I played at a horrible public course this weekend where the fairway was lined with weeds and tall grass. Plus, the ground was hard as rock and I was terrified to take a divot and wound up hitting most of my shots thin. I'll never play at a course like that again.

Anyway, I'm interested in knowing what is the best type of fairway (and greens) to play on.

As far as I am concerned, the best fairway grass is Zoysia and the best grass for greens is Bent grass.

Sounds just like where I grew up playing. We were actually happy for the weeds as the fairways (strange name for them) were mostly hard packed dirt. In the spring and fall the buffalo/bermuda (natural grasses) might give you something to play on but mostly not. Only places with irrigation were the greens and tees, all else fended for itself. Still have a soft spot for bermuda greens.

I love the grass in Arizona in May and June when the Bermuda overseed is in perfect condition over the Bent.

I am with the USGA on this one.

They prefer the combination of Bent Grass Greens and Blue Grass Rough. This combination makes for very smooth putting surfaces that can be kept at most any pace without loosing them. And a thick hearty bladed rough that does not have to be 6 inches high to make a player think about staying out of it.

vesper velvet bent are absolute finest green grass. mostly a cool climate gress...................

Any of you tried ever playing on bent grass fairways?

Bent A4 greens for sure!

No course in their right mind would ever overseed Bent with Bermuda. They'd end up with Bermuda greens in one season.

They overseed the Bermuda around September or October with rye grass so the fairways will be green when the Bermuda goes dormant (turns brown) in the winter. If the course has Bermuda/Tifeagle greens, they will over seed them as well when they do the fairways.

If their greens are Bent, they will be absolutely perfect from October to April/May when it starts getting really hot. Bent is fairly heat adverse, so they'll be longer/slower in the summer if they are bent to keep them from getting burned up and dying.




You'll find them a lot up in the northern climates. I think they are absolutely perfect. I liken it to walking on carpet they are so nice. You can take some HUGE divots on those things too. Damn near look like a pelt sometimes

Up here in Ohio, Bent grass is found on almost all the nice courses. It is amazing. We do have a Bermuda one near by but I like Bent better.

Bent !... soft as a baby's bottom.

I am convinced you guys have no idea what you are talking about. Anyone who has a clue about golf courses knows the best grass to play on is Carl Spackler's Bent.

This is a hybrid. This is a cross bluegrass, Kentucky bluegrass, featherbed bent, and northern California sinsemilla. The amazing stuff about this is that you can play 36 holes on it in the afternoon take it home and just get stoned to the bejeezus-belt at night on this stuff.

Bent grass tees, fairways and greens. Best combo IMO.

I think it depends on the geographic region and the time of year but I like the new Ultradwarf Bermuda grass on the greens. They installed these at my club early last year and by the end of the year they were firm, fast and true. A number of couses in the south are going to this grass (TPC Sawgrass made the transition last year).

Bent fairways and Fescue rough - HA

Obviously everyone would love to play on bentgrass tees, fairways, and greens but it is more expensive to buy the seed first of all and then more expensive to maintain. Anyways, here's my choices for grass on a course with unlimited money. My choices for courses not in the south as I live in Iowa.

Greens: T-1 creeping bentgrass (#1 darkest bentgrass in the world)
Fairways:T-1 creeping bentgrass
Tees: Alpha creeping bentgrass (nearly as dark as T-1 but much more aggressive horizontal growth to fill in divots faster)

But for a course with not as much money, you cant go wrong with:

Greens: Penncross creeping bentgrass (very old strain of bentgrass, not as green or disease resistant as T-1 but absolutely acceptable when maintained)
Fairways: Kentucky Bluegrass (great green color, easily maintained at fairway heights)
Tees: Kentucky Bluegrass

Whatever kind of hybrid grass the Augusta National uses. Its unlike anything I have ever seen in my life. I have never seen a better grass surface anywhere.

ANGC has bent grass greens.

Everything else is a form of Rye grass that is used as an overseed. That is why the course is only open from Oct-Apr.

According to gcsaa.org, Augusta Natl. is completely bermudagrass overseeded with ryegrass except for the greens which although used to be bermuda are now bentgrass.

i personally like bentgrass greens and winter rye fairways

That's the majority of what we have around here. There are a couple with Kentucky bluegrass fairways, and I know there's one place that has closely mown fescue fairways(Whistling Straits), but that's it. Bent is what you are going to get 99% of the time in this climate.

Greens are always bent, with the occasional unintentional mixutre of bent and poa annua, rough is usually bluegrass with the occasional fescue or the really rare bluegrass/ryegrass mixture.

Bermuda and Zoysia can't survive up here, and ryegrass generally doesn't do well so its confined to small things like the first cut of rough if it's used at all.

All natural Santa Anna Couch for fairways... drought resistant and hibernates in winter for good playing surfaces all year. As for greens, I've really only played on bent, but there are pure.

Josh

When I've played in the US, I've always avoided Zoysia grass courses where possible. I think it's horrible powdery stuff to hit from, and only suits sweepers of the ball (which I'm not.)

Arizona seems to have the best fairways I've played on, whatever grass they may routinely be.

i knew i should've been an agronomist like my Dad said suggested.


i like green grass. that's mowed. and rolled.

that's all i got.




threadjack: kblakeny....where in SE-Iowa?

bent greens, fairways and tees are tops on my list. in arizona, in the winter, they overseed the primary surface, which is bermuda, with rye, which is another pretty good fairway and green surface. a4 greens will blow you away.

I like Zoysia for fairways and bentgrass for greens.

There is a great 9 hole course in Williamsburg, Iowa with bent grass tees, fairways, & greens with bluegrass rough that you should check out. www.stonecreekiowa.com

I am not an agronomist, so I have no idea what type of grass they have, but heathland courses (such as Sunningdale, Walton Heath) and links courses (Royal County Down, Turnberry) are wonderful so long as they don't get too dry. till play well, just don't look so good. On links courses there is a different feel when you strike the ball, almost a thud.

Anything but kikuyu grass.

Velvet bentgrass greens (fast!), fescue fairways and rough.

Fescue loves well-drained soils such as the sandy soil found at Monarch Dunes in Nipomo, CA. These fairways don't grab your club like bermuda and the ball sits up nicely on fescue. Fescue is also very disease-resistant and goes dormant during droughts.

Velvet bentgrass greens fell out of favor nearly 50 years ago when courses began their heavy reliance on petroleum-based fertilizers and pesticides. Mismanagement coupled with poor seed production put velvet bentgrasses into obscurity. However, velvet bentgrass has the finest leaf texture, highest shoot density and smoothest playing surface of all turfgrasses. Velvet bentgrass also possesses exceptional drought, shade and disease tolerance, good wear stress tolerance and good heat tolerance.