PennLinks
Developed For Grainless Greens
When Dr. Joe Duich developed PennLinks exclusively
for putting greens, he was looking for an
upright growing, virtually grainless putting
surface that would perform predictably over
a broad climatalogical range.
With vacationing golfers comparing surfaces
all over the world and a playing professional's
reputation 'on the line' with each putt, a
universally manageable, premium quality surface
was the order.
PennLinks under the experimental name PSU
126, began as a base clone from a green at
The Country Club, Shaker Heights, OH, and
was outcrossed with nine other experimental
Penn bents. Further crossing yielded a variety
with about 100 parental clones producing breeder
seed. Certified PennLinks is second generation
seed.
As with Penncross and Penneagle, PennLinks
was released only after years of testing.
As the experimental PSU 126, it was evaluated
by more than 100 professionals, predominantly
superintendents, all in geographic areas of
the U.S., plus Canada.
The biggest golf course test was at Wilmington
CC, Delaware, where 19 holes at the North
Course were seeded to the experimental variety
with phenomenal results.
Penn State released PennLinks in the fall
of 1986 and it was awarded Plant Variety Protection
(PVP) No. 8700030.
