It’s fairly common to see winterized golf courses use a different type of grass — or a green-dyed fertilizer — on fairways and greens, creating major visual contrasts. But it’s rare to see the greens pop quite this hard. Augusta National’s greens are the only hint of green on the entire property (except for the apparently overseeded tee box on No. 13 — but more on that later) and wow, they’re green enough to look game-ready. The only exception is No. 9, which appears to be in the midst of some major top-dressing (you can see the contrast with No. 18 below).

One particularly radical change Augusta could make would be going with dark bunkers full-time, like the black coal slag “sand” favored by some courses in the northern U.S. (like Hawktree Golf Club in Bismarck, N.D.). But don’t hold your breath.

We’re used to the blinding-white sand of Augusta National’s bunkers, so it’s particularly striking to see them hollowed out and sandless. It’s not immediately obvious whether what we’re seeing is bunker lining (seems likely) or some sort of tarp — but either way, Augusta is going to need to ready its trucks for a shipment from the Spruce Pine Mining District in northwestern North Carolina, where the club gets its sand. (The sand is largely comprised of quartz, a waste product of the feldspar mining process, which gives it that bright white coloration.) Where’d the old sand go? Your guess is as good as mine.

There’s plenty to take in from the new Augusta National Golf Club overhead imagery posted by Google this week. The new upload was first spotted by Lou Stagner (a worthwhile Twitter follow) and quickly made the rounds among golf fans, most of whom live in a constant state of thirst for any behind-the scenes peek at Augusta. The photos, which were allegedly taken in September, reveal a dormant golf course under heavy maintenance — and may tell us something about new construction, too. Here are five things I noticed while browsing the browned-out National.

But yes, that is grass on the fairways. The main turfgrass at Augusta is bermuda, which stops growing at the end of the summer, as the nights get cooler, growing dormant and brown — or it would, except that Augusta pre-empts part of that process by “scalping” the bermuda, cutting it down to nearly nothing. That preps the ground to undergo an intensive ryegrass overseeding to get ready for member play in October, and that bright-green overseeded ryegrass is what comes roaring through your television screen every April. The greens are Penn-A1 Bentgrass, which actually fare better during cooler weather — part of the reason the club is closed every May to October.

3. There are a ton of hidden greens. How many greens are there on the property at Augusta National? Offhand, you might think the 18 greens on course plus a couple practice greens. But a closer look reveals a whole gaggle more than that, which can’t hide in the offseason. There are the 18 on course. There’s the putting green behind the first tee (19). There are the nine greens on the par-3 course (28) plus two others in the area between Magnolia Lane and Butler Cabin (30). There are three more greens in the short game area adjacent the driving range (33) plus five additional greens on the range itself, although I’m not sure if they’re kept in the same condition (38). Finally, there’s a green hidden on a cul-de-sac by some housing behind the 11th tee (39) plus four more greens by Berckman’s Place (43) and one, final lone green behind hedges near the second tee that was the subject of a Michael Bamberger investigation last year (44). Forty-four greens! That seems like a lot for an 18-hole golf course.

4. There’s a new building… It looks to be hidden in the woods between the 5th, 6th and 7th holes. Longtime Augusta Chronicle scribe Scott Michaux says he’s heard the building may function as some sort of facility for members to take advantage of during tournament week — perhaps a restaurant. Even on the uber-exclusive grounds of Augusta National, there are still wildly varying levels of access. We’ll see if you need a green jacket to take advantage of this place. Nice find! Got me searching. Looks like there’s a new structure on course by 4/6/7 area. pic.twitter.com/giKW4VyTid — TD (@Tyler_Domino) January 18, 2020