Turf Talk

STEVE GRIESINGER, COURSE SUPERINTENDENT

We are geared up and ready for another busy season on the golf course.

The new concrete sidewalk to #5 bathroom has been poured and is open for business. Thanks to Robin Fisher, the epoxy floors inside both bathrooms have been freshened up and look terrific.

We had 4-inch main line leak that crosses the road from #13 to #14, and, of course, the leak was under the road. With a little luck and expertise of our contractor, Triple C Underground, we were able to pull the old iron ductile pipe out and slide a new piece of PVC pipe in.

Aerification had its issues this year. We had a mechanical problem with our aerating machine. We made it through, and everything finished up great. We just didn’t have a smooth ride to the desired result.

As the greens begin their healing process and weather continues to warm, poa annua seed heads will be the hot topic. It is an annual blue grass that can handle low mowing heights, loves shade and excess water. It lives in our greens with our bent grass, especially the older greens. We HATE poa annua; YOU hate poa annua. This is time of year when poa annua produces seed heads, which can affect ball roll, and also sticks out like a sore thumb. We use a pesticide that that helps reduce the amount of seed heads the plant will produce to improve ball roll, and it also turns the poa annua yellow and slows the growth of the plant. That is why the pesticide is called a growth regulator. Now that we have poa annua under regulation and turning off color (yellowish), we will promote the growth of the bent grass in the golf green. Poa annua will then become weak, and, in a perfect world, the bent grass will take over. After several years of this practice, there would be a major reduction in the amount of poa annua population in our golf greens.

Also poa annua does not like hot temperatures. If we can keep the plant weakened through its growing season (spring) then let Mother Nature finish the kill in the heat of summer, that is plus. However, this also causes problematic thin spots in the summer. So, in the heat of the summer, we will do everything in our power to keep the poa annua alive because poa annua is better than dirt.

Then the vicious cycle begins again. During late summer and fall, poa germination will begin in ball marks, thin spots, etc. So we will try and control the amount of germination with pre-emergent pesticides. In a nut shell, that is how the life cycle of annual blue grass works and the problems it causes for the maintenance staff.

See you on the course!