Sky Marks On Your Driver and How to Fix Them

Sky marks (often spelled as one word, "skymarks") are those scratches and scuff marks in the finish and paint on the top of a driver that result from mishitting the golf ball.

When the driver comes into contact too low, relative to the ball, the contact point might become the very top of the clubface or even the crown of the driver. Contact is supposed to happen in the center of the clubface or, sometimes with drivers, just a little below center.

But when the driver swings under the teed golf ball, that ball can scratch up the top of the driver. And the resulting scuffs and scratches are called sky marks. That term derives from the shot that results from such a mishit, which is typically some kind of pop-up: The golfer skied the ball, or hit a "sky ball," as some golfers say. Hence, sky marks.

And sky marks are not only ugly from an aesthetic point of view, they also tell other golfers that you hit a lot of mis-hits with your driver!

And, alas, sky marks can also show up on fairway woods and hybrids, clubs that also have painted, finished crowns.

Is there a way to get rid of sky marks? The first step is to stop hitting sky balls! But maybe you're looking at buying a used club on the cheap and want to be able to get rid of the sky marks on it before taking it to the club.

How to Get Rid of Sky Marks on Your Driver, Wood or Hybrid

Good news: Many times, depending on the severity of the sky marks and your skills at DIY projects, you can buff out sky marks from the driver crown.

If you're not a DIY-type, or just don't trust yourself or want the hassle of doing it yourself, you can take the scuffed-up driver to a club repair shop. They should be able to help.

But if you are willing to try doing it yourself, the basics of the method involve, first, thinking of sky marks as you would scratches in your car's paint. You'll want to try buffing it out with a rubbing compound. If that doesn't work, you'll move on to trying touch-up paint, lightly sanding it with a low-grit sandpaper, applying metal polish and cloth-buffing. (Note that some companies now make golf club touch-up paint specifically for this purpose.)

This is a detailed, DIY video on removing sky marks from drivers, woods and hybrids (but note the videomaker's caveat — this method doesn't work for matte-finish clubs):

Here is a more general (and older, as you can tell by the club the golf pro is holding) look at fixing scuff marks and scratches on golf clubs: