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Not repairing ball marks

SirShives

SirShives

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High Point, NC
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I’m hoping someone here can help me understand the mentality of the golfer who refuses to repair their ball mark on the green. I played my local muni last night and the amount of unrepaired ball marks was absurd. I was fixing 3 or 4 marks in the immediate area of my ball on almost every green. This course keeps the greens soft and slow, so some of the greens are significantly pock marked.

What are these golfers thinking? Are they just that discourteous? Think they didn’t make the marks? Blind? I assume these are the same people I encounter around town who don’t use their turn signals.

Anyway, rant over.
 
SirShives said:
I’m hoping someone here can help me understand the mentality of the golfer who refuses to repair their ball mark on the green. I played my local muni last night and the amount of unrepaired ball marks was absurd. I was fixing 3 or 4 marks in the immediate area of my ball on almost every green. This course keeps the greens soft and slow, so some of the greens are significantly pock marked.

What are these golfers thinking? Are they just that discourteous? Think they didn’t make the marks? Blind? I assume these are the same people I encounter around town who don’t use their turn signals.

Anyway, rant over.
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You hit some of the right reasons. I'd add rude, entitled, and lazy.
 
I think it is a multitude of things in play here and isn’t a new issue. One people are lazy and feel if I don’t fix it the next golfer will. Two, depending on the course private vs public, some golfers don’t understand or may not know they are suppose to fix (new golfers). Three, golfer forgot his divot tool back at the cart or doesn’t have one.

Either way it drives me nuts and is a pet peeve of mine. Luckily golfers at my club take respect in keeping our greens in good condition.


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Lazy and they basically don't give a damn. Same reason why 80% or so of the people where I play don't rake bunkers despite their being plenty of rakes staring them in the face.
 
Everyone hit on it already, just lazy.
 
There's really no reason for it other than what has already been said. Anytime I see that it reminds me of a video we had to watch in high school golf called Signs of the Ignorant Golfer. It was super cheesy but I think of it all the time when I see something like that.
 
The LPGA plays a tournament at the club I grew up playing each year. A year or two ago, I got to play the following week. The amount of unfixed divots in the landing area of one hole was insane, and the green was no better. So many ball marks.

The amount of times I have played that course I had never seen it like that. I even commented to my dad about it, and he reminded me that the ladies just played there. I couldn’t believe that the players at that level did that.
 
SirShives said:
I’m hoping someone here can help me understand the mentality of the golfer who refuses to repair their ball mark on the green. I played my local muni last night and the amount of unrepaired ball marks was absurd. I was fixing 3 or 4 marks in the immediate area of my ball on almost every green. This course keeps the greens soft and slow, so some of the greens are significantly pock marked.

What are these golfers thinking? Are they just that discourteous? Think they didn’t make the marks? Blind? I assume these are the same people I encounter around town who don’t use their turn signals.

Anyway, rant over.
Click to expand...

it's either pure laziness or pure ignorance.... and I am not sure which one bothers me more, honestly.

I look at it as a complete disrespect for golfers and the golf course. Kind of like taking a massive divot in the fairway and not replacing it. Absolutely not cool.
 
Massive problem and the single biggest disappointment I noticed returning to golf 5 years ago. I took a 19 year hiatus before returning and the unfixed ball mark problem absolutely exploded over that time frame. They were a 'some times' issue way back in the day, a couple marks maybe on the worst holes. Now every green is far far worse than anything you'd see back then.
 
It’s either disrespect for the game, laziness or just plain ignorance. I am constantly fixing other people’s ball marks and it drives me nuts that do many are left unfixed.
 
Canadan said:
it's either pure laziness or pure ignorance.... and I am not sure which one bothers me more, honestly.

I look at it as a complete disrespect for golfers and the golf course. Kind of like taking a massive divot in the fairway and not replacing it. Absolutely not cool.
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I think I honestly see this more than ball marks these days.


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And a bigger problem is that people do not know how to fix them correctly. I see people digging in and pulling backward and up and I just cringe.
The only thing worse than an unfixed ball Mark is an improperly fixed ball mark


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This is common where I play as well and god forbid if you play after a charity scramble... two words, muni, public. Lol
 
... MUCH more selfishness than ignorance. I see these same golfers driving their carts 5 feet off the tee box and greens, saving themselves a few steps but destroying the grass. Not sure which frustrates me more, selfish young guys in shape that are doing it or lazy older fat guys that are doing it. I called out an older fat guy that was a decent golfer in Phoenix last winter that actually complained about the bumpy greens and his response was "well there are so many it just doesn't make any difference if I fix mine". I said well there's your answer right there. If everyone fixed their own ball mark and just one more, we wouldn't have a problem. What really amazes me is players watching me fix mine and a few others and still never fix any.
 
The reasons already have been given, but I have a rule that I fix mine, plus two others. At least those of us who truly love the game can try to make a difference.
 
A lot of it is selfishness and ignorance. However, at my home course a LOT of elderly folks play. Many of them simply struggle to bend down to fix a pitch mark.
 
Depending on the course it usually comes down to ignorance and laziness.

Ignorance of new golfers and laziness of experienced golfers.

The number of people that I've played with who dont have a pitch tool and then assume they cant fix a ball mark is kinda staggering.
 
Not repairing ball marks

The group I played 18 with none of them fixed their marks , so I did it for the group. Totally unbelievable, what can we do. Thought them seeing me repairing would shift them into repairing the marks , but no such luck


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I always hunt my ball mark, and likely don't always make one, depending on firmness. That said, I always fix my mark and as many as I can find that I can fix w/o holding up the pace of play. The sad fact is though, the longer a ballmark sits unrepaired, the less viable becomes that little area for recovery.
 
Like the OP my local executive course greens are soft and slow, the amount of ball damage is appalling.
Last night I started on the 4th hole to avoid slow play, I repaired 3-4 marks on every green. When I finished on 18 I joined a three some of yutes for the last three holes. I repaired my mark, their marks and a few extra to the point where I made them wait while I was working. I can’t say they noticed much less cared what I was doing.

If there is an afterlife I wish to haunt greens, thumping every A-hole that doesn’t repair their mark upside the head.
 
It's really frustrating. I think a lot of people don't realize they are supposed to fix the ball marks. Goes along with the other things people don't think about when golfing. It's an education thing, IMO.

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I wonder if there is a correlation between people who don't fix ball marks and people who don't rake traps.
 
It is super annoying and lazy. I fixed ball marks the whole round today.
 
SirShives said:
I’m hoping someone here can help me understand the mentality of the golfer who refuses to repair their ball mark on the green. I played my local muni last night and the amount of unrepaired ball marks was absurd. I was fixing 3 or 4 marks in the immediate area of my ball on almost every green. This course keeps the greens soft and slow, so some of the greens are significantly pock marked.

What are these golfers thinking? Are they just that discourteous? Think they didn’t make the marks? Blind? I assume these are the same people I encounter around town who don’t use their turn signals.

Anyway, rant over.
Click to expand...

Go to their homes and you'll probably get a lot of answers.
 
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