Repair Your Pitch Marks, Please

I don't know how badly the golf world needs one, but there's a new pitch mark tool on the market. It's The Twister from Pitchfix, which the company says makes repairing ball marks easy while helping reduce damage caused by some other repair tools.

The Twister’s patent pending technology features three retractable metal prongs that are safe to store for golfers. The product comes in eight different color combinations, can be custom-produced for promotional gifts and corporate branding, and retails for just under $17.

According to Pitchfix, when ball marks are repaired with traditional pitch forks, the root structure of the grass can be torn which creates an air pocket under the mark. They also can leave compacted soil at the surface, making it difficult for the grass to regenerate and heal.

Pitchfix’s patented technology allows Twister to work differently. Says the company: the golfer simply pushes it in and out of the affected area, restoring the ground and relieving compaction simultaneously.  This quick and simple procedure, according to Pitchfix, results in better repairs that recover quickly, making it virtually impossible to do damage with the tool.

“Reports indicate that the average golfer leaves about 12 ball marks during a typical round of golf,” says Bart Fokke, Vice President of Pitchfix USA and Canada.  “That can result in more than 700,000 ball marks per year on an average golf course. Add to that the players who do not repair their ball marks and the high percentage of improper repair from conventional two prong divot tools, and the potential maintenance savings with Twister could be as much as ten percent.”

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf