Refilling divots as a walking golfer

[Ranchobob]

When I remember, I'll grab a bottle of divot mix and toss it into my push card so I can fix divots.  If I was really on it, I'd need about 9 of them and could fill my divots plus others at the rate of one bottle per two holes.  Yay public golf.

 

Been thinking about ordering a bottle that attaches to my cart, but then wondering what I should fill it with since I play at different courses with different grasses. 

 

Would just fine sand be good enough?  That's what I seem to usually see when I'm playing. 

[TourSpoon]

Why wouldn't you fill it with what the course uses for the buckets on their carts? 

[Ranchobob]

Only iss

31 minutes ago, TourSpoon said:

Why wouldn't you fill it with what the course uses for the buckets on their carts? 

Just an issue with dumping the fill when I play a different course.  I play different courses in rotation around here all the time.  

[iacas]

Just dump what you have left on the 17th and 18th holes. I'm sure you could find some places to fill some divots or something.

[Dr.Frankenputz]

I’ve got a bottle that attaches to my pushcart. If I’m walking at a course other than my home course I’ll ask the bag drop guys if they can either top me off or change it if they prefer. If it’s somewhere without someone at the bag drop or near the first hole I assume they’re ok with my course’s sand/seed mix. 

[rogolf]

42 minutes ago, iacas said:

Just dump what you have left on the 17th and 18th holes. I'm sure you could find some places to fill some divots or something.

We had a "local rule" amongst our groups that if you finished 18 with any sand left in your bottle, it was a two stroke penalty! 🙂

[bluedot]

I can promise you that the Super at any public course you play is not going to care what sand/divot mix you are putting in divots; he is very likely to be thrilled that you care enough to put anything in a divot.  You’ll be among a VERY small number of people.
 

The only exception to this would be places that use a green mix of sand and fertilizer or just green colored sand, and if that’s the case, I don’t think you’ll have a hard time finding the mix and filling a bottle.

 

Filling divots is about providing a better growing environment, and pretty much any sand will do for that.  Not for bunkers, of course, but fine for divots.  
 

One other note on filling divots; don’t overfill them to above the level of the surrounding grass.  That will dull mower blades, and it doesn’t add anything to the growing environment anyway.  Lots of golfers mistakenly think that filling divots is about immediately providing a better playing surface, which isn’t the case; it’s about helping the grass recover as quickly as possible, and that’s done down at the level of the root/runners, not the surface.

[larrybud]

Why not just take one of the bottles that course provides, and return it when done?

 

I designed a 3d printable bracket for my pushcart to hold the bottle at my club. Works great.

[mshills]

If I’m carrying, I replace my divots — if there’s anything left of them, since I don’t take Woosnam-style divots any more. I use the sand mix on par 3 tee boxes, but I am not carrying a bottle of sand when I’m on foot. 

[elwhippy]

A great idea but rarely adopted in the UK. 

[Tpbiker]

In 30 years of playing in the uk I've never filled a divot with sand, or played at a course where there was an expectation or an option to do so. Why isn't this a thing over here?

[sui generis]

2 hours ago, Tpbiker said:

In 30 years of playing in the uk I've never filled a divot with sand, or played at a course where there was an expectation or an option to do so. Why isn't this a thing over here?

How many courses in the UK have Bermuda grass? None, I expect. 😉

[Tpbiker]

1 hour ago, sui generis said:

How many courses in the UK have Bermuda grass? None, I expect. 😉

In the uk we just have 'grass'! All looks the same to me!

 

 

[sui generis]

34 minutes ago, Tpbiker said:

In the uk we just have 'grass'! All looks the same to me!

 

 

Someone else may explain cool weather grasses and warm weather grasses and how divot holes are managed with each. 😉

[darkhelmet]

8 minutes ago, sui generis said:

Someone else may explain cool weather grasses and warm weather grasses and how divot holes are managed with each. 😉

Basically, Bermuda disintegrates when you hit a ball off of it.  So there's not a full strip of grass that peels off, and that can be put back.

 

And even if a solid chunk remains intact, I don't think a replaced Bermuda divot will grow back, it'll just be a clump of dead grass.  So you refill completely with the mix, and the grass naturally creeps in from the sides to self-repair.  Sometimes there's seed in the mix, most times it's just a dirt/sand/fertilizer mixture.

[sui generis]

2 minutes ago, darkhelmet said:

Basically, Bermuda disintegrates when you hit a ball off of it.  So there's not a full strip of grass that peels off, and that can be put back.

 

And even if a solid chunk remains intact, I don't think a replaced Bermuda divot will grow back, it'll just be a clump of dead grass.  So you refill completely with the mix, and the grass naturally creeps in from the sides to self-repair.  Sometimes there's seed in the mix, most times it's just a dirt/sand/fertilizer mixture.

Our British friend will appreciate your fine effort. 🙂

[rogolf]

There are lots of sand-filled divot holes on The Old Course in St Andrews.  Somebody is filling them, but maybe not players?

[Halebopp]

2 hours ago, sui generis said:

How many courses in the UK have Bermuda grass? None, I expect. 😉

 

It's not really dependent on bermuda/some other type of grass. Our club doesn't want to give out the seed mix because it's rather expensive and the staff doesn't trust the players to use it properly. And, to be fair, when it was available at the tee on par 3s (pre Covid), you'd often see mounds of it in divot holes. They prefer someone from the crew to do the job in the mornings. Some other clubs on the other hand have pouches of the seed mix available by the first tee.

