Fairways Attacked By Squirrels?

Fairways Attacked By Squirrels?

Two different courses that I have played in recent days have had the same strange damage inflicted on their fairways. I think that the damage can only have been done by squirrels.

There may very well be a recency bias at play here, but I think that the squirrels have been unusually busy this year.

Does it foretell a harsh winter? Do the squirrels know something and are stashing extra supplies? Or am I simply noticing something I overlooked in previous years.

Interestingly, studies indicate that squirrels have good spatial memory, and are able to retrieve the vast majority of their caches of nuts. If they bury large numbers of nuts in particular areas (such as a patch of fairway), it seems likely they will increase their odds of finding their hoard.

Still, it is unsightly. The squirrel activity makes me think that golf course hawks have not been earning their keep as well as they have in past years.

I suppose, however, that I should be grateful that they are attacking the fairways, and not my bag.