A Michigan company called Inventive Engineering has come up with a better mousetrap divot tool ball mark repair tool. Unlike most on the market, it has short teeth, which is supposed to prevent the root damage that can result from a mark tool being embedded too deeply. An abutment just behind the teeth also helps to prevent it from being pushed too far. Another design feature: there’s a notch in the handle so that it can be used as a club rest.
The tool is manufactured in Michigan and Ohio from an incredibly lightweight, yet durable plastic (polycabonate). The targeted end use of the repair tool is as a promotional or fundraising product, so it’s sold in bulk and the company can put little stickers with your logo on the handle. The Better Divot Repair Tool is very reasonably priced—just .75 each in lots of 100. Buy 5,000 and your price drops to .25 each.
If you just want a couple, they’ll sell you four for the price of shipping and handling—$3.99. That’s a good deal.
I’ve been using mine for several weeks now, and—greens benefits aside—I find the best thing about it is that I don’t stab myself in the leg through my pocket, as sometimes happens with longer (and sharper) toothed tools. I’ve been thinking about getting several hundred made with a GolfBlogger logo sticker as a promotional giveaway.
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Hey, I’d *buy* one if it was a GolfBlogger ball mark repair tool!
More than a new tool, I need something to put in the water at my club so that people will actually make an effort. It isn’t because their tool is poor, it is because they are lazy.
Not fixing ball marks accumulates bad karma. Bad karma results in bad scores.
I have developed a preference for a somewhat heavier metal version for a repair tool versus a plastic or aluminum model. The light ones seems to not “dig” as well. The one I use came from a charity event at Grosse Ile and it is probably the oldest thing in my golf bag.
It is interesting that some courses seem to have many unrepaired marks while others have greens that are unscathed. Maintaining extremely firm greens will prevent many marks but it does make for a less than pleasing round of golf. I have noticed that at Detroit-area Metro Parks the volunteers go around with a long pole with a modified repair tool on the end (sort of a 4-pronged grabber). They periodically tour the greens and repair obvious pitch marks.
From casual observation it seems like the higher the greens fee, the more unrepaired ball marks. Perhaps people feel for $50 to $75 they should not be required to stoop over and fix their pitch marks.
BetterDivotRepair has evolved into Pocket Greenskeeper and is now using the “Hot Stamping” process for custom logos. This has dramatically reduced the cost for custom tools. Prices start as low as a quarter each including printing. Please go visit pocketgreenskeeper.com for more details. Thanks!