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ON-COURSE MANAGEMENT
Grass debate continues among area's course superintendents
TRENT BOUTS
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One of the hottest debates in the golf industry right now raises questions over the long-term future of bentgrass greens along the Grand Strand. For years bentgrass was the grass of choice for courses looking to appeal to the serious and high-end golfer. Its fine blade provided a sleeker, smoother putting surface than older Bermudagrass varieties.
But bentgrass is better suited to milder temperatures than those that bake Myrtle Beach at the height of summer. As a result, most superintendents with bentgrass spend six or eight weeks on either side of August each year just trying to keep their greens alive. That battle can be tough on superintendents and golfers alike as putting performance takes a backseat to survival.
In recent years, an increasing number of golf courses in the southeast are switching to a new class of Bermudagrass known as the ultradwarfs. Ultradwarfs have a smaller, finer leaf blade than their predecessors and therefore provide putting characteristics closer to bentgrass, including fast green speeds. They are far more heat tolerant and generally require less remedial care.
Area superintendents are likely to debate which grass is better at a special end-of-summer review at the Members Club at Grande Dunes on Oct. 18. One of the moderators at the open forum will be agronomist Pat O'Brien, the Southeast region director for the USGA's Green Section. O'Brien visits hundreds of courses in the Carolinas and surrounding states each year and is an ultradwarf proponent. He predicts most bentgrass courses will convert greens to ultradwarf Bermudagrass in the next few years, including those on the Grand Strand.
The TPC of Myrtle Beach recently reopened after regrassing greens with Mini Verde ultradwarf Bermudagrass. The TPC joins other highly-rated courses such as Tidewater, True Blue and Caledonia among those with new ultradwarf Bermudagrass greens.
"Low-to-mid budget courses are already on the ultradwarf bandwagon, and the high-end private clubs are next," O'Brien said this summer at a conference in Georgia.
Courses with older, coarser Bermudagrass were also looking to make the switch, he said.
Not everyone is on the bandwagon, though. The Dunes Golf and Beach Club, International World Tour, Surf Club, King's North and the Members Club and Resort Course at Grande Dunes are among the area's bentgrass facilities. Some superintendents argue that bentgrass provides a superior putting surface during the area's peak spring and fall seasons. They also favor growing just one kind of grass on their greens year round. Others with Bermudagrass greens traditionally overseed in the fall with ryegrass or poa trivialis to take over while the Bermudagrass falls dormant, losing all vigor and color in winter.
Overseeding can create its own challenges when superintendents switch from one grass to the other in spring and fall. In South Carolina's Midlands, superintendents are no longer overseeding but using a non-toxic paint to give their greens color. One or two Grand Strand superintendents have dabbled with paint, but the consensus is that painted greens could become too fast as winter progresses, due to a greater volume of play than many Midlands courses see in the offseason.
While the jury is still out, court will certainly be in session next Thursday.
TRENT BOUTS edits Carolinas Green magazine for the Carolinas Golf Course Superintendents Association and consulted with members of the Palmetto Golf Course Superintendents Association for this column. He writes a monthly column for Myrtle Beach's "The Sun News".
GRASSES (Check each course for specific grass types)
Bermuda: Creeping grass that loves the heat. Does very well in temps above 70 degrees, goes dormant after first heavy frost in fall. Fairly hardy, but has some trouble in the shade. It's ability to quickly grow back over divots that are filled with sand make it a good fairway grass. Overwatering causes domancy or death. While it is used on a lot of greens, it's structure and rapid growth make conditions vary. Cannot be mowed as short as bent grass, generally. Cool weather causes it to go dormant. This doesn't affect playability, and most who have played on dormant bermuda know that the ball sits up very well, as it stiffens. The brown color looks bad in winter but the grass is not dead, just sleeping. Overall, a good, inexpensive grass that is used on most courses in the south, at least tees, fairways, and rough. TifDwarf, Tifeagle, Champions are popular new strains of bermuda that is used on many greens in the south. Bermuda greens must be overseeded in the fall. Typically a blend of rye grasses, this gives the greens a growing grass to keep the turf stable and green. Bermuda greens are usually aerofied in late spring to promote rapid growth, and in late summer to make them ready for overseeding. In summary, Bermuda sits the ball up nicely in the fairway, and quickly repairs itself. It works well on greens in the south, including roughly half the courses in MB. When grown taller for rough, it can give you those "fluffy" lies, that will sometimes be sitting on top of the grass, other times hopelessly nestled down in it.
