The best ball-mark repair technique you’ve never tried? A superintendent demonstrates
Usually, repairing a ball mark involves three steps: locating the mark, lifting the turf flap and replacing it, then stomping down to get it back to its natural level.
But that commonly leaves a ripple effect around the repaired area, a telltale sign of a previous ball mark, said Chris Hartwiger, Ph.D., North Carolina State University’s turfgrass extension specialist and a professor of crop science.
His better technique involves one fewer step: Don’t lift that flap.
Instead, take a twist-repair tool, available in any pro shop, and tilt the two prongs under the lip on one side. Engage the lip with the prongs, and then tap the top of the tool with the bottom of a putter. This will move the lip and fill in the hole, and eliminates the ripple effect of traditional ball-mark repair.
