As the golf course begins to thaw, I have managed to get around many areas of the golf course to evaluate the conditions of the playing surfaces. Although we monitor things over the winter, there is no way to truly know the conditions until areas are fully exposed and the grass starts to grow. There are still areas of significant snow cover, but from what I can see so far, I am confident the turf is healthy.
Metamora Golf and Country Club is very fortunate that it still has a lot of bentgrass. Creeping bentgrass is a lot more tolerant to winter weather than annual bluegrass, often referred to as
Poa annua or
Poa.
This is a picture of a 90% creeping bentgrass ladies tee on #12. The brown look is very normal with dormant turf.
Pictured here is an area of #16 fairway. Again, creeping bentgrass is the predominate species here, around 75%. The other 25% is a mixture of
Poa annua, kentucky bluegrass and rye grass.
This picture is a close-up of a green area that also has a lot of bentgrass, the green turf mixed within the brown dormant bentgrass is
Poa annua. The green
Poa plants are still at risk of crown hydration for another couple weeks depending on moisture and temperatures. Crown hydration is caused by the plants taking in water and then freezing causing severe damage and often death.
Please follow this blog as I continue to explain the importance of creeping bentgrass and why it is promoted over
Poa annua at Metamora.