Fescue: Clumpy, long, wide blade grass. Used almost exclusively for rough, since it isn't a creeper, and doesn't repair itself. All weather grass that is very hardy and inexpensive. When grown tall, can be the most nasty rough to get out of. Stays green no matter what the weather, until it is dead. In summary, a good hearty grass that frames courses nicely as rough.
Zoysia: Great creeper that is very expensive. Great for high traffic areas, like around bunkers, tee boxes, etc. Has a "crunchy" feel under your feet, and the ball sits up very nicely. Best grass for shady tee boxes that don't get a lot of direct light or air. Could not be used for greens, as it is very thick, and grows a bit spiky (that's why the ball sits up so well on zoysia fairways). If you see that a course has zoysia fairways, you know they spent some serious money. Have never seen it grown extermely long, but as rough it is very forgiving. The ball sits up very high.
BENT: Seed research and development (at least in the golf industry) has probably spent more time on bent grass than any other. The denotations you see in golf brochures like "PennCross", "Crenshaw Bent", "A1", "L93", etc., are new strains of bent grass that are hardier hybrids that can be mowed VERY short, thus making for lightning fast, smooth greens. Bent grass thrives in cool weather, optimally 50-70 degrees. Courses with bent grass greens will GENERALLY be a little better in the winter, bermuda greens should be a little better in the summer. However, a good superintendent makes all the difference, and fertilizing, watering, and mowing techniques (in addition to a design that utilizes natural drainage and water collection) make an ENORMOUS difference. Bent grass is so named because it's blades grow sideways from the ground. New strains of bermuda and bent grass are making courses better and better, and are enough reason to try that old course that you played a few years ago and "liked the design, but it was in bad shape" if they have recently resodded with a new strain of grass. Bent grass is a "putters grass" that can be cut short and rolled to act like glass.
Rye: A true coldweather grass. Rye grass is a single plant that grows in a bunch. Each plant will have several shoots coming out of that bunch. Rye grass is the grass of choice for overseeding in the Myrtle Beach area. Rye grass dies in the begining heat and dryness of summer. So, as the rye is dying out, the bermuda grass is waking up and beginning to grow, with little if any competition. That's why a dormant bermuda course can be "overseeded" with rye in the winter. The rye will be overtaken by the dominant grass (zoysia, bermuda, bent) as it grows.
Poa Annua: (Pronounced PO-ANNA). It is a low lying, creeping grass, that battles in spots with the intended green cover. The biggest problem with Poa Annua is that it has a tendency to sprout buds in hot weather, causing little bumpy areas where it is growing. It really leans toward the sun (learn to read grain if you haven't played much on bermuda or poa annua greens, as it will lean toward the afternoon sun).
PROCEDURES:
Why do courses AERATE? Courses aerate to stimulate root growth (air, sunlight and water, along with vitamins and minerals, are what makes the green stuff grow, even with 40,000 rounds by hackers like me on it). Air circulation is essential to all grasses, and that's why greens that are nestled back in a bunch of trees, or on the side of a hill, or down in a hole, are often in bad shape. Many greens will have huge fans next them to get life giving air to the grass. In the heat of summer, with no circulation, even the best greenskeeper will have trouble keeping a green alive. The holes made by aeration get air to the root system, and loosen the soil, to promote creeping (creeping's a good thing, it repairs ball marks and divots). The sand (top dressing) on the green is put there to fill the holes and should have some fertilizer in it to maximize the success of the procedure. Another kind of aeration is Verti-Cut. It looks like a rolling razor has been pulled over the green, vertically, so it makes very thin lines on the green. Most good courses will have a small 1/10 to 1/8 acre "green" that is simply a plot of the same grass used on the greens, so in the event of a burn out, excessive wear, or vandals, exact sized pieces of sod can be integrated into the damaged green.
