Course Update 9/16/24

Looking back, this summer will stack up as one of the hottest and driest in Montana history. We were relieved that the water supply in Whitefish Lake did not drop below our intake and did not inhibit us from accessing water for any portion of the summer. The turf held up predominantly well throughout most of the golf course. The health of the putting surfaces was never in question and remains that way today. Bentgrass loves Montana heat with cool nights.

There was, however, noticeable stress on the poa annua in the fairways and approaches during July and early August with some of the poa thinning and dying out. Aside from unsightly seed production and disease pressure, untimely death really highlights the need to eradicate as much poa annua as possible. It is incredibly invasive and is always the first plant to grow in the Spring and the first seed to germinate, but it cannot be relied upon in our climate to provide quality playing conditions throughout the entire golf season.

We started PoaCure applications on August 12th to eradicate as much poa annua as possible. We’re three applications into the process and results are very positive so far. You will notice a lot of yellowish poa and even some bare spots. There will be a fourth application this Fall and possibly a fifth. The solution to poa eradication will always be a moving target due to its prolific seed production and the thousands of different biotypes that exist. It’s a lot like having a thousand different locks and expecting only one key to open them all. PoaCure is going to help tremendously but we will continue to look for and rotate different solutions hoping that a combination will win the day.