Recent Event

2022 Poa annua Classic – “Keeping a Weather Eye”

By Melanie Bonds

This year’s Poa Annua Classic returned to a spring schedule, being held on May 2nd, at Inverness Country Club in Birmingham. Last year the Poa was held in conjunction with the Auburn Turfgrass Research Day in July. Certainly, the change of date made for much more enjoyable playing conditions. We appreciate Jim Mason, Superintendent, and Inverness Country Club for hosting! We are proud to announce that our numbers grew with this year’s tournament and we fielded 53 players!

We also thank our speaker, James Spann. James hardly needs an introduction as he is the weather guru for much of the state! For those who don’t know, James is a television meteorologist based in Birmingham, Alabama. He currently works for WBMA, Birmingham's ABC affiliate. Spann has worked in the field since 1978. His degree is from Mississippi State University. James Spann spoke on “Getting Accurate Weather Information In A Sea Of Misinformation.” He is always an informative and entertaining speaker. Thank you, Mr. Spann for sharing your knowledge with our members!

( l – r ): James Spann, Kayla Cook and ATA President, Ben Anderson.

The ATA hosts the Poa each year to raise funds for the Alabama Turfgrass Research Foundation. Thank you to those sponsoring the event, Bayer Environmental Science, GreenPoint Pro and PBI Gordon.

ATA Board Member Drew Charcandy (center) poses with colleagues from Auburn ( l – r ): James Rogers, Daniel Richardson, Zach Willard and EliWilliams.

Congratulations to our POA WINNERS:

FIRST PLACE TEAM: Ben Anderson, Patrick Bell, David Haven and Ben Williams

LONGEST DRIVE: Bryan Scroggins

CLOSEST TO THE PIN: Neal Wisdom