Ball Mark Repair after Renovations

I was out on the greens Sunday morning and was surprised to see how many unrepaired and incorrectly repaired ball marks were left from Saturday.
We know they were definitely only from Saturday as the greens were broomed late Friday and no marks were visible.

I was surprised because our members are normally very good, repairing there own and others.

some greens had up to 30 

a small section of 2 green

A timely reminder the greens are at their most susceptible to damage immediately after renovations during their recovery period.
The more damage caused during this time, the longer the recovery process so extra care on and around the green is critical at this time. 

An incorrectly repaired ball mark which would take 14 days to heal !!! 
In the course care section on this blog there is an instructional on how players can repair pitch marks correctly. see here

So on Sunday I spent a few hours repairing as I went around.

Here is a typical sunny side down ball mark
nasty little bugger 

When repairing I start at the back of the mark and push in.
Yes I am a greenkeeper, of course I have  pitch repair tool on my key ring !!

I proceed to push in from the sides
I once forgot it was on my key ring when visiting Parliment House Canberra.
Obviously security didn't play golf

All sides 
They did not believe me what the pitch repair repair tool was for. They thought I was trying to conceal and smuggle a small weapon.

I then push the front of the ball mark in 
it still looks ugly but wait there's more...

 I was detained for a short period, and asked some odd questions, just as it was getting hairy a senior guard  came by and as a Member of Gold Creek Golf course knew all to well what the pitch repairer was. 

Finally pat it down with your your putter, I wasn't playing so just used my foot.
an ugly pitch mark no more and will heal completely in a few hours. 

After a few sheepish looks I was allowed to leave but had my keys and pitch mark tool confiscated.
On leaving I collected them,  I have had my pitch repairer for 25 years 
My weapon of choice. It has seen a lot of action, probably more than it should.

Please repair your pitch marks!!

Moral of the story, there is no excuse not to carry and use a pitch repair tool wherever you play except maybe where security checks are likely, though I did score a free game at Gold Creek !

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