Green Saver Divot Repair Tool Forum Testing Review

[HuskAir]

And we're off.

So we should use it at an angle? Do you think it was taking up the extra grass and dirt initially because you had it more upright?

I think it is intended to work at an angle. Even when I did this, it went after the ground like a velociraptor attacking a cow (okay, not that crazy...)...just need to take it slow IMO.

Good write up Husk! can you tell if the prongs were doing the same thing that we are recommended to do with a standard tool, i.e. pulling the grass back towards the center?

This is what it seemed to do. Did a pretty decent job doing this I thought.

Thanks for the write up and pictures! And nice shot BTW!

Thanks and thanks!

 

[tyno]

great reviews and videos/pics from both HuskAir and UNCFan6.
i'll wait until i try mine until i really comment on the functionality of the tool, but after watching UNCFan6's videos, it looks like this tool is more for your regular, every day small divots. divots without dirt or mud, where the soil isn't dug up...but where you've only left a small dent in the green. i imagine this tool works great for those types, but a tap with the putter and a quick fix with a normal divot tool would work better for larger divots such as the ones that were left in these two write-ups.

also @UNCFan6 - sweet putter!

 

[HuskAir]

At first yea but the more you use it the easier it gets. The few pics i posted maybe took 4 or 5 pokes at the grass to do it and didn't grab any of the grass. You just have to start at the back of the pitch mark(higher end that got pushed up) rather then where ever you want to get the best results.

Exactly. The first time I used it, it was somewhat messy. The next few times it (and I, for the matter) seemed to have done a better job... not much, if any grass came up later on. Slight learning curve IMO.

 

[PhillyV]

Exactly. The first time I used it, it was somewhat messy. The next few times it (and I, for the matter) seemed to have done a better job... not much, if any grass came up later on. Slight learning curve IMO.

do you find it easier or harder or the same to use as your normal tool?

 

[HuskAir]

do you find it easier or harder or the same to use as your normal tool?

I feel like I could probably do the job in half of the time with a normal tool, just for the sake of being used to a normal tool. As far as ease... I'm not sure. It's pretty easy, but it just takes time getting used to.

 

[UNCFan6]

great reviews and videos/pics from both HuskAir and UNCFan6.
i'll wait until i try mine until i really comment on the functionality of the tool, but after watching UNCFan6's videos, it looks like this tool is more for your regular, every day small divots. divots without dirt or mud, where the soil isn't dug up...but where you've only left a small dent in the green. i imagine this tool works great for those types, but a tap with the putter and a quick fix with a normal divot tool would work better for larger divots such as the ones that were left in these two write-ups.

also @UNCFan6 - sweet putter!

Thanks. I agree that it is best for smaller divots. Seems like HuskAir has the same thoughts as me so far.

 

[PhillyV]

Thanks. I agree that it is best for smaller divots. Seems like HuskAir has the same thoughts as me so far.

i think we all have the same opinion lol

 

[Damaikis]

I just got back from a horrendous 9 holes. Only hit 1 green on the 8th... But I did use the tool to repair others ball marks. It takes some time to get used to, but it gets the job done. It rained here this morning, so the greens were wet and the GreenSaver picked up some turf. I imagine that if it were dry then it wouldn't rip up the ground. I have before and after pics of when I did hit the green on the 8th hole. It is a short par 4 where I used hybrid off the tee and hit a super flush 9 iron to about 6 feet (I made my bird by the way). Here's the pictures:

Before GreenSaver:

After GreenSaver:

That repair took 3-4 pokes at it because by that time I was getting used to it. Overall, the GreenSaver performed well but not any better than a pitchfork. Hopefully getting used to it on dry greens will help to save time/effort. And hopefully I'll hit more greens...


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- I wish golf was as easy as Tapatalk.

 

[TRyan]

Good reviews so far gentleman. I am mildly interested so I am paying attention to see if it is worth it.

 

[lemmiwinks]

Rain has ceased here in SJ.
I'll be putting the GreenSaver in play on what's sure to be pretty soft greens since we got a good deal of rain last night.
I'll put up pic's and thoughts this afternoon when I get back.

