Golf Scientists: Poa Greens The Cause Of All World Problems

Like blimp shots of Bel-Air, blaming poa annua for every missed putt is a West Coast tradition unlike any other. By the end of Northern Trust Open week, you'd have thought this hearty weed of a grass would be linked to climate change, multiple flu strains, the Zika virus and the fall of Jeb Bush.

Yes, for years, Torrey Pines, Riviera and Pebble Beach sported some pretty lumpy, cauliflower-esque greens. And yes, after 144 players have played them, they are not as smooth as they were when first cut. Throw in temps in the low 70s and they might even grow a little over the course of 12 hours.

But the idea that putting's a crapshoot on them in 2016 is at least a decade-old myth. Sadly, however, this perception of flukishness has driven players to skip places like Riviera (or until their foundation becomes the beneficiary). Poa even leads announcers to all but shame the superintendents and a grass that remarkably fine for a lot of golf courses people revere.

Riviera last week was as meticulously conditioned as a golf course can be for any month of the year and particularly for February. The putting surfaces rolled true despite over a half-inch of rain Wednesday. Yet on the weekend afternoon telecasts and in post round player interviews, the constant refrain of poa as the source of most missed putts was undeniably frustrating to hear after watching players power their fair share right through the breaks.

I suspect the announcers who lamented this condition were thinking of their own putts over at Bel-Air, as they weren't out in the morning testing the supposedly lumpy surfaces. The entire setup of Riviera was as good as it could be last week considering the limitations of kikuyu grass collars, some of the lame architectural changes, the time of year for turf growth and the weather. So if there is anything to complain about--and there isn't when a week produces golf like we saw from so many fine players--it's the green speeds pushing 12 feet. But slow those down, and some of the smoothness that has arrived with those speeds may disappear.