declaration

[Tommy Williamsen]

My course outside of Washington DC has just regrassed the fairways.  they used a new strain of bent called Declaration.  Anyone familiar with it?

[Craig Disher]

During the hot spell in August we overseeded some of the stressed areas on our poa/bent greens (also near DC) with Declaration and it grew in quite well. We'll have to wait until next summer to see how well it stands up to the heat, humidity and traffic.

What's your gc?

[Tommy Williamsen]

Craig, my club is The CC of Woodmore.  The grass looks good, but I am suspicious of new and and seemingly untested grasses.  Initially we were going to use a L93 and A4 mix. That seemed to be a good blend.  I suspect they know more than I do.

[Craig Disher]

Declaration is supposed to be highly resistant to dollar spot and it that's true, the grass would be a good candidate for our area. However, my course has several greens that are fairly well shaded and it's possible that the bent may not do as well on them. One green is not looking too good at the moment and as you know we've had some very nice weather recently.

Our superintendent tried Declaration as an experiment. It sounds like Woodmore has made a major commitment.

[Sean Remington (SBR)]

   Up in Philadelphia I have done some experimentation with Declaration and it does seem to be somewhat more Dollarspot resistant. It is however very close genetically to L-93 and my only concern would be it's tendency to produce thatch. It should be an adequate grass for fairways. Not using the A4 in the fairways was a good decision in my opinion. I feel the A's and G's would require far to much maintenance in fairways.

   A new grass that I really like the looks of is from Jacklin seed and is called T-1. I have not seen a faster establishing bentgrass and the color is amazing good all year. I have this grass on both soil and sand based areas and it my favorite. I think we will hear more about this grass in the next few years.

[Tommy Williamsen]

I never ceased to be amazed by all the new grasses and the research that goes into them.  Every time I go the driving range at Pine Valley I look for the new grasses that are being tested.  What a time we live in.