Low input species on high end golf courses
By Emily Braithwaite and Alec Kowalewski, Oregon State University
Fine fescue golf courses are a staple of the Pacific Northwest. Director of Agronomy Eric Johnson has been managing fine fescues on golf courses since 2001. He began at Bandon Dunes, but has spent the last 8 years at Chambers Bay in Washington. When he first arrived, the course was wall-to-wall fine fescue and colonial bentgrass. But in the last two years, he has transitioned his greens over to annual bluegrass.