Types of Grass

[dragonflyin]

I live in Minnesota, so the courses here are all bent grass. For people who have played on numerous surfaces, what are some of the characteristics of the different grasses? Do you notice a big difference? How do you adjust?

[deadsolidperfect]

I live in Ohio and we are spoiled with the bent grass as well. In my opinion bent grass is the best for a golf course.

Bermuda grass down south in the Carolinas and Florida is brutal. The fairways are inconsistent and it has a sand base.

There are no better playing conditions than a well maintained and manicured bent grass course.

[billm408]

Out here in CA fairways/tess are mostly fescue & rye. A lot of courses start out with bent greens (some are successful keeping it), but most of the greens are poa annua. Once it gets on a course, it will take over a bent grass green in just a few months. Actually not a bad surface if you keep it groomed tight, but it grows fast and uneven and forms buds which makes it bumpy-especially in the afternoons. Rub-o-the green.

[enduro]

In Wisconsin tee boxes and greens are bent grass. On a lot of courses the fairways and rough are blue grass, which isn't bad at all. On the nicer courses, fairways are bent grass and those are awesome, of course.

Blue grass is pretty nice but you pay a bit more for a thicker shot than on bent grass fairways.

Bermuda grass is kinda crappy to play on. The upper midwest region has some of the best golf in the summer due to the awesome grass that can be used, imo.

[Jay-Bird]

Give me a Zoysia fairway all day.

[TexasSR]

Give me a

I'll second that! The ball sits up so nice; like it's on a tee. My club has bermuda fairways and bent tees and greens. The bermuda fairways are really not bad to play off as they are kept very tight, In fact, I'm not sure one would know they are bermuda without being told. The biggest problem is that divots disintegrate; there is no "pelt" to put back in the hole. As a consequence, there are more old, unrepaired divots in fairways than you will see with other types of grass. especially because walkers can't/don't carry sand bottles with them. I very much dislike bermuda greens. They tend to be much firmer and grain becomes a big factor. Reading a green goes to a whole 'nother level.

[allin]

Give me a

Aha sweeper huh?

[piper_clap]

Out here in CA fairways/tess are mostly fescue & rye. A lot of courses start out with bent greens (some are successful keeping it), but

They keep greens like that? I thought it was some sort of fungus/virus. Our greens get a touch of it in the spring time, but it gets remedied pretty quickly.

[billm408]

They keep greens like that? I thought it was some sort of fungus/virus. Our greens get a touch of it in the spring time, but it gets remedied pretty quickly.

Yup. Pebble, Spyglass, Cypress, Torrey Pines, Olympic Club... you name it on the west coast and it's got Poa greens. A lot of greenskeepers fight it, but it's a losing battle for the most part. It's stronger and heartier than bent. And it gets tracked course to course on shoes, clubs, bags, etc...

[Motley01]

Here in Denver, CO, we have both Kentucky blue grass, and bent grass. I really like the grass here, I played in Atlanta before, which has bermuda, and I hate it, it eats your club up, very difficult to play on.

[dragonflyin]

Wow, sounds like people find bermuda difficult.

[billm408]

Wow, sounds like people find bermuda difficult.

Bermuda's just different. It grows like a vine so there's a deep grain that can really effect putts and can be difficult in the rough. The ball sits up nice on it though and it makes a great fairway (not unlike Zoysia). But it also goes dormant in the winter so most courses over seed with another grass in the winter. Popular in humid climates.