Gassing greens

[LOberman]

The midwestern club that I belong to is considering a golf course improvement project.  A component of the program is to gas all of the greens and reseed them with A-1.  Our current greens are mostly a Penn-Links/Poa mix with one newer green being a A-4/G-2 mix.  

First we need to decide if it is necessary but setting aside the issue of should we? or shouldn't we?  Does anybody have experience with this type of project?  What should be our expectations for the future?  What are the risks?  Thank you in advance for your input.

[Jeff_Mingay]

One expectation for the future is, the Poa will come back within a few years.

[cary lichtenstein]

First, tie any recalcitent members too a nearby tree and gas them as well.

Welcome the return of 15% poa each year with a champaign toast.

[Joe Hancock]

Get ready for a shock....

As a superintendant in the Midwest, I say that the ability to fend off poa is there. It starts with water management. I'm not saying poa free, but to be able to stay predominantly bent is very possible. The reason I say this is because I have been able to transition from predominantly poa to predominantly bent on my greens without herbicides or overseeding over a period of years. Less water, less fungicides, less fertilizer...and less water again.

I say gas the greens, but only if your club is interested in saving money due to less of everything. Poa can be good, but it's expensive.

Joe

[Jeff_Mingay]

Sorry to get a bit off topic, but Poa is a big problem in Alberta, Canada. And, it's absolutely amazing how well the A-4 on the greens has kept Poa off of the green surfaces at Blackhawk GC over the past three seasons.

We toured the course this fall, and superintendent Duane Sharp pointed out several areas where Poa in the bluegrass approaches to the greens stops dead as soon as it hits the periphery of the A-4 green surfaces. It's really amazing.  

I'm sure Duane's maintenance practices have something to do with this success too. But I know as well, this is one of the reasons he insisted seeding the greens with A-4.

[LOberman]

Jeff,

That is good to hear.  It is important to note that we are also talking about rebuilding three of our greens.  Our primary reason to gas the greens is not to rid ourselves of poa but to make sure that all of our greens are the same and have consistency from one hole to the next.

If we do the project we will probably use A-4 because we believe it will perform the best.  It is my understanding that it is a great grass provided it receives adequate sunlight.  I believe some courses have experienced problems using A-4 on greens surrounded by trees.  

Do you remember the green complexes at Blackhawk?  Are the greens open to the elements or surrounded by trees?

[Steve Okula]

Whatever you decide, please do not use methyl bromide to fumigate the greens. There is strong evidence that this gas does harm the  ozone layer. It is being phased out, but not fast enough. Certain farm crops, like strawberries, depend on it, but I would not trade the earth's atmosphere for pure greens.

I had good results sterilizing soil with a granular product, Basamid, that is also much easier to use than methyl bromide.
This was to eradicate bermuda grass, one of the most persistant weeds.

In a cool-season climate, the lasting effects of any sterilization are minimal, I believe. In a matter of months, the greens will be contaminated again with all the pests you've just eliminated. Maybe you can keep Poa out, but it won't be because you fumigated, but rather from the post-seeding management.

[wsmorrison]

Mike McNulty at Philadelphia Country Club used Basamid to rid grass from the entire golf course, each nine in successive years.  I think PCC was the first club to Besamid an entire golf course.  Is this true?  The results have been wonderful.  

Other courses in the area that gassed some or all of their greens did not seem to do as well.  It may be a coincidence  or other factors coming into play.  My course fumigated some of their fairways and all the greens except a practice green.  They were advised to do it all but the club thought they had good grass on half the holes and didn't regrass to try and play it safe.  I think that strategy has backfired.  A new regime gives me high hopes.