Ballmarks and Beers - January 23rd @ 2:00

As your golf course superintendent I invite you to join me this coming Thursday, January 23rd at 2:00 for "Ballmarks and Beers." We will meet by the practice putting green at 2:00 and proceed to the first green in golf carts. I will demonstrate the proper technique for repairing ballmarks on our greens. Following the demonstration we will proceed throughout the golf course repairing ballmarks and making our golf course better. There will be refreshments served and I promise we will have fun! The more volunteers we have, the faster the work will go. There is a sign up sheet in the golf shop to help facilitate planning.

See you Thursday!
Kevin Sunderman
Isla Del Sol Golf Course Superintendent

How to Properly Repair Ballmarks and Divots

Every winter we notice an increased number of ballmarks on the putting greens and divots in the fairways. There are a few reasons for why this is. First, we have an increased number of players. We are much busier in the winter months. More rounds = more wear and tear on the golf course including ballmarks and divots. 

Secondly, the grass grows much slower in the winter than summer. In summer, the grass is growing so quickly that even unrepaired ballmarks can recover within a few days! In the winter it can take a month or longer.

While it is important to repair ballmarks, it is equally important to do it correctly and right away. So often golfers use their repair tools to "Pop" the soil up when repairing the ballmark. This is incorrect. The popping motion just brings soil to the surface as opposed actually repairing the ballmark. Instead, the grass surrounding the ballmark needs to be gently pulled or twisted back over the depression left by the ball impacting the green. 

Not only is it important to repair a ballmark correctly, it is also vital to make the repair as soon as possible. A promptly repaired ballmark will be unnoticeable within a few days. A ballmark left unrepaired for even just a few hours can take 30 days or more to disappear. 

In the following video I explain the desired method for repairing ballmarks and filling divots. The video can be found by clicking this link.  www.youtube/IslaBallmarkRepair.com

 Stay tuned for upcoming messages including:

• Ballmarks and Beers event scheduled for January 23rd!
• NEW!!! Adopt-a-hole program
• Explanations of cart traffic control
• Proper bunker etiquette 

For additional information and videos regarding proper techniques for ballmark repair, you can visit here: https://www.usga.org/repairing-ball-marks