Choosing the right grass

Micah Woods Chief Scientist | Asian Turfgrass Center www.asianturfgrass.com

The R&A Seminar on Sustainable Golf Course Design, Renovation, and Maintenance in

March 2016 What grass gives optimum conditions with fine fescue a minimum of inputs? Scotland It depends on location

● Cool-season grass: ● Transition zone: mean mean annual annual temperature temperature < 14° from 14 to 20°. Warm- season or cool-season grasses can grow. ● Warm-season grass: Warm-season usually mean annual have lower inputs. temperature > 20°

First planted to cool-season grass creeping bentgrass Shanghai, 1999 Later changed to warm-season grass paspalum/ryegrass Shanghai, 2014 If cool-season grasses are used .

● The species likely to give the best conditions with the lowest inputs in East Asia are creeping bentgrass (for tee, fairway, green) and tall fescue or fine fescue in higher cut areas.

It also depends on water

● What is the irrigation ● What is the quantity of requirement? water available? ● [ET minus effective precipitation] adjusted for irrigated area, DU, ● What is the quality of and water source the water available?

Bermudagrass does not perform well as a managed turfgrass in East and .

Wiecko, 2000

This used to be a bermudagrass fairway. Not anymore. The transition happened naturally.

manilagrass fairway Philippines

Removing bermudagrass from seashore Hanoi paspalum We grew 419 bermudagrass, Salam seashore paspalum, & manilagrass Thailand These are the grasses during the fourth simulated fairway turf week of the experiment in December 2013. Thailand Zoysia matrella was 22% more efficient in water use and 25% more efficient in N use. It does not require as much water or nitrogen to produce a dense sward.

measuring water use Thailand

Kawana: no sprinkler system, zoysia Z. matrella & Z. japonica tees, fairways, greens, rough. Royal Hua Hin: native grasses, excellent mix of native grasses ground contours and playing condition Thailand Native grass at Royal Hua Hin mix of native grasses Thailand Tree shade is pleasant on a tropical golf tropical carpetgrass course; what other grass is so versatile? Thailand Tolerant of heat, sun, shade, few tropical carpetgrass diseases or insect or weed problems Singapore Zoysia matrella in sun, tropical Zoysia matrella & carpetgrass carpetgrass in shade Singapore Excellent playing conditions with Zoysia & carpetgrass minimal inputs Hong Kong