 

[lemmiwinks]

Ok - So I got out this morning and was able to put the GreenSaver to task.
I only played 4 holes (more on that later) and I have to say, I really like this little guy.
First, had it in my pocket with 4 or 5 tees. No extra ball as it walking only due to the rain last night.
I had my 4 year old with me so I'm sure you can see where this going.
Didn't have any problems with it in my pocket. Didn't even notice it was there. My pitchfork divot tool can be hard to find in my pocket and it usually takes me some rumaging around to find it. This, because of the shape was easy to find.
This is the first hole (par 5). Had an 8i from 155 yds. Hit a wayward drive and had to lay up to here.
Took two hops and stopped. First 2 pic's are the divot and the repaired shot. Third and fourth are the 2nd divot and repaired shot:

Using it takes a little bit of getting use to. By the 2nd divot on the first green I had it.
I went at the back side of the divot first on an angle and it took like 3 or 4 pokes to get back.
Went around both sides of the divot as well. I'd say probably a total of 8 pokes to repair the first one and 5 for the second one.
That may seem like a lot compared to a regular divot tool but there is really no manipulation of the turf if you know what I mean.
Just press in and let it come out and it does the job. Tamp it with the putter and you're done.
Next was the 3rd hole - Par 4 and had 135 in. 9i to about 25ft that actually backed up cause the greens were soaked:

This one was pretty deep. It took a little extra because of the that but it ended up coming out ok. Went at it the same way, started at the back of the divot and worked my way around. My putter is right where the repaired divot is, and yes, I repaired the one at the top part of the shot that someone else left.
This one was on the par 4 4th. Had a SW in and came up 10 yds short of the green. I was coming out of the rough and got under it just a bit. I then chipped up with my 60° and left this mark:

I don't have a repair shot or any additional because it was at this point that my son was running on the fairway and fell backwards and slid about 10 feet in the mud.
Yup, round over. He was soaked. Mud up and down his back and the back of his legs.
Was able to get a rain check, but what are ya gonna do?
I won't be able to get another round in until my first one next Monday in Myrtle Beach.
I may be able to get out for 9 tonight so we'll see.

Overall first impression, I like it.
It's not cumbersome in my pocket which was my main concern.
There's really nothing to it once you get the hang of in. It may take more "pokes" than a normal divot tool, but like I said before, there's no real turf manipulation if you will. With a normal tool, you would have to push the turn to repair once you put the pitchfork in the green. This is just press and release, press and release.
It's lightweight and we'll see how it holds up over multiple rounds.
That may be the make or break issue, durability.

 

[jefrazie]

Ok - So I got out this morning and was able to put the GreenSaver to task.
I only played 4 holes (more on that later) and I have to say, I really like this little guy.
First, had it in my pocket with 4 or 5 tees. No extra ball as it walking only due to the rain last night.
I had my 4 year old with me so I'm sure you can see where this going.
Didn't have any problems with it in my pocket. Didn't even notice it was there. My pitchfork divot tool can be hard to find in my pocket and it usually takes me some rumaging around to find it. This, because of the shape was easy to find.
This is the first hole (par 5). Had an 8i from 155 yds. Hit a wayward drive and had to lay up to here.
Took two hops and stopped. First 2 pic's are the divot and the repaired shot. Third and fourth are the 2nd divot and repaired shot:

Using it takes a little bit of getting use to. By the 2nd divot on the first green I had it.
I went at the back side of the divot first on an angle and it took like 3 or 4 pokes to get back.
Went around both sides of the divot as well. I'd say probably a total of 8 pokes to repair the first one and 5 for the second one.
That may seem like a lot compared to a regular divot tool but there is really no manipulation of the turf if you know what I mean.
Just press in and let it come out and it does the job. Tamp it with the putter and you're done.
Next was the 3rd hole - Par 4 and had 135 in. 9i to about 25ft that actually backed up cause the greens were soaked:

This one was pretty deep. It took a little extra because of the that but it ended up coming out ok. Went at it the same way, started at the back of the divot and worked my way around. My putter is right where the repaired divot is, and yes, I repaired the one at the top part of the shot that someone else left.
This one was on the par 4 4th. Had a SW in and came up 10 yds short of the green. I was coming out of the rough and got under it just a bit. I then chipped up with my 60° and left this mark:

I don't have a repair shot or any additional because it was at this point that my son was running on the fairway and fell backwards and slid about 10 feet in the mud.
Yup, round over. He was soaked. Mud up and down his back and the back of his legs.
Was able to get a rain check, but what are ya gonna do?
I won't be able to get another round in until my first one next Monday in Myrtle Beach.
I may be able to get out for 9 tonight so we'll see.

Overall first impression, I like it.
It's not cumbersome in my pocket which was my main concern.
There's really nothing to it once you get the hang of in. It may take more "pokes" than a normal divot tool, but like I said before, there's no real turf manipulation if you will. With a normal tool, you would have to push the turn to repair once you put the pitchfork in the green. This is just press and release, press and release.
It's lightweight and we'll see how it holds up over multiple rounds.
That may be the make or break issue, durability.

Awesome review lemmiwinks! It looks like its doing a really good job. The second pic is a nice transformation. Looking forward to hearing more about this tool.

