Introduction

A golf course is precious to people who enjoy the game of golf. As a matter of fact I believe that everyone is captivated by the beauty of a golf course. You can see the beauty of a golf course in many different ways, but the foundation of a good course is the grass. Being able to play on healthy, lush green grass is every golfers dream.

Not just any grass will work in all areas of the world. Grass can be categorized in two groups of either warm season or cool season grasses. The warm season grasses like temperatures between 80 to 95 degrees F while cool season grasses prefer 60 to 75 degrees F.

Warm Season Grasses-

Some examples of warm season grasses are, bermudagrass, zoysiagrass, St. Augustinegrass, bahiagrass, carpetgrass and centipedegrass. Lets talk about two of these.

Bermudagrass-

Bermudagrass produces a light to dark green turf that is well adapted to the climates and soils of southern United States. This type of grass has the ability to tolerate drought, wear, and salt very well. It grows rapidly and is very competitive among weeds. One thing about bermudagrass is that it is now very shade tolerant.

Carpetgrass-

Carpetgrass is a creeping, stoloniferous, perennial warm season grass. It is not as drought tolerant as Bermudagrass. Carpetgrass does well on acid soils and with low fertility, but it does require frequent mowing. If you use carpetgrass on you fairways you will need to occasionally add applications of nitrogen .

Cool Season Grasses-

Here are some expamples of cool season grasses are bentgrass, bluegrass, fescues, and ryegrass. I will explain bentgrass and bluegrass.

Bentgrass-

Two types of bentgrasses are creeping bentgrass, and colonial bentgrass. Bentgrasses are known for their fine texture and adaption to low mowing heights. These two types are most used in the turf industry. Creeping bentgrass is the primary type used for cool season high quality greens. It is not recomended for lawn use becuase of its maintenence requirments.

Bluegrass-

There are three main types of bluegrass that are used in the turf industry. The first is Kentucky bluegrass. When you cut this grass to its correct hieght of one and a half to two and a half inches it will be very competitive among weeds. It has a high demand for water, but it can withstand long periods of drought by going dormant.

The next type of bluegrass is rough bluegrass. This type is used in wet shady areas. It will be able to handle lower mowing heights than that of kentucky bluegrass.

The third type is annual bluegrass. It is considered a weed but it is very productive and is very important to the turf and may even be the primary turf. It is a winter annual where it begins its life in late summer and early fall.

REFERENCES

Bermudagrass

Carpetgrass

Bluegrass

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