Bentgrass or Poa annua Putting Surfaces?

CLICK HERE! to access the USGA article.  Before you read the article, I'd first ask you read my comments below. 

Before I talk specifics, here is a brief lesson on these two grasses.  Most all cool-season putting greens are seeded to Bentgrass at the start.  Poa annua is a grass that starts as a weed but ultimately takes over Bentgrass putting greens in certain environments.  It takes more effort to keep pristine Poa annua greens because they are more prone to pest issues and weather related damage.  However. if managed correctly, Poa annua can create the finest putting surface of any grass.  Think of Oakmont CC and other great, old courses!  Poa annua is the scientific name for Annual Bluegrass.  It's often referred to as 'Poa' for short (pronounced POE-a).  This can be misleading because Poa is the genus for the family of Bluegrasses.  There is also Poa pratensis (Kentucky Bluegrass), Poa trivialis (Rough Bluegrass) and Poa supina to name a few.  Until recently, Poa annua seed wasn't available and why you don't hear of putting greens starting out as Poa annua.  This is because the most desirable Poa annua selections don't produce seed and therefore, there is nothing to harvest.  Old golf courses are mostly associated with Poa annua greens because these are the places where the grass has had the time to become the predominant species and also evolve into the great putting surfaces they are over years of maintenance.  Now on the article!

This is a great article written by a USGA agronomist comparing the pros and cons of each grass on putting greens. At Highlands CC, your putting surfaces were seeded in 1999 using Penn A4 Creeping Bentgrass. Over time, because of many of the reasons mentioned in this article, Poa annua invaded and is now the dominant species.  While Bentgrass is more aesthetically pleasing because of its uniform appearance, it’s my opinion that Poa annua will always be the better grass for putting greens at HCC.  There are numerous reasons for that. The first one is climate related.  Poa annua handles the excessive rainfall better than Bentgrass. In addition, the mild temperatures promote Poa annua growth. The main reason Poa annua does so well at Highlands CC is because it's an old property, densely forested and has a lot of shade.  Even though we've removed many trees over the years, solving a lot of issues, we still have greens that don't get enough sunlight to support Creeping Bentgrass growth.  Bentgrass requires all-day sun and that's just not possible on numerous greens at Highlands CC.  For that reason, it's my opinion that Poa annua will always be the species with the competitive advantage on this golf course.  For that reason, we need to continue to embrace it rather than trying to come up with ways to get rid of it.