Winter Green Damage.

I came across this picture the other day while surfing through all my JPEG files on my computer.
After removing the tarp in the spring of 2009 this is what we saw. Any ideas what that ugly brown streak is?



#4 Green



#4 Green

What you're seeing is the result of a snowmobile driving on the green. It's analgous to a golfer who walks on a heavily frosted green. Their weight crushes plant cells within the crown (growing point) of the plant (grass) which in turn leads to plant death. At the time, there was roughly 12 inches of snow on the ground.

In 2008 I took it upon myself to fence off areas around the golf course to keep this common occurrence from happening. (#11 Fairway and Green, #12 Tee, #13 Tee and Fairway, Access Road into Shop, #4 Green and #7 Fairway Beside Dugout)

Some how this snowmobile found a spot and was actually on his way to gain access to the lake when he came across my new fence behind the green. He turned on the green and realised after traveling the course the only way out was the way he got in.

To fix the damage, I core aerated the area and then overseeded and topdressed. Spring conditions that year were optimal and within 4 or 5 weeks the damage had healed.