan of the pitch mark repair tools you find in the golf stores. They are usually clunky, and do a poor job fixing pitch marks. I was interested to see how the Birdicorn Divot Repair Tool would do.

The Birdicorn Divot Repair Tool has listed 7 features - Ball Mark Holder / Ball Mark Repair / Bottle Opener / Ball Line Stencil / Club & Cigar Rest / Putt Alignment Aid / Groove Cleaner. I will review each feature below. 

But first, I want to talk about the ball marker that came with the Birdicorn. The ball marker is about the size of a quarter in diameter, and about 1/16th of an inch thick. On the green, I find it slightly difficult to see it at longer distances. I prefer something with color that stands out more. That is probably my fault for not requesting a ball marker with the colored logo. 

  

Ball Mark Holder
The Birdiecorn Divot Tool has two magnets set into the aluminum. The two magnets do a good job in holding the ball marker in place, yet not overly strong enough to make it difficult to remove the ball marker. I don’t find the ball marker disengaging the divot tool while in my pocket. 

Ball Mark Repair
When choosing a ball mark repair tool, the design of the tines are the most important aspect. The typical design do an inadequate job at fixing a pitch mark. The proper design of the tines should be sharp, pointed, and narrow. The Birdiecorn Divot Tool’s design meets this criteria. In using the tool on the course, I found it does a good job in fixing pitch marks.

Bottle Opener
Personally, I wouldn’t use this feature. I hardly ever drink beer on the course. Honestly, I have a pretty good beer bottle opener on my keychain. Still, I tried this out at home on a pretty good Porter. 😁 I found it tricky to open up the bottle in one go. I believe the long edge of the tine makes it difficult for the tool to leverage the cap off the bottle.

Ball line Stencil
Compared to the ball alignment aids typically sold, this one produces a much thinner and shorter line. The tip of a permanent marker does not fit fully through the slot on the tool. So, unless you use a different color than the tool, you will be applying permanent ink to the tool every time you try to draw an alignment line.

Club & Cigar Rest
The notch on the top of the divot repair tool does a good job in holding the club up off the ground. I wouldn’t know about cigars, but I suspect that the top does not have an adequate width to balance the cigar on top.

Putt Alignment Aid
This for me is a stretch. I don’t use a line to line up the ball to begin with. Also, if someone is going to use this to help line up a putt, then why not just use the divot tool as the ball marker? 

Groove Cleaner
The Birdicorn does a decent job at cleaning out the groves on an iron. The tines are thin enough to get in the groove. In doing so, the paint on the tines wears off very quickly. I find it easier to clean the irons after every shot, or before every shot with my brush.

Overall, this is a high quality product made out of aluminum. To be honest, I probably could not buy this product because I do not think it does anything special that justifies the $22 dollar price. I have a really good divot repair tool that cost me about $5 dollars. Also, I've collected a few ball markers over the years from courses I've really enjoyed playing. I feel like this product does 3 things well. Repair pitch marks, act as a club rest, and clean the grooves of an iron. Only one of them I would use the Birdicorn for, fixing pitch marks.