Don’t Forget
About the Rough:
Cultivating an endless fascination for PD’s flora & fauna
PD Golf Course Superintendent Cory Griess advises golfers to take a 
1-stroke penalty for an unplayable ball if they land in a Yucca glauca, 
what locals call the Great Plains or soapweed yucca.
LOVE THEM FOR:
✢ their iconic beauty that gave us our PD logo. Native to the 
Great Plains and foothills of the Rocky Mountains, their 2' 
to 5' flowering, creamy white, “candlestick” stalk rises in 
the spring, usually in May, from a taproot system that is up 
to 20' deep and spans laterally along the surface up to 30'
✢ their pioneer history. Native Americans and explorers/
trappers beat and threaded the fibers of the needles to 
make rope, mats and snares. They made sudsy soap 
for hair, blankets and clothing from the rootball, which 
contained saponins
✢ their survivability in arid climates. They don’t need water or 
maintenance of any kind. They are propagated exclusively 
by the Yucca moth (Pronuba); neither species can survive 
without the other
✢ providing phenomenal cover for ground-nesting birds with 
their dense nature and dagger-like leaves
✢ feeding animals, including wildlife like deer and rabbits, 
insects like the yucca moth and caterpillars, birds like the 
woodpecker, and livestock like cattle and goats
Prairie Dunes is recognized by Audubon International with its sanctuary 
certification for conservation of wildlife and natural resources. 
Cory took this photo of a flowering yucca left of 7 fairway one fall. This is a very rare occurrence. 
He says a fall flower is said to symbolize resilience, spiritual transformation, and late-blooming hope. 
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