In case you missed it, here are scenes from the POA Annua Golf Classic & G.C. Horn Memorial Tournament held at Naples Beach Hotel and Golf Club.
We have also mixed in some history shared by the Everglades Golf Course Superintendents Association of America as the event celebrates more than 40 years of participation.
The 2017 POA Annua, presented by the
Everglades GCSA, was held Thursday, May 18 through Saturday, May 20.
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Scenes from Poa Annua Golf Classic 2017 at Naples Beach Hotel and Golf Club presented by the Everglades GCSA in combination with the GC Horn Memorial Tournament benefiting turfgrass research at University of Florida. Featuring Endurant turf colorants for event-ready turf all year long using less water, less fertilizer and fewer chemicals.[/caption]
The greatest fun for
Geoponics, including for Endurant turf colorant friends and fans, was on Saturday as we celebrated contestants and members of the
Florida Golf Course Superintendent Association and the Everglades GCSA, as well as superintendents from several other chapters.
The event has
deep roots in Florida turfgrass history and among Florida turfgrass scientists, students and superintendents.
A fun fact: How the Poa Annua tourney got its name
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A bucket of poa turfgrass. That was the prize given to winners of the first Poa Annua Golf Classic.[/caption]
The winners of the first golf match between the Everglades Chapter of the Florida GCSA and the
South Florida Chapter received a pail of
Poa, also called annual bluegrass, as their prize. This was in 1971.
Overtime, more chapters of the Florida GCSA joined and the event found a permanent home at the
Naples Beach Hotel and Golf Club in 1980.
The tournament is a fundraiser for turf science.
The G.C. Horn Memorial Tournament began being held in conjunction with the POA Annua in the 1980s. Dr. Granville "Granny" C. Horn is the namesake of the G.C. Horn Memorial Tournament. Dr. GC Horn was a leader in turfgrass science, building the nationally acclaimed
turfgrass program at the University of Florida from 1959 through the early 1970s.
Following Horn's death in 1982, the G.C. Horn Memorial Endowment Fund was created and the golf event was held in conjunction with the POA Annua Golf Classic as the primary fundraiser for the endowment fund.
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