Around the Course

Help keep are greens in tip top condition. Click here for a ballmark repair tutorial

How come we have so many ballmarks?
Ute Creek gets a solid amount of play, but beyond just shear number of rounds the golfers are made up of good players.  Better golfers hit more greens and make more ballmarks.

Ballmarks never seem to heal?
The older bentgrass is known throughout the industry to be “ballmark-y”.  Newer bentgrasses have a finer texture and more upright growth habit.  While these traits make for an excellent putting surface, it also means balls hitting the green do more damage and heals more slowly.  Ballmarks do heal, but how fast is very much dependent on how well it has been repaired.  Depending on the quality of repair, complete healing can vary from a few days to a few weeks.

What is the best way to repair a ballmark?
The best way to repair a ballmark is to make sure the remaining turf is pressed back together as close as possible.  A golfer should have the goal of leaving the smallest amount of soil showing, once the repair has been made.  There are many different tools you can use. You can even use your thumb to press the turf back toward the center as much as possible.  Whether one uses their thumb, a ballmark repair tool, golf tee, or the end of a putter, the goal is the same.  Pinch the turf back together as tight as possible.  A properly repaired ballmark can heal in as little as a few days.

A ballmark should never be repaired by ‘popping’ up the center of the mark.  A mark fixed in such a manner looks like Image 1 and will take a few weeks or more to properly heal.

Image 2 shows a ballmark repaired properly.  This ballmark is likely a few days old.  By pressing or pinching the turf back towards the middle, the existing plant material begins to regrow, and healing comes quite quickly.

Image 3 shows a properly repaired ballmark after about one week or so of healing.

Image 1                                                

Image 2

 Image 2