Snakes and Wormburners

Ever notice how a lot of golf terminology draws its inspiration from nature? When working course maintenance, a person gets to see all sorts of golf shots; both good and bad. Both sorts can be entertaining and frustrating in their own ways. Some of the skills of a good grounds crew are to keep a wary eye on the shots of approaching golfers,  to know when to applaud - and to know when to look away. What people call their shots can be both colorful and descriptive. Some of the more repeatable terms heard around the greens and tees occasionally reference critters that creep - snakes and worms!

Of the two snake is perhaps slightly more positive. Someone who drains a long hard breaking putt is said to have "snaked one in". A chip that runs up to the hole before diving into the cup is described as having disappeared "faster than a scalded snake". Snake carries some negative connotations too! A player having a particularly bad day might be feeling "lower than a snake's belly". According to Golf Digest the term snake can be applied to a right hander's snap hook - a low turning shot that rapidly sails into the rough or trees. Snake as a derogatory term can also be applied to a three putt. There's even a betting game where members of a group track persons who three putt. The first person to three putt is said to be holding the snake. The dubious honour is then passed on to the next member of the group to three putt. The unfortunate player left holding the snake at the end of the match has to buy drinks for the rest of the group!

At Links, the term snake can also refer to the real thing. The course is home to a number of common garter snakes. These reptiles are frequently seen soaking up some sun around the ninth tee box area or in other areas of the course with warm conditions. Snakes, like all reptiles, are ecto-thermic. They are cold blooded and  get their body heat from outside sources. The clippings half buckets, with their decomposing grass, generate a fair amount of heat and contain and attract all sorts of worms and bugs. Consequently they are favorite hangouts for garter snakes. On more than one occasion grounds crew have been startled by a beady eyed, forked tongue intruder. Not particularly dangerous, the common garter snake can range in size from 25 - 50 cm, and range in girth from the size of a pencil to that of a fat garden hose. They do bite, and while their venom won't kill humans, their bites can be painful and itchy somewhat like an insect sting! Garter snakes are carnivorous but their preferred prey are earthworms.

The humble worm has its own place in golf terminology. A viciously topped shot that runs hissing through the grass is commonly called a worm burner. A worm burner may be just a bad swing or it can be a good miss. Many worm burners achieve pretty good distance even though they never get very far off the ground. If hit at distance from the fairway, a worm burner can be a decent shot. Sculled across a green into a trap or the rough, a worm burner can inspire anger, despair and a flurry of profane and colorful language.

The real worms at Links perform valuable service. They work the soil and help to keep the turf healthy. Where they can be a problem is on the greens. In the early morning when moisture fills their tunnels, worms come out on the greens and bring their castings to the playing surface. If you've ever noticed little penny sized piles of mud on the greens then you've seen worm castings. Castings can get in the way of putts and can make a bit of smeary mess beneath the rollers of the mower. Those worms that don't get picked off by the birds end up spinning through the reels of the greens mower, either ending up chopped to bits or crawling through the half buckets as take out for the garter snakes.

Worms and snakes might not be the playing companions most players hope for, but they do have their place at Links. The trick, as with most things in golf, is to keep them in their place and to deal with them as you find them. While most of us might rather pass them by, you can be sure that the occasional snake and worm burner will always be par for the course!

Making the cut now includes links to some useful websites. See the link box at the top right corner across from the current entry to find links to Golf Canada for your handicap postings, the USGA bulletin on what to do if lightning is near and for a link to how to best fix a ball mark. Please feel free to recommend other god links as well!