Why we must repair our pitchmarks!

Champ Flip Flix - comfortable to use

 
Having just returned from PGA Catalunya near Girona which recently staged the Spanish Open won by Thomas Levet, I was disappointed to see so many unrepaired pitchmarks in the otherwise immaculate greens.

As well as its own members, the Stadium course attracts many holiday golfers from around the world but few, it seems, are blessed in the art of pitchmark repair.

It shouldn't be the job of greens staff to tidy up after golfers at the end of a day's golf by replacing their divots and mending their pitchmarks but on every hole I found myself using my newly acquired Champ Flip Fix to repair at least half a dozen indentations from previous visitors to the greens.

Sadly it's part of the spin off of modern golf that buggies and trollies are directed to the backs of greens from which players emerge to mark their balls, overlooking the damage they cause at the front where their balls tend to pitch.

There's also a right and a wrong way to repair pitchmarks. And indeed, according to top referee John Paramor, players on the European Tour are schooled to lift the compressed turf back into position rather than dig the earth back on to the top.

Not only does this help the turf grow back and keeps the greens in pristine condition, it retains a smooth surface for the next player, keeps play moving and negates the need for unnecessary 'gardening' which may be misconstrued by the eagle-eyed TV viewer.

Flip Fix opens into a handy tool

My Champ Flip Fix, designed to take the effort out of repairing ball marks, is certainly effective, practical, durable and comfortable to use.

Numerous improvements to its original design have been introduced, including shorter and wider tapered prongs giving it added durability without compromising on its ability to slip effortlessly into the turf and the repair the deepest of ball impressions.

Made from tough aluminium with a protective anodised finish, the Flip Fix gets its name from the 'clam shell mobile phone-style' closure, which allows it to folds away neatly in to a pocket preventing the occasional sharp poke in the wrong place at the wrong time!

The Champ Flip Fix (9.99 from most pro shops) also boasts a magnetic ball marker attached to the back of the tool, which is customisable for engraving club emblems and company logos.

Courtesy of Champ, I've got THREE Flip Fix divot repair tools to give away to Golfmagic members who TELL US ON THE FORUM the best examples of what they as players do to maintain the pristine condition of their course (Closing date August 9).

For example at Stoke Rochford Golf Club, where i played this week, the greenkeeper leaves a collection of little bags of sand/seed mixture at certain points around the course for members and visitors to collect and carry out their own divot repairs as they go round. Receptacles are also positioned in which to dump the empty bags to be collected and re-filled later by the greens staff.