 

[TripleBogieTim]

Ok - So I got out this morning and was able to put the GreenSaver to task.
I only played 4 holes (more on that later) and I have to say, I really like this little guy.
First, had it in my pocket with 4 or 5 tees. No extra ball as it walking only due to the rain last night.
I had my 4 year old with me so I'm sure you can see where this going.
Didn't have any problems with it in my pocket. Didn't even notice it was there. My pitchfork divot tool can be hard to find in my pocket and it usually takes me some rumaging around to find it. This, because of the shape was easy to find.
This is the first hole (par 5). Had an 8i from 155 yds. Hit a wayward drive and had to lay up to here.
Took two hops and stopped. First 2 pic's are the divot and the repaired shot. Third and fourth are the 2nd divot and repaired shot:

Using it takes a little bit of getting use to. By the 2nd divot on the first green I had it.
I went at the back side of the divot first on an angle and it took like 3 or 4 pokes to get back.
Went around both sides of the divot as well. I'd say probably a total of 8 pokes to repair the first one and 5 for the second one.
That may seem like a lot compared to a regular divot tool but there is really no manipulation of the turf if you know what I mean.
Just press in and let it come out and it does the job. Tamp it with the putter and you're done.
Next was the 3rd hole - Par 4 and had 135 in. 9i to about 25ft that actually backed up cause the greens were soaked:

This one was pretty deep. It took a little extra because of the that but it ended up coming out ok. Went at it the same way, started at the back of the divot and worked my way around. My putter is right where the repaired divot is, and yes, I repaired the one at the top part of the shot that someone else left.
This one was on the par 4 4th. Had a SW in and came up 10 yds short of the green. I was coming out of the rough and got under it just a bit. I then chipped up with my 60° and left this mark:

I don't have a repair shot or any additional because it was at this point that my son was running on the fairway and fell backwards and slid about 10 feet in the mud.
Yup, round over. He was soaked. Mud up and down his back and the back of his legs.
Was able to get a rain check, but what are ya gonna do?
I won't be able to get another round in until my first one next Monday in Myrtle Beach.
I may be able to get out for 9 tonight so we'll see.

Overall first impression, I like it.
It's not cumbersome in my pocket which was my main concern.
There's really nothing to it once you get the hang of in. It may take more "pokes" than a normal divot tool, but like I said before, there's no real turf manipulation if you will. With a normal tool, you would have to push the turn to repair once you put the pitchfork in the green. This is just press and release, press and release.
It's lightweight and we'll see how it holds up over multiple rounds.
That may be the make or break issue, durability.

Nice write up and good photos lemmiwinks...Ill get my first go at it tomorrow morning. I will say, I put in the pocket of my slacks the other afternoon and walked around to see if the bulk was going to bother me, and I forgot it was there until I got home and emptied my pockets and was like....OH YEAH, I HAD THAT IN MY POCKET

 

[Smallville]

I got mine today, but I am going to be going on an appointment soon so no time to unbox or anything yet. This evening I'll have something.

 

[lemmiwinks]

Awesome review lemmiwinks! It looks like its doing a really good job. The second pic is a nice transformation. Looking forward to hearing more about this tool.

Thanks jefrazie. Yeah that second pic is the one that shows off the tool I think. I already like it better than my pitchfork.
I just hope it holds up.

Nice write up and good photos lemmiwinks...Ill get my first go at it tomorrow morning. I will say, I put in the pocket of my slacks the other afternoon and walked around to see if the bulk was going to bother me, and I forgot it was there until I got home and emptied my pockets and was like....OH YEAH, I HAD THAT IN MY POCKET

Thanks. Yeah you don't even notice it's there. I mean almost all of us have a 2nd ball we carry, this is much less bulky. I think the shape is what initially had us thinking on those lines but it's thinner than a ball and about as long as the usual divot tool.
I've been trying to talk my little one into going back out but he said "I don't want to fall and get muddy again today". Looks like my review is on hiatus until the 29th :crying:

Hit 'em straight tomorrow and get lots of GIR's to show off this little piece.

 

[TripleBogieTim]

Hit 'em straight tomorrow and get lots of GIR's to show off this little piece.

Yes, there it is...the hardest part of this testing GIR!

 

[Smallville]

I got my Greensaver in the mail today, and here are a couple of videos on it. The first one I am proud to say only has one "uhhh" in it that I heard. It actually was the second take, the first take had probably 10 or 15 "uhhs" in the same amount of time. I did the second video because this was unscripted and I forgot a couple things!

 

[DawgDaddy]

Good stuff Smallie, I am curious about the durability and the actual benefit of using the GreenSaver over the THP tool.

 

[TripleBogieTim]

Yeah the durability really concerns me...the bottom part as you can see from Smallville's video is kinda flimsy and the whole thing other than the prongs is lightweight plastic.

Not really a fan of the ballmarker either...you have to be holding it just right to get it off, with my pitchfork style tool I can reach in my pocket with one hand and remove it without taking the tool out of my pocket....don't think I can do that with this tool.

