In a year where our rough has remained really healthy due to the frequent rain events it is easy to see where our issues will be in the coming years. Our green surrounds were sodded to kentucky bluegrass and tall fescue starting in 2011 when we renovated each and every hole. In the picture above you can see how bentgrass and poa (our fairway grass types) have contaminated the surrounds. Bent and poa have different growth habits and colors and stand out. Also, at our height of cut, they become puffy and get scalped when mowed down. For the Arcola Cup we had our rough at 6" and have since taken it back down to our normal heights but you can see these puffy patches are not happy. These are also more susceptible to dollar spot before the KBG, especially in a year like this. Best case scenario is to strip it out and resod and make sure we get all remnants out of the soil. The little things like this will go a long way in keeping Arcola looking good for years to come.
