Golf Course Superintendents vs. Weeds

Take a little look at what superintendents battle to provide beautiful playing conditions. This article appeared in the February issue of Golf Course Industry magazine.

Constant Pressure

Weeds seem to endure your best efforts to suppress them. Experts advise what to look for this year and offer the best weed control and resistance management strategies.

February 9, 2016
Rob Thomas

Goosegrass

British author A.A. Milne once says, “Weeds are flowers, too, once you get to know them.” But who wants to get to know them? Certainly not golf course superintendents.

Fortunately for those charged with maintaining impeccable playing surfaces, labs and research facilities are filled with people learning everything there is to know about these wild, unwanted plants.

Zac Reicher, a green solutions specialist at Bayer Environmental Science, for instance, has been studying turfgrass and weeds for more than 34 years. Taking a look at cool-season golf course grasses, specifically, he says annual bluegrass always ranks at the top of the list for weeds, but has plenty of company. Goosegrass is “problematic” in the Transition Zone, but seems to be spreading more into the North and white clover is common in cool-season fairways and roughs.

“Weed control in no-mow roughs or natural areas is becoming problematic,” Reicher says. “Canada thistle, milkweed, and other agricultural weeds are common since mowing is not used as a primary control method.

Read the entire article HERE.