Problem A: Strange-shaped mark on green after snowfall
Location: Bella Vista, Ark.
Turfgrass area: Putting greens
Turfgrass variety: Champion
bermudagrass
Problem B: Set of three off-colored areas
Location: Winter Park, Fla.
Turfgrass area: Putting green
Turfgrass variety: Jonesdwarf
bermudagrass
Scroll down for answers.
Problem A: Strange-shaped mark on green after snowfall
The strangely shaped mark on this golf green appeared after a snowfall; however, it is not snow mold as you might have guessed. This golf course is located in Northwest Arkansas, and because it has Champion bermudagrass, the greens are double covered
with a white, lighter-weight tarp on the bottom and a heavy black tarp on top when harsh winter conditions like snowfall are expected. The course usually receives a couple of small snow events each winter. The brown area is a snow angel, most likely
created by neighborhood kids. Since the greens had been covered since late December, the grass wasn’t completely dormant. Cell walls were crushed, resulting in the damage. Because kids will be kids, the facility also had damage on the courses
featuring bentgrass greens. The snow photo was taken on Jan. 16 of this year, and the damaged turf photo was taken after the covers were removed on Feb. 21. The course hopes using these photos will help explain why it covers greens and want to avoid
traffic.
Photos submitted by Kyle Soller, the GCSAA Class A superintendent on the Scotsdale Golf Course at the Bella Vista (Ark.) Property Owners Association. Keith A. Ihms, CGCS, a 43-year GCSAA member who served as association president in 2014, will retire this month as Bella Vista’s director of golf maintenance.
Problem B: Set of three off-colored areas
This series of three off-colored areas is the result of using a pressurized air aerification machine. The superintendent at this 40-year-old course has USGA greens that were rebuilt 17 years ago. They used the machine to introduce pressurized air 12 inches
deep into the root system a week before Christmas to help move water through the profile. He was instructed to water heavily after the process, but rain was in the forecast for that evening, so they only ran the irrigation cycle for about two minutes
per head, which produced only about 0.04 inches. The rainfall was not as much as expected, so the aerification method caused a wicking of water from the areas where the probes went into the soil. This caused these areas to dry out, leaving behind
these three lighter-colored circles on the surface of the green. No major harm was associated with the incident, and with normal maintenance, the patterns faded away in roughly five weeks.
Photos submitted by Bryce Gibson, CGCS, the GCSAA Class A superintendent at Interlachen Country Club in Winter Park, Fla., and a 22-year member of the association.
Editor’s note: Have a photo of an on-course anomaly? GCM would love to have a look! Email it to Photo Quiz author John Mascaro.
John Mascaro is the president of Turf-Tec International.