Roots of destruction: Many golfers do their greens no favors

    When I checked in at the pro shop at The Ridges Golf Club on Sunday, I grabbed a divot repair tool from a bowl on the counter.  I was impressed at the enlightened offer at The Ridges of free repair tools.  But after a round on the interesting and sporty golf course, it is clear free tools are not enough.  The Ridges and many other clubs that pass out repair tools also need to hand out instruction sheets for the proper repair of pitch marks on greens.
    The slick, nicely cut greens at The Ridges were a pockmarked mess.  Where members had deigned to bend over and repair their ball marks, they had clearly gone about the job with all the finesse of ditch diggers on a deadline.  On some putting surfaces, no fewer than 25 little brown spots marred the otherwise nice surfaces.
    So, as a community service to The Ridges golfers and anyone else in need of a lesson in divot repair, here is the simple way to do the job properly:

1.    If the mark is fairly deep and soft, use your thumb to push back the grassy protuberance.  That should cover about half the hole.
2.    Insert the ball repair tool into an outer edge of the ball divot.  Angle the prongs at 45 degrees.  Gently push up and forward to work the turf back into position.
3.    Do not dig the tool into the green as this will pull out the roots and kill the grass.
4.    Sink your putt.