golf

By Gary Deters and Eric Watkins, University of Minnesota

For a golf course superintendent, managing creeping bentgrass/annual bluegrass putting greens on a daily, monthly, and yearly basis is always a challenge. The goal, regardless of turfgrass species, is to manage the turf to be as healthy as possible while the greens are subjected to daily play from golfers. Cultural practices, nutrition, and water management are important to the success of the golf course playability and overall health of the turf.

Learn more about our latest work!  The Low Input Turf project team has written two recent articles.

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. 

By Alec Kowalewski, Emily Braithwaite and Brian McDonald, Oregon State University

Generally, fine fescues are described as low input turfgrasses because as a group these plants tolerate shade and low fertility, and can persist with minimal irrigation.  However, each of these fine fescues has a unique set of functional components.  This blog post will provide an overview of the characteristics associated with each of the five fine fescues.