Over water like you've never over watered before......that will tip the scales in favor of poa.

 

Joe

Just leave the course alone. It will transition to poa all by itself.  

God and The Fates took revenge on Golfers with poa annua during the Creation due to Man's Original Sin.

It was either that or William Morris, Horace Hutchinson, Gertrude Jekyll, George Riddell and his Country Life Magazine  and particularly the English A/C movement being as world-wide pervasive as Tom MacWood claims they were was responsible for poa annua. They apparently thought it to be "more natural". That's one thing they were probably right about and it could be the new undiscovered reason that the A/C movement really was a powerful influence on the Great Golden Age of Golf. I hereby suggest that the great Golden Age of Golf should not be termed the "Golden Age" OR "Arts and Crafts Golf" (as Tom MacWood suggests) but that it should more appropriately be relabeled "Poa Annua Golf".  

But then the ultimate question becomes should poa annua itself also be considered either a "vernacular art or craft" or even an integrated "art form", as per Morris' "philosophy" of integrating all art forms world-wide?

Peter:

What you need is the tel # of HVGC's Scott Anderson. He's spent years in a process he calls "hardening off" his poa strains. And the point is HVGC may've been the first golf course in Amerca to dedicately transition from soft and water-logged conditions to a real firm and fast maintenance program. They've been doing it since just about 1981.

It's Darwinian, Man, it's the survival of the fittest. It's called Just Let Nature Do its Own Thng----that's what it does best.  

Joe,

We sometims have that debate on an Australian forum. Not flying a poa flag here, but one of the very good points raised by its advocates is that a lot of our regional area courses (in various areas with various different climates) that charge less than $US300-350 per year in membership and have 1 or at most 2 full time staff of at best adequate qualifications on the golf course seem to be able to offer equal or better putting green surfaces to many of our world famous sandbelt courses. And they have great greens all year round, in winter or during a hot dry drought. They also never seem to suffer the stereotype poa problems such as sprouting heads effecting the trueness.

That so many of these humble places exist has convinced me that poa doesn't automatically HAVE to be difficult to maintain, even if it can be.

Po' Anna, the impovrished turf of golf greens, is so misunderstood.

I've never been to Oregon, an I don't know if you are on the wet side of the state in Willamette Valley, but in cool, wet climates, Poa annua out performs every other species in every way, including year round putting surface and budget economy.

If you want to encourage the transition, then there are steps to be taken.

True, water helps, but there is no need to over-water until the greens play like baskets of wet laundry. Simply install a weather station and computer controlled automatic system and water each day to account for evapo-transpitration rates. The greens will be firm enough, and the Poa will thrive.

There are over 300 identified subspecies/genotypes/varieties of Poa annua. Most are ugly, but a precious few make the most outstanding putting surfaces on earth. Unfortunately, the most desirable subspecies of Poa are generally the least prolific seed producers. Nevertheless, if there are any courses near you with Poa greens you admire, ask them if you can have some of their mower clippings during the spring, when the seedheads are abundant. Mix those up with topdressing on your greens. This is best to do right after you aerate. If their greens arent producing any seed head to speak of, then ask for some aerator plugs and plant those in a nursery where you can let the plants grow up higher to harvest the seed.

While transitioning, mow low. Keep it under an eigth inch all year (3 mm). the Poa competes better with other species at lower heights. Also, the golfers will appreciate the speed.

Presuming you want the greens to play well during the transition, don't overdo the fertilizer. Three pounds/year of nitrogen is plenty, but double that in potassium. Spoon feed, applying miniscule doses weekly via liquid applications with a sprayer. Phosphorous won't make any difference, outside of the textbooks.

Also for transitional playing quality, begin a program of the growth regulators Primo and Proxy in tandem. This is essential to maintain uniformity and consistency on the putting surface. When it's done correctly, 98% of the people who play the greens won't notice that you are 50% Poa and 50% bentgrass.

Yes, you will nedd to initiate a preventative fungicide ("the "F" word!) program. I've been on one for years, and still I have managed a happy and productive life with a loving family.

Of course, these are only my opinions, and I may be wrong.

(But I doubt it).

Thanks guys, keep it coming. We have 35-40" of rain a year, 80% Oct-Mar. 85F is a warm day, but this year we set a record for most 90F+ days in a calenday year.

There is a nearby course which recently went NLE named Orenco Woods. I doubt that any maintenance has been done on their greens since it closed. If we could get permission, how would we go about harvesting their assumedly poa greens. Are coring, sodding, or mowings equally feasible and efficient?