Repair those pitchmarks.....

[Andy_79]

....guys.

Even if you don't hit the green, repairing one or two will greatly increase the chances of you playing on smoother putting surfaces in the forthcoming weeks.

It really disappoints me seeing fellow members not adhering to the rule of repairing ball marks on greens. I think everyone should repair their own PLUS a minimum of one other every time they reach the putting surface. It is the first thing you should do when you approach the putting surface, imo - reach into your pocket, repair, and carefully tap down and level off the repaired plug mark.

Opinions...?

Thanks for your time

[Andy_79]

A guy in our club told me today that he repaired 120 pitchmarks when he was playing on our No. 2 course today in the NINE holes he played. Now I ain't sure he counted them, but if it was anywhere NEAR that specified number, it is an alarming figure, and so something has to be done to combat it.

Would you guys challenge a playing partner if he were to wander past his plug mark without repairing it, or even attempting to look for it >? I sure as hell would, and am going to make a point of making sure everyone playing with me in future repairs their own plus another.

Thanks again

[DaveE]

The guys in my regular group fix extra marks all the time. Our course is semi-private and I think that is the root of the problem. Some people who aren't thinking about coming back don't care how they leave the course.

[SiberianDVM]

Well, if I ever hit the green with an approach or wedge shot, I promise to repair my ballmark. After my usual 6 shots to the green, and before my 4 putts, I don't have time to go searching for strays.

[The master]

At out club some foruball sponsors a green, and it is there task to repair all the pitchmarks on that green, not that people shouldn't be repairing them in the firt place.

[Witmaster]

I always repair my pitchmarks and inevitably, a couple others as well. Most of the time the greens aren't too bad around here but it never hurts to help in the efforts to keep the greens clean and flat.

[Davebud]

The course I play on is in fairly good shape, I rarely see pitch marks on the green other than the ones I put there. Now I thinkthere is a good reason for that, it rains once in a while up here in Washington State. So those of us out there playing know that anytime we get one on the green its going to plug, or at least try, at least during the winter. I think that motivates every body to take care of the course.

[Rockford35]

I'm with Davebud here, our courses are usually in fantastic shape when it comes to divots and ball marks. We have a pretty educated and courteous golfing mentality around these parts, it's very rare to see more than a couple of ball marks on a green.

I always fix mine plus one other. And sometimes, I really have to search for one as almost everyone fixes them.

The teeboxes, on the other hand, are another story. Almost no one fixes their divots there. Fairways, yes, teebox, no. No fill, no attempt. Pisses me off to no end.

R35

[Eracer]

AMEN AMEN AMEN. Although I do think that repairing 120 pitchmarks in a round might slow up play just a bit. That sounds a bit obsessive to me.

As far as my regular playing partners go, I've given them each a nice combination repair tool / magnetic ball marker as a gift. And if they forget to fix their marks, I casually take care of it, politely saying "I'll get that for you".

If I'm playing with people I don't know, I'll just fix two or three marks on each green, tap down their spike marks (if they make them) and keep my mouth shut. They either get it, or they don't, and unless they are especially destructive, there is little point in causing a scene.

[Andy_79]

Originally Posted by Eracer

AMEN AMEN AMEN. Although I do think that repairing 120 pitchmarks in a round might slow up play just a bit. That sounds a bit obsessive to me.

As far as my regular playing partners go, I've given them each a nice combination repair tool / magnetic ball marker as a gift. And if they forget to fix their marks, I casually take care of it, politely saying "I'll get that for you".

If I'm playing with people I don't know, I'll just fix two or three marks on each green, tap down their spike marks (if they make them) and keep my mouth shut. They either get it, or they don't, and unless they are especially destructive, there is little point in causing a scene.

Agree it sounds obsessive, but there weren't many out on that particular day, so he wasn't holding anyone back when repairing away.

The same guy used to be a member of Balmoral, T'Master, and he was saying that they did the same thing there. Great idea, imo.

I would act the same way as you would in that situation, Eracer and try to put the message across in that more subtle way, but if they refused to "get me" and not repair / take pride in the course like they ought to, I would politely (but sternly enough at the same time) encourage them to begin repairing.

We have three courses at our club - 3 X 18 holes.

One of the courses is a par 64, and one for the less-experienced player, perhaps. It also attracts hoardes of societies & hacker-types who have very little good golfing ettiquete.

Another is the Riverside; a challenging enough par 68 course. This is very popular again, but pitchmarks here in particular are a worrying issue. This is where this gentleman repaired what he counted to be 120 in just 9 holes.

The Strand Course - our jewel in the crown, if you like, is littered with the things somewhat, too. I think that with the shortened winter course, and the fact that we use tee pegs on the fairways during the winter period, a higher percentage of golfers are now hitting the green, and so it is becoming more of a problem.

It really disappoints me to see people not taking pride in the course.

[Eracer]

I agree Andy - I've always said that I'll play anytime, with anybody, as long as they know how to play the game. And by that I mean I don't care whether they're a 5 handicap or a 35 handicap; if they keep up the pace of play without rushing, fix divots and pitch marks, and generally respect the game, the course and fellow players, I'm happy to have a game with them.

I certainly didn't mean to slight the fellow who repaired 120 pitch marks. Maybe he should study to become a greenskeeper, eh?

[Andy_79]

He's having a party for his 60th birthday tonight in the club, so somehow I doubt he'll be learning the g/keeping trade............

[token_hottie]

For those of us that don't know better (I may be the only one)... is there a good book/website with basic golfing etiquette that someone could recommend?

[P_102]

Public courses will always have the biggest problem and the easier they are, the more the problem will occur.

I played the local "Tour 18" weekly until their special went away and it was the worst I'd ever seen. A large percentage of their business is corporate outings, those are the worst things in the world! Anyway, the entire course was/is beautiful except the greens, they look like they've been pepperd w/ land mines....literally hundreds of ball marks, spike marks, etc....

Yes to all above, fix yours and at least 1 other. There's always time to do this while waiting to putt, etc..

P_102

[Eracer]

Originally Posted by token_hottie

For those of us that don't know better (I may be the only one)... is there a good book/website with basic golfing etiquette that someone could recommend?

http://golf.about.com/cs/beginnersgu...fetiquette.htm
http://www.mrgolf.com/primer.html
http://www.learnaboutgolf.com/beginner/etiquette.html

That should be enough to get you started.