Golf Course News
Bermuda Experiment Continues at Lake Tansi Golf Course
By Todd Mathews
Golf course superintendentIn 2006 the maintenance staff at Lake Tansi golf course, in cooperation with the Fund Tournament, began experimenting with the use of Bermuda grass in the fairways. They were looking for a way to prevent cool season turf decline on their 25 acres of fairway turf through the heat of July and August. Nearly every season, the late summer heat takes it toll on the blue grass, rye grass, and poa annua fairways at Lake Tansi.
Bermuda is a type of grass which thrives in heat. It requires minimal fungicide and irrigation. It is an aggressive turfgrass that provides an excellent playing surface for golf. The only problem with the use of bermuda in Cumberland County is its short growing season. Bermuda is only active in this area for about 3 months (June, July, and August). It is basically dormant the rest of the year. Hard freezes in the winter can severely damage bermuda, so different growing strategies must be utilized.
The Fund Tournament was excited about the experiment and agreed to finance it at a cost of $5000.00. The board of directors and the POA management supported the project as well and even pledged some future financial support, provided the tests went well.
The bermuda experiment at Lake Tansi consisted of a little over 1 acre of fairway turf which included 2 sodded areas and 2 sprigged areas. Different cultivation techniques were used on all 4 areas. The solid sodded area to the left of # 4 tee was used as a check. It was basically left alone, although it received normal maintenance such as fertilization and fairway height mowing. After the first year of the experiment mixed results were noted. Some areas of bermuda died from winter freezing. Some bermuda areas were highly susceptible to weed invasions. And all bermuda areas were extremely slow to begin growing in the spring. The check plot to the left of #4 tee became highly contaminated with poa annua.
The results prompted the maintenance staff to make some adjustments to the experiment. Different pesticide and fertilization strategies were used and some experimentation with rye grass over seeding began. The staff felt that the bermuda had a lot of promise and that it would be a great benefit in the heat of the summer, it just wasn’t doing very well during the other times of the year.
Over seeding with rye grass provided some exciting results. The areas of bermuda that were over seeded looked and played great all winter and early spring. When the summer heat arrived, the rye grass began to wither and the bermuda began to prosper.
In the fall of 2008, the staff got very aggressive with the over seeding program. The rye grass came in wonderfully and looked very well through the winter, disguising the brown, dormant bermuda. The spring of 2009 was damp, cool, and cloudy. Not very good growing conditions for bermuda, but the rye grass continued to do well. Warm weather finally arrived in June and the bermuda started to grow. As the summer heat continues, the rye grass will gradually fade away and the bermuda will take over. The transition occurs with out much fan fare, most golfers will not even notice the change, and that is a good thing. The one thing golfers will notice is quality playing conditions on the bermuda during July and August.
Bermuda fairways at Lake Tansi would also provide a cost savings for the POA. The fungicide budget could be drastically reduced as bermuda does not require near the amount of fungicide as does cool season turf. Fungicide savings could total as much as $10,000 per year. Over seeding costs, though, would also have to be considered.
In conclusion, the maintenance staff feels that the use of bermuda in the fairways at Lake Tansi golf course would be a benefit for the POA and its golfing community. Its use would pay off by reducing costs and improving summer playing conditions. The Fund Tournament is in agreement with golf maintenance and is prepared to proceed with the sprigging of about 24 acres of fairway turf at Lake Tansi golf course as soon as they can gain support from POA management, the board of directors, and the golf committee.