First course test is tomorrow morning, Ill let you know then.

 

[HuskAir]

Small... I'm excited to see your thoughts on how the Greensaver "Re-poop-pair tool" works... ;-) (Sorry, just what you said in the first vid!)

Excellent comparison videos. Once again...looking forward to hearing your thoughts from a course!

 

[dhjkelly]

great to see an Irish product making its way onto THP

 

[TripleBogieTim]

Ok, I played 18 this morning on my home course and it was very busy so I only had time to snap a couple of photos of ball marks and the repairs. I carried the Greensaver in my pocket the hole round and didn't notice it at all, so the extra bulk is not an issue in my book.

The ball marker on the other hand, I am not a fan of. It's just too difficult to get it turned the right way to get it off the tool. I had to take the Greensaver out of my pocket everytime I wanted to use the ball marker and stop, look at it, make sure I had the little "nub" turned towards my thumb and then slide it off...just too much in my opinion. With my pitchfork tool I can slide the ballmarker off without removing the tool from my pocket.

On to it's real purpose, repairing ball marks. I have to say, I was pleasantly suprised by it. It took a little getting used to, but after I got the hang of it I was repairing ballmarks with ease, and I have to say I think the greensaver did a better job.

Overall, I like it so far, I still have concerns about the durability of it because of the cheap plastic construction but only time and use will answer that question. Like I said, the course was packed this morning so I only had a chance to get a couple of photos without holding up the group behind us.

This is my approach to the first hole from 190 with a 6 iron

Here is a picture after the repair

This is my tee shot on the par 3 3rd hole, 8 iron from 152 yards

Here is the picture after the repair with the Greensaver, the mark was right behind my putter

If you have any questions or comments I will be happy to answer them....more to come soon!

 

[Drumdog]

Great vids Smalls !
I took my Greensaver tool out for it's first run yesterday.
I was using it a little tentative at first, since it is mainly plastic and didn't want to break it on the first round.
But really, it seems more robust than I first thought. The key to repairing the marks with this is holding it at the 45 degree angle while plunging it into the green.
To my surprise, this thing really works well at repairing ball marks. A few plunges around the mark and a tap down with the putter and voila! A well repaired green!
This thing will really help those who don't really know what they are doing when trying to repair a mark with a standard repair tool.
I see it all the time. The user will plunge his repair tool in right beside the mark and then lift the tips up.
When done like that, it does make for a flat green, but it also creates an air pocket under the grass, which is not good for the health of the green.
I don't know all the professional terminology on greenskeeping, but when I talked with my local pro and showed him the Greensaver tool, he was very impressed and tried to explain the air pocket problem.

As far as weight, size, etc.. I found it to be very light but a bit bulky at first. I was worried that putting it in my pocket would bother me.
After 2 holes with it, I had no problems with it in there. I did have to remember to wipe it off with a towel before putting it back in my pocket though.
When I did forget to do that, it would deposit a little dirt/sand and grass bits into my pocket. I know you can get the same issue with a regular tool, but I got more of it with the Greensaver.
The ball mark on the top was a nice bonus. I use my Kapalua hat clip marker for the most part, but if someone doesn't have a mark handy, it's easy to loan them that one.

As long as the spring in this doesn't wear out or break quickly, I think this tool is going to stay in my pocket on the courses for a long time.
I was very impressed with the quality of the repair it accomplishes and I would bet that sales of this thing are going to grow leaps and bounds after our tests and reviews.

I will post more reviews and hope to have some pics after the next round.

Well done GreenSaver and thanks THP for giving me the opportunity of this test and review!

 

[UNCFan6]

Played 18 this morning with the green saver. Hit 11 GIRs but didn't play or score particularly well. After my second time using the green saver tool i will say that it has become easier to use and faster. I didn't take any pictures again this time because you have already seen some and it does the exact same job as a regular divot tool in my mind. I would say on about 20% of the ball marks i fixed, grass got ripped/tore up with the tool which isn't very good. My thoughts are still about the same as they were before but it did get easier to use as i stated earlier.

Pros:
Lighter than a normal divot tool
It can be faster after you get the hang of it
Neat design and isn't a problem in your pocket

Cons:
Ball marker wasn't well thought out. Only 1 very small magnet holding it on and the section to get it off of is small as well
Might not last as long due to the material that it is made with(only time will tell tho)
It pinches the grass and tears it up between the prongs and spring loaded plastic

Just a small review on my 2nd trip using this device. It was better the 2nd time around but overall right now i still fill it does the exact same job a normal divot tool does.

 

[Damaikis]

Great reviews guys. I've only been out once, but I'll try to get out tomorrow after I caddy in the morning. I'll have more feedback then.


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