Post by Richie3Jack on Jun 16, 2011 7:55:19 GMT -5
Good column from Trent Bouts over at The Sun News (Myrtle Beach's newspaper). www.thesunnews.com/2011/06/07/2205586/ultradwarf-grasses-becoming-the.html
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Golf course superintendents along the Grand Strand have endured some rugged weather extremes in recent years. Coupled with budget cuts due to the economy, those highs and lows have made for some challenging times trying to keep courses in prime condition.
Yet there's a growing group of superintendents that has found reason to smile along the way. They are the superintendents who have switched their bentgrass putting greens to newer varieties of ultradwarf bermudagrass.
There are few stronger advocates for the change than Max Morgan, a 31-year industry veteran who is director of golf course maintenance operations for the Myrtle Beach National Company. Morgan's enthusiasm for the ultradwarfs is not what you might expect from someone with so many decades in the business under his belt.
"It's fun stuff to grow," he said. "It used to be that summer would come and you'd start worrying about hanging on to your job. But these grasses are very enjoyable to grow, and they've given superintendents their summer back. By 9:30 on a Saturday morning there's nothing left to do."
All this from someone who admits being, at one time, "a diehard bentgrass man."
"Now, if someone starts talking about bentgrass I lose interest," Morgan said.
His former love for bentgrass was widely shared when older bermudagrasses such as 328 and TifDwarf provided superior heat resistance but slower, bumpier putting surfaces with considerable grain. In those days, it was a lot easier to justify dealing with the shortcomings of bentgrass in the Myrtle Beach climate. The gap in putting quality between the bentgrass and the old bermudagrasses was so significant that it was worth shutting down to aerify in spring and fall, even when golf was at its busiest. It was even worth the weeks of intensive care that inevitably consumed superintendents in the latter part of the summer as they fought to keep the grass alive with hand watering and expensive fungicide applications.
But with the finer-bladed, tighter-knit ultradwarfs the gap in putting quality has narrowed dramatically. Now, Morgan said, it's not just golf course superintendents who want the ultradwarf bermudagrass, but golfers too.
"I can't tell you how few calls we get now asking for bentgrass," he said. "But there are a lot of calls asking if we have one of the ultradwarfs."
With the right grooming, the ultradwarfs provide an excellent putting surface so comparable to bentgrass that this year the PGA Championship will be the first of golf's majors on bermudagrass greens in decades.
Atlanta Athletic Club's new Champion greens will give the city two significant events on the new ultradwarfs. The Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club is played on Mini-Verde.
This month, Myrtle Beach National will add a little more of both grasses to its stable that now includes ownership of 10 courses and management of another four. The River Club at Pawleys Island will close on June 23 and the West Course at Myrtle Beach National will close six days later to allow for what are known as "no-till" conversions to Champion and Mini-Verde, respectively.
A fumigant is used to take out the existing bentgrass and the new ultradwarfs are planted straight on top, which should allow both courses to reopen mid-August.
"I just need three words to tell you why," Morgan said to explain the move. "Better and cheaper."
He estimated that the conversions would save about $50,000 a year thanks to a range of factors. One, bermudagrass doesn't require anywhere near the amount of labor that goes into hand-watering bentgrass through summer. Two, it handles the heat and without becoming stressed is far more resistant to pests and disease which are expensive to deal with. Three, it can be aerified during the summer which means no closing during peak play periods in spring and fall.
The list goes on, as does the number of courses making the move. Other courses making the move this year include Quail Creek, Barefoot Resort's Norman and Fazio courses and Wild Wing, which is also under Myrtle Beach National management. They join a host of other recent converts such as The Reserve at Pawleys Island, Arrowhead, Willbrook Plantation and TPC at Myrtle Beach.
As for a preference as to which ultradwarf he favors, Morgan has none. Instead, his experience with both Champion and Mini-Verde on other company facilities has led him to declare both as "fantastic grasses."
"We're very happy with both," he said. "There are slight differences between them, and we've had rave reviews on both from day one."
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 that typically appears in The Sun News the last Tuesday of each month.
