The Problem With Tradition Divot Tools
When a player or the grounds crew sees a ball mark they will attempt to repair it. A ball mark is “repaired” when the player takes their traditional divot tool and stabs, lifts and twists the dented grass and earth around the ball mark so that the green looks even and flat.
Most golfers and superintendents believe that a repaired ball mark will heal in 24-48 hours. Not true. A study completed by Kansas state university found that ball marks repaired with a traditional divot tool and traditional techniques cause more damage than repair.
The truth about repaired ball marks
Even though most players and superintendents believe that ball marks heal quickly, research show that it actually takes over 38 days for all measurable obstacles (depth, diameter, and texture) created by an improperly repaired ball mark to disappear versus 20 days for an unrepaired ball mark . . . over two weeks longer!
During the course of those 38 days, the ball mark repaired with the traditional divot tool and the technique used by most golfers was deeper, larger and worse texture than all other ball marks.
Therefore, improperly repaired ball marks on each green at the end of 38 days could number over 5,000 visible and hidden obstacles to putting AND entry points for pests, weeds and disease.