Northwood Golf Club
27th May 2022 Newsletter
Dear {FORENAME}
Pitch marks and divots are a gripe for most golfers and yet many of us make the same repair mistakes. Read on for five tips to help put us all on a level playing field…
Refill with removed grass
Divots come in many shapes and sizes, and if the lawn you’ve lifted stays intact, your repair job becomes significantly easier. Once you’ve found the offending patch of grass, place it back where it came from so that all gaps are filled. Use the heel of your shoe to push down on the grass and secure it in place.
Push your repair fork
Many golfers make the mistake of lifting back on their repair fork. In fact, you should insert the fork at a 45-degree angle behind the pitch mark and push into the centre of the hole. Work your way around the hole in this way and you’ll notice the grass starting to cover the exposed soil. Gently walk over the repaired area and the pitch mark should repair within three days.
Use sand to fill the gaps
If you’re unlucky enough to lift a chunk of grass from a hole and find it instantly falls apart, your best bet is to use a sand mixture to repair the damage. Golf courses will often supply a combination of fast-growing grass seed with sand to improve seed-to-soil contact. Fill the mixture just below the height of the grass and level with the floor of the green. Smooth everything over with your putter or by gently stepping on the affected area.
Look for others’ divots
We’ve all suffered the frustration of a divot or pitch mark and many of us will claim that we always repair the damage we make to a hole. So something doesn’t add up. The most helpful approach is to look out for markings left by other players. Responsible players will always look to repair their own divots and pitch marks and those made by others. A golfing karma we can all benefit from.
Check for pitch marks away from your ball
We tend to look for pitch marks close to where a ball becomes stationary, and with good reason. If the trajectory of the ball causes a mini crater you can expect its speed to dramatically decrease. However, this thinking can see you overlooking pitch marks. When you consider wind and declines, shots can travel a fair distance from their initial point of impact. Be sure that you look back to spot any inconspicuous indentations.
Bunker Discipline
There is nothing more frustrating than hitting a ball into the bunker and finding upon arrival your ball sitting at the bottom of someone else’s divot.
Someone else’s laziness and disregard for proper etiquette is likely to cost you strokes and increase your blood pressure.
To ensure you don’t arouse someone’s ire, always try to follow the unwritten rules of golf, essential if you want to be thought of as a considerate player.
When to rake
Because bunkers are classed as hazards, golfers cannot test the condition of the sand before hitting a shot. This means if a golfer enters a bunker to find thousands of footprints, they can’t do anything about them until they hit their own shot. The only time a golfer can rake smooth a bunker they are unfortunate to be trapped in is after they play their shot. After the shot has been played, the golfer should use a rake to smooth the sand in preparation for golfers following behind.
Sometimes golfers will find the bunker they are in has no rake. If they can’t find one nearby they should not abandon their attempts to smooth the sand out. Golfers can smooth the sand out after they play their shot with either the feet or club. Using the feet is often easier because they are bigger than the club head. Golfers should remember to smooth the sand and walk backwards out of a bunker to avoid adding extra footprints. This method might take a few minutes longer but will gain plaudits from whoever visits the bunker next.
How to rake
The very best bunkers have an even amount of sand in them. This helps avoid having deep sand in some parts of the bunker and shallow sand in other parts of the bunker.
Keeping the sand level throughout the bunker also helps ensure a ‘false lip’ is not created. This is when the sand is raked towards the front or back of the bunker disproportionately, building up either the front or back lip of the bunker. To help stop this from happening, golfers should rake sand into the middle of the bunker. This will help ensure the sand is evenly spread and help avoid any false lips being created.
When possible, golfers should also rake over footprints moving backward and out of the bunker at the lowest point possible, this will help avoid damage to the bunker.
Bunkers are frustrating places to visit but by following the correct rules and etiquette, golfers can help themselves and others escape and boost their own standing amongst fellow members and playing partners as a considerate player.
On complation of raking the bunker please leave the rake half in and half out of the bunker facing at the direction of the hole as this makes it easier for the next person to pick it up.
Thank you.
Regards
Iain Trotter
Club Steward
Created by intelligentgolf version 10.1.2.
