HZG Blog May? – The reason we score a golfing venue 8/10
Golf can be the reason you sleep easy on a night or drive past the local waste disposal site and feel like packing it all in after a terrible round. It does not matter if you are a scratch handicap golfer or 26. We all get one of these feelings.
Hole Zero Golf did a poll recently on LinkedIn and we simply asked, “What is the biggest frustration when it comes to your golfing venue” and the results are below,
Poor signage around the course – 14%
Broken tees on the tee box – 3%
Not repairing divots on green – 73%
Lack of litter bins – 9%
We do appreciate that Covid has happened and is still affecting venues in several ways but as we can see from the results, with close to three quarter of the vote, there is a clear winner. Pitch marks and Divots are the reason we drive away from the golf course or have a drink after the round and rate the venue 8/10. There have been 2 occasions in the last few months were divots and pitch markers have cause issues to two English golfers in golfing events both here in the UK and over in the US. One being Lee Westwood in The Arnold Palmer Invitational. His tee shot ended up in a divot in the fairway and possibility cost him the win. And more recently Richard Bland in The British Masters on the first playoff hole (thankfully it did not cost him the win) and we must say Congratulations to him.
The question however remains. How can we stop divots and pitch markers being such an issue to our round of golf? At Hole Zero Golf we belief there are 3 ways to help improve this issue which over 100 people feel is the most critical issue at a golfing venue.
1, Greenkeepers to role the greens each morning before play and delay tee offs so they can do the necessary repairs to the greens.
We work with many greenkeepers at Hole Zero Golf most of which are responsible for purchasing the equipment the course needs. They would love to spend more time on the greens but how much time should they spend on them?
2, Golf course and pro shops check that no golfer is allowed out on the course without a divot bag and pitch repairer.
Should venues give them out for free? One golf course in Nottinghamshire has, this means no excuses for golfers not repairing the damage they have done.
3, You as a golfer spend a little more time thinking of the course and replace a divot you or others have made on the fairway. Or make it a personal goal that you personally repair 2 pitch marks on the green.
Sit back and think about the venue you play golf at, let’s not ask “What’s the biggest frustration about a golfing venue” but what can I do to help them make the venue better for myself and others?
Does it really hurt to repair yours and one other pitch marker on the green? Would it be so hard to carry a divot bag on your golf trolley or cart? We all look on and marvel at the picturesque images of The Masters at Augusta. Let’s make the venue you play the best it can be.