Michael Krajnik was cleaning the greens Wednesday morning at Eagle Creek Golf Course when he stumbled upon a bizarre scene at the seventh hole.
The flag stick was laying on the ground. Bits and pieces of plastic were strewn all over the green. Surrounding the hole was a strange pattern burned into the grass — a fern-like branching stretching six to seven feet with holes at each end.
“Never seen anything like it,” Krajnik said.
Severe storms had blown through the area the previous night, featuring frequent lightning.
After doing a little research online, general manager Taylor Paasch realized that lightning had struck the flag stick, causing the plastic to explode out of the flag and scorching the ground in something called Lichtenberg Figures.
He posted pictures on the golf course’s Facebook page, joking that God had gotten a hole in one: “We at Eagle Creek Golf Club would like to congratulate GOD on his almighty hole in 1 on hole #7. Not sure what tees he played or what the distance was or what club he used, but what a great shot.” It went viral.
“It’s been crazy,” Paasch said. “There were something like 2,000 shares and likes in the first hour.”
Since the post, Paasch has been interviewed by media outlets around the country.
“Florida, New York, you name it,” he said.
The pattern on the ground is typical for a lightning strike. It can even end up splotched on someone’s body if they are struck. They’re named after Georg Litchenberg, who discovered them in Germany in 1777.
They’re sometimes called “lightning flowers.”
“It’s just weird,” Krajnik said. “We’ve had trees along the course struck by lightning but never one of the flag sticks.”
The sticks are made of fiberglass, which will not conduct electricity. But both ends are made of metal and the cup in the ground is also metal.
“That’s the only reason I can think of” for why the pattern appeared despite the fiberglass, Krajnik said.
The mark was already starting to fade on Thursday morning, but the mounds at the end of each branch were still evident and needed more work. The hole has been moved to another part of the green, but golf courses routinely do that anyway.
Paasch, whose father owns the course, is hoping the social media frenzy will benefit business.
“If it would stop raining I’m sure it would help,” too, he said. “People are definitely talking about it.”
Lee Tolliver, 757-222-5844, lee.tolliver@pilotonline.com
