Dear Members,
With stage two of our green’s replacement program now complete and the opening of our 6 new greens on Saturday 18 November it is timely to remind each and every member’s obligation to look after all our greens, especially the new ones.
When you play your golf ball into a green and leave a pitch mark it must be repaired as soon as possible using a pitch mark repair tool. These tools are available in the pro shop for $2 and every player should carry a repair tool at all times.
Please follow the helpful points below which will help everyone repair pitch marks correctly, in turn keeping our greens rolling as smoothly as possible.
The CORRECT Way To Repair A Pitch Mark Is:
- Insert your repair tool just outside the back of the ball mark. Pull the turf towards the centre of the hole. Repeat this same motion on all sides of the hole.
- Gently tap the repaired area with you putter.
- This action stretches undamaged turf over the ball mark providing instant recovery.
The INCORRECT Way To Repair A Pitch Mark Is:
- DO NOT pry up the centre of the depression with repair tool as it exposes the soil and will delay the healing process.
- DO NOT insert repair tool and twist it. This only breaks more turf loose.
- A Pitch Mark takes only 15-30 seconds to fix correctly, a Pitch Mark in-correctly repaired takes over 3 weeks to heal.
PLEASE DO IT THE CORRECT WAY FIRST
Other useful tips:
- If your pitch mark has actually displaced a piece of turf, do not replace it. Just work around the edges with your repair tool as normal. Any replaced turf will simply die, delaying the healing process.
- Pushing the tines of your repair tool under the indented area and levering up only damages the root system.
- You should not only always repair your pitch marks, but, time permitting, you should repair any other ball marks you see, too.
Happy golfing
Nigel Williams
Director of Course
