Repairing Pitch Marks

We have an interesting little debate going on locally about what is and isn't acceptable as far as repairing pitch marks are concerned and I'd like to share my views for what its worth.

As most will know, Petanque can be played on any ground surface.  This loose definition means that a variety of surfaces are acceptable, from the very smooth, sandy and flat surfaces to those which resemble a building site.  This isn't an article about what constitutes a good, bad or authentic surface by the way (there are no right or wrong answers).  Many surfaces are constructed with a loose top dressing and a firm base - often the base is a compacted layer of dust which acts as a 'blind' for a drainage layer below (certainly in Scotland we need the drainage).  When a boule lands on the top dressing it leaves a crater or pitch mark on the surface like this:

We have all come across the situation where one of these pitch marks coincides with the point you want to land your boule in with your next shot and the rules therefore allow you to repair one pitch mark before each shot.  Personally I'd prefer that the rules did not permit any ground repairs at all but we have to play within the rules we are given.  The rule is as follows:

Article 10........ the player who is about to play, or one of his partners, may fill in a hole which would have been made by one boule played previously. 

What the rule does not tell us is how the hole repair may be done.  Well here's how to do it - move the dressing layer to fill it, but don't 'sweep' your foot or stamp it flat - that's not allowed.