type of grass

[evinkc05]

Hey guys, I was just wondering, what difference does the type of grass make when playing around the green in how the ball will reactl, what shot selection to make, etc. I've just never known the individual characteristics of the different types of grasses.

Also, how can you tell what type of grass it is if it is not printed on the score card?

[Ogg]

I play in both the NorthEast and in North Carolina and there is some vast difference in the type of grass on the course. The Bermuda grass in the South is a lot more coarse and the ball can sick down into it much easier. Perennial rye can be a lot more thick but can have some more give. I find that there is a lot less spin when chipping out of rye (more run) but that Bermuda can give you more fits as you know less what the ball will do when hitting out of it.

[Dub]

Ogg nailed it on the rye.

The overseeded winter rye can be tricky.

The biggest turf differences I've noticed are with the green composition. I used to love playing good bentgrass greens....still do....but they suffer down here in the summer heat.....dead spots and parasitic activity can muck 'em up.


I've grown to appreciate a nicely maintained bermuda green....though the breaks can be more unpredictable and the pace perhaps a tad slower they seem to weather the heat and droughts better.

I suppose that living in locations with mild / cool climates certainly has it's advantages....you may get snowed under part of the year but you may be rewarded with bentgrass greens during your golfing season.

Other guys talk about the different types of fringe grass....that is over my head. Tall or short is all I can discern...not generally the type.

[wachesawgolfer]

Hey guys, I was just wondering, what difference does the type of grass make when playing around the green in how the ball will reactl, what shot selection to make, etc. I've just never known the individual characteristics of the different types of grasses.

Most, if not all clubs, publish the type of grass on the greens and that on the course on literature or a website. In the south its usually Bermuda and further north it can be Bent. Bermuda can be very tough to hit out of if its ball height or higher and it enmeshes the ball. Tall rye grass is harder to hit out of as it wraps around the clubhead more. Being in the south, I have only played bent grass on greens, too hot for it to survive on the fairways in summer.