Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Ballmark Repair

This is a great topic because it affects everyone equally.  Instead of getting into the mystery of why ballmarks don't get fixed, I'd like focus on how to fix ballmarks properly.  If we can get everyone who is trying to fix them, to fix them correctly, it would be a cost-free step up in greens quality.  The player that doesn't fix their mark needs to be helped to understand that they're hurting the fun for everyone else by not taking care. Even if you can't find your own mark, fix two others you do find.   And they're there to find -- the average number of marks repaired, per green, by our greens mowing crew is 10-15.  That's daily, and that's too many.  Recovery time for a properly fixed ballmark is about 3 days. Improperly fixed marks last for weeks.

There are a few different ways to fix a ballmark.  The method I recommend is the one that promotes the quickest recovery. Sometimes learning to do something a new way after years of thinking you were doing it correctly is tough. So, in lieu of not being able to go out and explain the hows-and-whys to all 300+ members, I've harnessed the powers of youtube and ask only that you watch and listen.  If there's anything you take away from these videos, let it be that even if you still do it wrong, at least fix your mark and one other.  





No comments: