What do you see in this picture?
Answer: Unrepaired Ball Marks. Just in this small picture you will see 5.
At the start of every season many superintendents have to talk about the amount of unrepaired ball marks they have on their course and how we have to keep letting the golfer know the proper way to fix them. Instead with this post I would like the share the WHY we need to fix them. I found a great article from GCSAA that talks about how long an unrepaired ball mark takes to recover. Here is a insert from that article:
The basis for ball mark repair and divot replacement is for competitive and agronomic reasons. Balls that land in unrepaired divots place a golfer at a disadvantage, just as having to putt over a ball mark. By leaving turf damaged (unrepaired), it becomes susceptible to disease and/or infestation of weeds, resulting in a lower quality of playing surface. This necessitates the need for attention by golf course superintendents and their staffs, thereby taking them away from more pressing duties. As a general rule, a ball mark repaired within 10 minutes will heal with a smooth surface within two to three days. An unrepaired ball mark may take as long as three weeks to heal, but the result will be an uneven surface.
As you can see if you can replace your ball mark within 10 mins of it happening that mark will heal in 2-3 days. On the other end as you see in the photo these can possible take up to 3 weeks to repair itself.
Have a great day at Minor Park and please repair your ball marks. It makes for a more enjoyable round of golf for yourself and allows myself and my staff time to work on other things to keep Minor Park looking the best that it can be.
Also just a reminder that we will be starting Aerification on Aril 4th and 5th.
