This unsightly problem may be the most early recorded turfgrass disease in history. Stories in ancient mythology mention strange rings caused by a gathering of fairies who danced around a fire causing a dead pattern in fields of grass. I can assure you that we no longer believe fairies are the cause of the damage and that’s good news because they would be protected as a migratory species in California. Check out the Wikipedia fairy ring article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy_ring to read about all the folklore and myths surrounding the strange rings.

Fairy ring is caused by a ring of mushrooms. Feeding on organic matter, decomposing tree roots, and thatch, the fungi causes the soil to become hydrophobic, repelling water away from the infected zone. The border of the ring is usually greener than the surrounding turf as nitrogen is released from the digestion of organics. The rings start small and grow outward in a sometimes, perfect circle. The turf within the ring normally recovers from the short lived drought.

When I arrived at Stockton Golf and Country Club nearly five years ago, the greens were a hotbed of fairy ring activity. This specific variety resulted in puff ball mushrooms that would stick out of the surface interfering with ball roll and ruining the aesthetics of the green. It took us two years to get this problem under control with increased aerification, regular topdressing, and verticutting to help reduce thatch. The greens have been fairy ring free for three years, but the rest of the course still needs work.

We are currently combating fairy ring in the fairway and rough starting with highly visible areas and landing zones. The funds we used to spend on managing disease on the greens have been redirected to improve other areas that need attention. The same strategy of wetting agents, fungicides, aerification, and topdressing are being employed to manage the disease.
These photos were taken 2 months apart, the second one was taken yesterday. The improvement is obvious as the soil is holding some more water and keeping the turf green. The trees also look a little greener (I thought I had the wrong hole for a minute). We will monitor these areas closely to keep the upper hand on the disease.

If temperatures ever warm up to get the bermuda growing, the fairy ring will become a turf conversion tool of its own. Bermudagrass tolerates the drying out as the cool season grass fades away. The 10 day forecast shows no sign of approaching our normal average high of 82 degrees, so we'll wait patiently for the arrival of summer.