Friday, October 21, 2016
You have probably noticed that the collars directly around the greens have lost their color over the last few weeks. This is due to the fact that the collars are a different variety of bermudagrass than the rest of the golf course. Over the last few years, our team has changed a lot of the collar square footage from 'TifSport' bermudagrass over to 'Patriot' bermudagrass. The collars have had a history of very poor performance when breaking winter dormancy. The majority of the reason for this is the heavy foot and mechanical traffic that the collars receive. High traffic areas and pinch points are usually the most susceptible areas to damage. Our team manages the collars year round to try and protect them as they break dormancy in the spring.
'Patriot' bermudagrass is more cold and wear tolerant than the 'TifSport' bermudagrass used on tees, fairways, and approaches. The 'TifSport' has been an excellent playing surface but hasn't held up well to the extra wear and tear that the collars receive in some places. The 'Patriot' bermudagrass goes into winter dormancy and loses its color earlier than 'Tifsport'. This may be part of the reason that it is more cold tolerant. Overall, the 'Patriot' has performed much better in the collars but does have some visual differences this time of year.
The greens continue to recover from a very stressful summer. The practice greens are certainly slower to recover than the golf course due to the high amount of traffic that they receive. All of the greens were vented with solid tines this week and topdressed with sand to aid in recovery and smooth the surface. The greens will continue to be managed to facilitate recovery and provide a healthy, smooth playing surface.
Have a great weekend,
Jordan Booth, CGCS
jbooth@willowoakscc.org
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| You can really see the distinct line where 'Patriot' has been planted around the greens. |
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| 'Patriot' is more cold weather and wear tolerant and has held up better than 'TifSport'. |
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| 'Patriot' on the left and 'TifSport' on the right both serve very useful purposes but respond differently to weather and 'Patriot' loses its color a little earlier than 'Tifsport'. |