[Tpbiker]

7 hours ago, darkhelmet said:

Basically, Bermuda disintegrates when you hit a ball off of it.  So there's not a full strip of grass that peels off, an

 

Interesting! The only time I ever played abroad (spain) I did wonder what the hell I was expected to do with the divot holes given there was zero divot left to replace. There wasn't any sand to fill them in either,  so I spent the round feeling guilty for leaving big holes in the fairway 

 

We definitely don't have that type of grass in the uk. Even on links courses there's always a divot to replace.

[david.c.w]

I prefer to carry, not push.  I dont carry sand due to the extra weight.  I take monster divots so if I carried a small bottle it would be gone by hole 2.  

 

I try to atone for my horrendous divots by filling mine and another when I ride.

 

First time I played with a caddy up north his jaw dropped at my 12" x 3" pelt 25 yards away.  I hate it, but it's my swing.

[hackeraz]

Munis around here I'll toss some wildflower mix in the divot in the name of course beautification. 

[Ty_Guy]

As a walker who meticulously repairs pitch marks plus one and rakes bunkers, leaving divots has been a constant insecurity of mine.

 

If I'm carrying, I make my bag as light as possible. Were talking a few balls, one extra glove, water, and snacks. Keep that bag light. My club has the larger cart holder divot bottles. There is no easy way to bring divot mix when I'm walking. I resort to just patching in the stripped piece of turf the best I can.

 

When using a push cart, there is a little attachment that acts like a large cup holder to bring mix with you. I'll bring one of the club's extra bottles when I have my push cart. It even influenced my push cart purchase decision. It had to be an accessory that will permanently clip and be able to fold while attached. If I had to reattach the bottle holder every setup, I would likely no bother. There have been several times where I forget to drop the mix off and have to trek back with a sigh to the divot bottle stand from my car. Or just take the mix home and return it when I play the next day--but that's a secret for only me to know.

[bluedot]

8 hours ago, Ty_Guy said:

As a walker who meticulously repairs pitch marks plus one and rakes bunkers, leaving divots has been a constant insecurity of mine.

 

If I'm carrying, I make my bag as light as possible. Were talking a few balls, one extra glove, water, and snacks. Keep that bag light. My club has the larger cart holder divot bottles. There is no easy way to bring divot mix when I'm walking. I resort to just patching in the stripped piece of turf the best I can.

 

When using a push cart, there is a little attachment that acts like a large cup holder to bring mix with you. I'll bring one of the club's extra bottles when I have my push cart. It even influenced my push cart purchase decision. It had to be an accessory that will permanently clip and be able to fold while attached. If I had to reattach the bottle holder every setup, I would likely no bother. There have been several times where I forget to drop the mix off and have to trek back with a sigh to the divot bottle stand from my car. Or just take the mix home and return it when I play the next day--but that's a secret for only me to know.

I'm similar.  I walk the vast majority of my rounds with an electric cart, and I ALWAYS get a sand bottle from the rack by the practice green before I go out.  If I have any left when I get to 18, I fill everything I can; I want to return an empty bottle.

 

Carrying, though, is tough.  Like you, I keep my carry bag as light as possible; 4 golf balls, etc.  Carrying a sand bottle is just too much.  The good news in my case is that I'm a sweeper, and I just don't make many divots; when I do, I just feel terrible.

[parbung]

On 5/5/2025 at 6:40 PM, david.c.w said:

I prefer to carry, not push.  I dont carry sand due to the extra weight.  I take monster divots so if I carried a small bottle it would be gone by hole 2.  

 

I try to atone for my horrendous divots by filling mine and another when I ride.

 

First time I played with a caddy up north his jaw dropped at my 12" x 3" pelt 25 yards away.  I hate it, but it's my swing.

 

HA! 

sometimes, i would go pick up my divot but then lose sight of where my divot is supposed to be, so i just fill another divot. 

[mshills]

15 hours ago, bluedot said:

I'm similar.  I walk the vast majority of my rounds with an electric cart, and I ALWAYS get a sand bottle from the rack by the practice green before I go out.  If I have any left when I get to 18, I fill everything I can; I want to return an empty bottle.

 

Carrying, though, is tough.  Like you, I keep my carry bag as light as possible; 4 golf balls, etc.  Carrying a sand bottle is just too much.  The good news in my case is that I'm a sweeper, and I just don't make many divots; when I do, I just feel terrible.

For much of my golfing life I played on Bermuda, and divots just disintegrate, even my monsters would break into many pieces. Now I live further north, but my game has changed and I take minimal, shallow, if any divots now. 
 

If I ride, I fill them in with the sand/seed mix on our carts. If I carry, no way am I toting around a bottle of sand, so I replace whatever divot I might happen to take.

 

I am about to order an electric push cart and don’t see any reason not to bring some sand with me. 

[596]

No sand for me. I walk 3x a week with an electric cart.  When your longest iron is a 9, you won't take many divots.  Even with my short irons I don't take divots.  Definitely don't take much if any with hybrids and woods either.  

 

Our Marshalls used to be assigned 2 holes each.  During their shift they were expected to fill divots in tees and fairways on those holes.  It was really a great way to fill divots.  Not sure under the new golf pro if that holds true anymore.