This won't need much introduction. I think we all hate going to a golf course and not finding a spot on a par five tee box to hit because there are so many unfilled divots. Have you ever been on a green, and your ball bounces because someone didn't fix a divot? We all hate that. We all hate when the course isn't in good shape, there is trash on the golf course, and the bunkers aren't raked. It SUCKS! But it all starts to get better with YOU. You need to leave the golf course in much better shape than it was when you got there.
The Beauty of Golf
One of the best things about golf is being outside in Nature. Golf courses are beautiful places. You get out into Nature, and it is an excellent mix of Nature and humankind that shaped the golf course. One thing that kills that vibe is trash on the course and being in bad shape. It ruins it for everyone that is going to play. Do your part. When you see trash on the golf course, pick it up and throw it away. Don't litter on the golf course; it ruins the experience for everyone on the course and everyone who will play the course in the future. Move broken tees off the tee box, sand your divots, fix your pitch marks. These things can help other players have a great experience at the golf course. These things are essential to growing the game as we all want to do. Golf is a great game, and we want more and more people to start playing it!
Range Tee
Have you ever gone to a range, and there is nowhere to hit in an entire spot? You finally get a range spot, and one person tore it up and made it unusable for the rest of the day? It is super annoying, be part of the fix and use divot lines. So hit a shot, then place the ball at the very back of the divot on the first bit of grass, and hit another shot. Keep going like this all the way back in a line. Then when you are ready to start a new set, move over 2 inches and start a new line. Do this every time you are at a range, and you will leave it in much better shape and way more usable for everyone else. Also, if there is sand on the range, go ahead and fill up your divot line so that it grows back even and faster! That way, the range can go back to that line sooner! Oh! And if you need to be more efficient on the range, go ahead and purchase a CTRL Swing Master Training aid! Then you can spend less time on the range and still get much better!
Tee Boxes
Tee boxes are one of the most manicured parts of the golf course. They are like that for a reason; the first thing you interact with on each hole is the tee box, so making sure that they are in great shape helps make a hole a great golf hole. They are also some of the worst spots on the golf course because they aren't taken care of. They can have tons of broken tees and trash, beer cans, drink cups; all of these get left on the tee. Par three tees are amongst the worst! They always have broken tees, filled with divots, and never sanded. We have all stepped up to a par-3 tee box, and there is just nowhere to hit from because of all the divots. The way to fix that is to sand your divots every time you hit, but don't just sand your divot, sand two or three more divots on the tee box to make sure that the grass grows back faster and level.
Fairway
One of the worst things that can happen after you bomb a drive right down the middle (see the CTRL Swing Master training aid for help on that) and you get up to the ball, and it is sitting in an unfilled divot. There is not much that pisses me off more than my ball ending up in a divot when I hit it down the middle, and I get penalized for it. So, when you hit a shot from the fairway and take a divot, go ahead and sand that bad boy. While you are at it, go ahead and sand a couple more divots so that the fairway gets back to pristine condition faster.
Bunkers
Many golfers hate bunkers; you know what is worse than hitting a ball into the bunker? When you land in a footprint in that bunker. (For help not hitting it into bunkers, CTRL Swing Master training aid!) Bunkers are hard enough to judge without dealing with someone else's footprints, making it even harder. There are rakes for a reason. Instead of leaving footprints and ruining someone else's round, go ahead and rake the bunker, rake some extra footprints while you are in there, don't half-ass it, do it right. Go ahead and leave the bunker in good condition to be usable for everyone.
Greens
Here is another simple and easy way to ensure the course is playable for everyone. Take care of the greens. If you make a mark with your cleats, fix it. If you leave a pitch mark, fix it. Find a couple extra pitch marks and fix those too! If you find yourself not making pitch marks because you don't hit the greens, purchase a CTRL Swing Master training aid to help you hit more greens. Once you hit more greens, you can fix your pitch marks more often! The key to fast, fun greens is to fix your pitch marks and other pitch marks on the greens so that they are smooth for you and everyone else!
Sanding Divots
Believe it or not, there is a proper way to sand divots. When you sand a divot, you want to fill it with sand, then level it out with your foot. You want the sand to go to grass height so that the ground grows back to level. The most important thing about sanding a divot is getting the grass to grow back level! See the pictures below; the first divot is too much sand and needs to be leveled out! The second picture is how it should look, leveled out with the ground to grow back correctly.
Fixing Pitch Marks
Fixing your pitch marks on the green is the same way. There is a correct way to do it that most people don't know. The way to fix a pitch mark is to push the sides towards the middle to even out the green, do not push your repair tool into the ground, then push up. That will actually kill the grass right there because you are destroying the root system. Instead, you want to push the walls of the divot in towards the center, then tap down with your putter. Please see the image below. Please remember if you want more practice fixing divots, go ahead and purchase the CTRL Swing Master training aid to start hitting more greens and get more practice fixing pitch marks!
