GCM’s Photo Quiz is presented in partnership with STEC Equipment.
Problem A: Irregular brown areas
Location: Southern Florida
Turfgrass area: Putting green
Turfgrass variety: Floradwarf bermudagrass
Problem B: Partially obscured sign
Location: Southern U.S.
Turfgrass area: Fairway
Tree type: 419 bermudagrass
Scroll down for answers.
Problem A: Irregular brown areas
When the superintendent saw this crooked line across this putting green, he suspected that it might be the aftermath of some sort of hydraulic oil leak. Upon closer inspection, he discovered it was actually caused by ants, or to be more specific, an ant trail. These were imported fire ants that are not only an invasive species, but also venomous creatures that thrive across the entire southern United States. The sheer numbers of these insects moving their colony from area to area can number up to 500,000 workers. The crew was surprised to see the grass trampled down like that just from ants. They put down some fire ant bait and topdressed the line with green sand and the ants eventually moved on to less conspicuous territories.
Photo submitted by Sam Welch, the GCSAA Class A club manager at Horseshoe Bend Country Club in Roswell, Ga., and a 23-year association member. This photo was taken at his former course in southern Florida.
Problem B: Partially obscured sign
This partially obscured sign is an example of something we all must deal with — entitled golfers. After writing the Photo Quiz for the last 20 years, I have seen many things golfers do to disrespect golf courses. The most common of these behaviors seems to be golf cart traffic and the inability to read signs, obey stakes or ropes or even avoid obvious areas of excessive moisture or puddles. I call this “lack of brains.” Even courses with wall-to-wall cart paths and curbs are not immune to this abhorrent behavior. In this particular photo the golfer in his cart not only did not obey the sign, but he also ran it over, depressing part of it into the soft soil the superintendent was asking golfers to avoid.
Photo from John Mascaro’s collection.
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.