Superintendents have to evaluate and diagnose damage to turfgrass whether it be biological in the case of pests (fungal, insects, nematodes etc) or physical (footprints, vandalism etc) or finally, chemical (overspray, high rate etc). I've always said, "grass doesn't die in straight lines or continuous patterns." This means if your front yard has two long narrow streaks of dead grass my first thought will be fertilizer burn, not brown patch because brown patch is completely random in shape and size. On the other hand, if huge chunks of grass are missing from a green, I will immediately think vandalism because I also know brown patch doesn't remove chunks of turf! Simple problem solving, right?
Here are two photos recently shared on the golf course maintenance Facebook page. Let me be clear...This is not from HCC! Before you scroll down, can you guess what happened in each photo?
1. 
2. 
Give up? The answers are:
1. This is deer damage from two bucks fighting on a putting green!
2. This is the result of a meltdown of a golfer that missed his par putt on the 18th green. He took his frustration out on the green itself! Please note that neither photo is from HCC!