It\u2019s this time of year when we get reminded at just how big a problem they are.<\/p>\n
You may like<\/p>\n
The issue of pitch marks varies from club to club. I\u2019ve played a lot of golf in the UK<\/a> this year, however, including during a fairly wet autumn and early winter, and there\u2019s no doubt it\u2019s a widespread problem.<\/p>\n If you repair a pitch mark straight away, instead of leaving it to someone else (greenkeepers\/other players) it will start to recover within 24 hours.<\/p>\n If that indent is left unrepaired for 24 hours, however, it can take as long as three weeks to repair itself. During that time, a nasty-looking scar develops on the putting surface.<\/p>\n This, quite understandably, drives greenkeepers<\/a> and your fellow golfers mad.<\/p>\n The former are usually the first to get blamed when the greens aren\u2019t perfect. I\u2019ve seen many players throw their toys out of the pram after missing a short putt, directing their rage at the quality of the putting surface, of course.<\/p>\n We can and should be doing better. Most of the greenkeepers I\u2019ve chatted to this year have been pretty stretched. Although many will repair pitch marks, they don\u2019t always have the time. Really, they shouldn’t have to.<\/p>\n In short, don\u2019t point the finger at the greenkeepers. Are you guilty of not repairing pitch marks? Do you even carry a pitch mark repairer? Perhaps you do, but you\u2019re not repairing pitch marks correctly<\/a>, which can actually cause more harm than good.<\/p>\n WHO’S TO BLAME… AND WHAT SHOULD BE DONE? <\/p>\n \n Signage like this can help reduce the number of pitch marks golfers leave on the greens<\/p>\n (Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n What\u2019s the solution? One golfer, so enraged he was by the lack of green etiquette, told me the only solution was CCTV! Just joking about using such extreme measures highlights how difficult it is to find a solution.<\/p>\n Polite notices on the course help, as do email reminders to the membership, although they can lose their effectiveness. Golfers don’t tend to like being told off.<\/p>\n Could the pro\/shop assistant issue reminders? I can\u2019t recall ever being told by someone in the pro shop to be mindful of pitch marks.<\/p>\n Perhaps they\u2019re worried about how this might come across. I\u2019m not sure – I\u2019m kind of playing devil\u2019s advocate here.<\/p>\n \n There’s a right and wrong way to repair pitch marks, which we explain in the video above<\/p>\n (Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n Just recently, I played in a competition. I was in the third group off. Throughout the whole round, I found myself repairing pitch marks that had clearly been left by the two groups in front. What do you do?<\/p>\n I\u2019ll tell you what I did. Nothing. Swearing underneath my breath, I just repaired the damage and carried on. I would have emailed the secretary or spoken to the pro if I felt it would have done any good. It never does.<\/p>\n Perhaps I should have confronted the group in front? To be honest, I really don\u2019t like confrontation. Safer to moan to those in your own group!<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ZWzyh4Xx2tALmuzbDSge2J.jpg\")
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