DIVOT REPAIR ETIQUETTE - ARE YOU DOING IT RIGHT? (OR AT ALL?)

THIS BLOG ENTRY IS FROM THE USGA GREEN SECTION RECORD, April 15, 2011

Repairing Divots - Are You Doing It The Right Way?


by the Green Section Staff


Overfilling does more harm than good.

Q: There seems to be confusion among the membership about how much divot mix should be used to fill fairway divots. Is there a proper amount? (Missouri)



A: The proper amount of divot mix (usually sand or a mixture comprised primarily of sand) is surprisingly small because it should be only the amount needed to replace the soil that was removed. Filling divot level higher than the existing playing surface, i.e. turfgrass canopy, is overfilling. Not only is this a waste of divot mix, but the extra sand will slow turfgrass recovery because seedlings and/or lateral regenerative growth of surrounding vegetation will be scalped by mowers. This leads to the second problem when divots are overfilled because sand particles dull and damage mower blades.



Link to USGA animation on divot etiquette

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