PHOTO A: The depression in the turf on this newly seeded green was a result of rapid snow melt. This green in Montana was constructed in the fall using flat-pipe drainage that is 16 inches below the green surface, covered with 4 inches of pea gravel and 12 inches of root-zone sand. The green was seeded Aug. 29 and germinated Sept. 10. It was mowed five times before it began to go into dormancy at the end of September. It was covered by a geotextile blanket, and total snow cover began in early November. After a record snowfall that winter, in the beginning of May the green was still covered with anywhere from 18 to 24 inches of snow. The golf course experienced two 70-degree days in a row that melted the entire green off in 48 hours. The depression occurred at the edge of the green, where water collects into almost two-thirds of the 6,000-square-foot green’s drainage network before exiting out a 4-inch drainage pipe, causing this hole from the apparent suction of a full-perforated drainage pipe. Once the green’s root zone system matures, this problem will not reoccur.

Photo submitted by Sam Reznicek, the assistant superintendent at the Reserve at Moonlight Basin Golf Club in Big Sky, Mont., and a seven-year GCSAA member. Mike Wilcynski, a nine-year member of GCSAA, is superintendent.

PHOTO B: The yellow line across the green is not dead or stressed turf, but was caused by a heavy deposit of pollen from the ponderosa pine trees that surround this golf course. When the pine trees bloom in the spring, they deposit pollen everywhere, including on cars, roofs, turf equipment and putting greens. On one spring day, the golf course experienced a half-inch rainfall that sent water through a drainage area and onto this green, creating the unique yellow line on the turf. An alert superintendent snapped this photo for the quiz for all to enjoy and guess what caused it.

Photo submitted by Rod Allen, the Class A superintendent at the Golf Club at Devils Tower in Hulett, Wyo., and a 13-year member of GCSAA.