What you don't see

The poa annua greens on the course present a challenge from many points of view. They are fickle to heat and humidity.  A shallow rooted plant that grows dense and patchy, but seeds prolifically like no other plant on this earth.  It is the only grass species that can seed when mown at green heights, one reason it is so tough to eliminate.

Also poa may be the most susceptible plant to disease.  Our location, which is a pathologists dream with the conditions, now has a new disease from Japan that is making a mockery of our attempts to halt it's progression.  Waitea Patch, otherwise known as Brown Ring Patch.  Funny since it is neither brown, nor a ring or a patch disease specifically, this disease has invaded our greens and seems likely to be here for a long stay.  You may have seen examples of it on the putting green and both 16 and 18 greens.  It is everywhere and very persistent.  The one thing it does not do is invade bentgrass.

So far we have used all the local and university research to apply a ridiculous cocktail of fungicides to stop the progression, and at this time I see little success and a lot of expense.  This condition has us using fungicides when no other pathogens are present, which put simply means we are spending money and time to combat a single disease on poa when conditions are perfect for all other grasses.  We are always looking for methods and practices to extend our protection levels and prefer to spray fewer times than more, but we have now encountered a disease that may require a nearly 12 month regime to combat.  We hope that stronger and more preventative application made at the extremes of the season can reduce it's impact, but poa is so susceptible that if left unchecked we would slowly lose most of the grass on the greens.

Why We Change

Many times we are challenged with the reasons for the constant change at our club.  Just like anything else, time moves on and to stay current we need to keep up.  Not with the "Joneses" but with the needs of the living, breathing entity that is a golf course.  The areas we maintain for golf change constantly, trees grow taller,  invasive plants become more commonplace,  waterways erode banks just like tires wear on cars and the roof on your house needs replacement.  That's one I struggle with, the roof, no one abuses it and it only sees rain, how does it "wear out"?

On the course we are constantly evaluating carts paths that need to be worked on, stone walls that have never seen maintenance,  and many areas that are just plain worn out from play.  As we try and create a more favorable and enjoyable playing environment, just think of the trouble many localities are experiencing with poor bridges, and crumbling infrastructure that is overworked and poorly maintained.  We need to incorporate these "investments" to keep the course in the best possible condition to withstand the rigors of play and nature.

As an old course there are a myriad of underground pipes and drains that we have no records of that continue to collapse and deteriorate, but need to be removed or reinforced to prevent larger issues down the road.  Not all of them can be easily solved, but to be sure these items along with the improvements keep the staff busy all year round and continue the need for long range capital funding.