Read more: www.thesunnews.com/2011/06/07/2205586/ultradwarf-grasses-becoming-the.html#ixzz1PRXSPGZY
*******
Golf course superintendents along the Grand Strand have endured some rugged weather extremes in recent years. Coupled with budget cuts due to the economy, those highs and lows have made for some challenging times trying to keep courses in prime condition.
Yet there's a growing group of superintendents that has found reason to smile along the way. They are the superintendents who have switched their bentgrass putting greens to newer varieties of ultradwarf bermudagrass.
There are few stronger advocates for the change than Max Morgan, a 31-year industry veteran who is director of golf course maintenance operations for the Myrtle Beach National Company. Morgan's enthusiasm for the ultradwarfs is not what you might expect from someone with so many decades in the business under his belt.
"It's fun stuff to grow," he said. "It used to be that summer would come and you'd start worrying about hanging on to your job. But these grasses are very enjoyable to grow, and they've given superintendents their summer back. By 9:30 on a Saturday morning there's nothing left to do."
All this from someone who admits being, at one time, "a diehard bentgrass man."
"Now, if someone starts talking about bentgrass I lose interest," Morgan said.
His former love for bentgrass was widely shared when older bermudagrasses such as 328 and TifDwarf provided superior heat resistance but slower, bumpier putting surfaces with considerable grain. In those days, it was a lot easier to justify dealing with the shortcomings of bentgrass in the Myrtle Beach climate. The gap in putting quality between the bentgrass and the old bermudagrasses was so significant that it was worth shutting down to aerify in spring and fall, even when golf was at its busiest. It was even worth the weeks of intensive care that inevitably consumed superintendents in the latter part of the summer as they fought to keep the grass alive with hand watering and expensive fungicide applications.
But with the finer-bladed, tighter-knit ultradwarfs the gap in putting quality has narrowed dramatically. Now, Morgan said, it's not just golf course superintendents who want the ultradwarf bermudagrass, but golfers too.
"I can't tell you how few calls we get now asking for bentgrass," he said. "But there are a lot of calls asking if we have one of the ultradwarfs."
With the right grooming, the ultradwarfs provide an excellent putting surface so comparable to bentgrass that this year the PGA Championship will be the first of golf's majors on bermudagrass greens in decades.
Atlanta Athletic Club's new Champion greens will give the city two significant events on the new ultradwarfs. The Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club is played on Mini-Verde.
This month, Myrtle Beach National will add a little more of both grasses to its stable that now includes ownership of 10 courses and management of another four. The River Club at Pawleys Island will close on June 23 and the West Course at Myrtle Beach National will close six days later to allow for what are known as "no-till" conversions to Champion and Mini-Verde, respectively.
A fumigant is used to take out the existing bentgrass and the new ultradwarfs are planted straight on top, which should allow both courses to reopen mid-August.
"I just need three words to tell you why," Morgan said to explain the move. "Better and cheaper."
He estimated that the conversions would save about $50,000 a year thanks to a range of factors. One, bermudagrass doesn't require anywhere near the amount of labor that goes into hand-watering bentgrass through summer. Two, it handles the heat and without becoming stressed is far more resistant to pests and disease which are expensive to deal with. Three, it can be aerified during the summer which means no closing during peak play periods in spring and fall.
The list goes on, as does the number of courses making the move. Other courses making the move this year include Quail Creek, Barefoot Resort's Norman and Fazio courses and Wild Wing, which is also under Myrtle Beach National management. They join a host of other recent converts such as The Reserve at Pawleys Island, Arrowhead, Willbrook Plantation and TPC at Myrtle Beach.
As for a preference as to which ultradwarf he favors, Morgan has none. Instead, his experience with both Champion and Mini-Verde on other company facilities has led him to declare both as "fantastic grasses."
"We're very happy with both," he said. "There are slight differences between them, and we've had rave reviews on both from day one."
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 that typically appears in The Sun News the last Tuesday of each month.
Read more: www.thesunnews.com/2011/06/07/2205586/ultradwarf-grasses-becoming-the.html#ixzz1PRXSPGZY