What makes a good divot mix? You could ask 10 golf course superintendents this question and get 10 different answers. All of them would be right…for their specific golf course. Divot mixes come in all different flavors and the right recipe for a particular course depends on the grass type, growing environment and many other factors.
Most divot mixes have sand as the main, or only, component. Some superintendents will also include grass seed in the mix to help reestablish desirable grass in the voids. Mixes with seed will often include some type of organic material that helps retain moisture to germinate the seed and help the seedlings get established. Some mixes also include fertilizer. The fertilizer can be for new grass seedlings or to help surrounding turf grow quicker to fill in the divot. Some courses will even purchase green sand or paint it themselves to make the divot mix less noticeable on the golf course.
Courses with warm-season grasses, like bermudagrass, will typically use divot mix without seed because these grasses are not normally established by seed. There are usually enough living roots and stems around and below the divot for the turf to quickly fill in once the mix is in place. Some cool-season grasses can also fill in divots relatively quickly from surrounding plants, but there is often seed in the mix to help things along.
There are some instances where a course will have different types of divot mix for different areas. For example, there may be a mix for fairways that doesn’t have seed in it, but the mix for teeing areas does. There may also be situations where divot mix is only intended for fairways and tees and not for the rough because some fairway grasses, like bentgrass, perform poorly when maintained at rough height. If you’re unfamiliar with how divot mix should be used at a particular course, it’s always a good idea to check with the golf shop before your round.
Regardless of what’s in the mix, it is important to know when, why and how to repair divots at your course. Check out these USGA resources for more information on the fine art of divot repair: