Golf course management and the flu shot

So, after being bombarded by healthcare providers, news media, and television advertising, you get a flu shot--and voila, you don't get the flu that winter.  Clearly the vaccination worked, right?  Maybe, but perhaps it wasn't the shot that prevented you from getting the flu but other factors.  There is certainly no guarantee that you would have contracted influenza even without the vaccine, thus a cause and effect relationship would be tough to establish.

What the heck does this have to do with a golf course?  Well, often times we will tweak the turf management program by introducing a new product or practice in hopes of improving turf health.  However, if we apply product "X" to all of the greens and they are in phenomenal condition that year, can we conclude that this product is the greatest thing since sliced bread?  Absolutely not!

Just like your getting the flu shot, if we treat all of the greens, we have no way of truly knowing if the "vaccine" we applied led to improved greens, or it was something else.  In the case of turf, the greatest variable from year to year and month to month is the weather.  There are many, many reasons why grass may lose roots and vigor, most of which are ultimately driven by the weather.

No "flu shot" for the beginning of #12 fairway.

Because of this, it is imperative for us to leave untreated check plots when changes are made to any maintenance practice.  As mentioned last week, we applied the first preventative Take-All patch spray at the end of October, and it won't be until next spring that we see if Take-All develops or not. 
Again, if we spray every fairway this fall, and see no Take-All next year, can we assume the spray worked?  Not really, since weather conditions just might not have been conducive for disease development.  Only by leaving untreated check plots can we begin to draw conclusions.

Lastly, if your doctor recommends getting a flu shot, it's probably a good idea (like having car insurance and hoping you don't need it).  Being an untreated check plot for that miserable virus may not be worth the risk!