Gannet™ was founded by David Kellock, a mechanical engineer turned product designer with a passion for all things golf related. We set out with a goal to create the worlds best pitch mark (divot) repair tool in 2022. After a year of rigorous development and testing the Gannet™ divot repair tool was ready to launch in November 2023.
How to repair a pitch mark?
“I used to joke that the best part of my game was pitch mark repairing! It turns out I was actually doing it wrongly for 24 years.” - David Kellock - Founder of Gannet™
Thankfully I had followed the advice of many an entrepreneur and product designer before me and researched diligently how to repair a pitch mark properly before developing the product.
There are 2 crucial parts to successful pitch mark repairing:
Firstly, push the fork part into the ground, then resist the urge to "dig". Secondly, what you need to do instead is to push into the centre of the mark. Then work your way around the mark, pushing into the centre as you go. You will find that as you practice, you can successfully repair the mark with nearly no evidence that it was ever there, even on soft, wet greens.
Why not dig? It looks repaired?
The key is to not kill the roots of the grass. If you do, it leaves a "burnt" patch, which may well look initially successfully repaired, but the grass in it is now dead. This can then take up to 3 weeks to heal.
The Gannet™ pitch mark repairer has been developed to allow you to apply the optimum push force required with its distinctive and patent pending angle between handle and fork. This unique product benefit puts your wrist in the correct position for maximum range of motion. Just like in the golf swing, the wrist position is important. It has the added benefit of moving your wrist out of the way of seeing what you are doing.
Why have we priced it higher than most pitch mark repair tools?
It's not a strategic product placement, it's the price we need to charge to grow a sustainable business and be as fair as possible to our customers. We aimed to produce a high quality long lasting product with optimal fit to reduce the risk of jamming (due to sand getting stuck in the mechanism, for example). To get the accuracy needed to reduce this risk, we had to CNC mill the handle. An expensive process in which only one handle can occupy the CNC machine at a time. Usually the fork part on typical pitch repair tools is stamped. We absolutely would not do this due to the horrible inconsistency this can produce. We instead laser cut each fork and then CNC milled it afterwards to create a beautiful fit with the button. Then there's the use of stainless steel throughout, including 440c stainless steel for the fork, button and backstop. This is usually found in high end knives.
“It's probably the most expensive way to produce a divot repair tool, but absolutely worth it for the results, and we were never going to aim for anything but the best” David Kellock - founder of Gannet™
I've played with many considerate golfers who repair multiple pitch marks on every green. If you repair 3 per hole, that's 54 repairs per round. So we'd argue its the most used tool in the bag.
Fundamentally people want to do things that are fun and enjoyable to do, so why not make pitch mark repairing fun, and another part of the game to master? We hope you enjoy using the Gannet™ as much as we do.
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