Here is a sneak peek of the September Piper article:
Grass Clippings
Brian J. Stiehler,
CGCS, MG
September 2017
I’ve always enjoyed hearing members talk about their
experiences traveling the country and playing different golf courses. It’s fun to hear that perspective because as
a Superintendent who wants to create the best possible experience for you,
there is a lot I can take away from those conversations just by listening. One member recently visited friends in New
York and had the opportunity to play Fishers Island, a great club near Long
Island. He told me about their Poa annua
putting greens and how well they putted. This led to the conversation about the
differences of Poa annua (also known
as: annual bluegrass) compared to creeping bentgrass. Often times, we associate Poa annua as an evil weed because we
hear other golfers (usually touring professionals) comment on “bumpy greens” or
something along those lines. Does Poa annua “ruin” a putting surface? If it is so bad, why are turf breeders
selecting bentgrasses that most resemble the growth habit and density of Poa annua? If it is such a poor quality grass why do
clubs like Oakmont, Winged Foot and others embrace their Poa annua putting greens?
Poa annua is tolerant of extremely low mowing heights compared to
bentgrass. For example, on HCC greens
with our contours, it is difficult to mow below 0.115” without creating issues
like scalping. Poa annua however, is content being mowed as low as 0.085”. That difference alone will add some distance
to a stimpmeter reading!
For instance, the incredibly fast green speeds at Oakmont
would not be attainable if Poa annua
were not the dominant turf species there.
The Poa thrives on the
compacted soils that are created by ‘push up’ greens that are excessively
rolled and double cut. Incidentally, a
push up green refers to a green that was constructed by mounding up or ‘pushing
up’ all of the quality top soil in an area to create a putting surface. This is opposite to what we have at HCC known
as a USGA spec green which is a sand based root zone designed for good
drainage.
The bottom line is, Poa
annua is a love-hate relationship…mostly for superintendents, not
golfers. Of course golfers hate the idea
of spending a lot of money to rebuild 18 greens, seeded with a beautiful new
bentgrass variety, only to find them with the ugly spotted-leopard appearance 5
years down the road. No one ever said it
was pretty! The other issue that arises
is spring seed head production. This is
where critics of Poa become most
vocal. Poa annua is an annual plant and therefore, its life cycle and
existence revolves around creating a seed.
Seed head formation occurs in spring time each year and this is
typically when Poa is at its
worst! Old established clubs like
Oakmont, don’t tend to have annual types of Poa
on their greens. Rather, over time, those
annual types mutated or segregated to perennial biotypes. The great thing about this is, perennials
don’t produce seed and rather spread by vegetative means.
So if Poa annua
isn’t so bad after all, why do we continue to fight it? Good question! From a Superintendent’s perspective, Poa annua can be a very challenging
grass to manage. It is more prone to
turfgrass diseases, and is far less drought tolerant than creeping bentgrass
due to a very shallow root system. In
Highlands NC, Poa annua loves the
mild temperature in both winter and summer, it loves excess rainfall, and it
especially loves poorly drained soils... All of which we are fortunate to have
in Highlands, NC! On the flip side,
throw in a hot, dry summer and the Poa
struggles. When Poa annua wilts, it
dies. This is different to most plants
where wilting simply triggers dormancy in the plant. With this being said, you can see why Poa annua is less of a problem in
hotter/dryer climates. Mother Nature
takes care of Poa annua for those courses
in more extreme climates. As you can
see, there is no simple solution to the challenge!
Looking back on the season, I think it was a tremendously
successful one! My staff is second to
none and take a great deal of pride in doing all we can to provide you with the
best golf experience in the mountains! I
proud of this crew and like I’ve said before, there isn’t anything more
satisfying to me than watching my key staff grow into their positions and have
the confidence to bring new ideas and better ways of doing things to the
table. This staff is like family and I
couldn’t imagine any one of them not being part of my life.
Like every year, the Ladies Member Guest Tournament was a
blast! I’ve never been part of a Club
where the ladies have as much fun in a two day golf tournament! For the last 7-8 years, we’ve made various
props and decorations that we take pride in knowing they helped set the tone
and mood of the “party!” Below, you can
see the HMS Highlander on display behind the 1st tee! This may have been one of our team’s finest
creations even though it wasn’t sea worthy!
When this one event comes to a close, the Ladies are already planning
for 2018!
Enjoy the fall season and if you have any observations to
make your Club experience better, I would love to hear your thoughts! We are here for you!