BERMUDAGRASS FAIRWAY RENOVATIONWhy it is being done and the results that have been achieved.by JOHN H. FOY

Providing consistent and acceptable fairway conditioning with common bermudagrassor a mixture of bermudagrass types is a major challenge to tur/grass managers.

COMMON bermudagrass (Cyno-don dactylon) is not native toNorth America. However, since

it was introduced as a contaminant inshipping ballast in the early 1700s, ithas spread to many locations and hasbecome ubiquitous in the southeasternportion of the United States. Until thefirst improved hybrid cultivar, Tifgreen,was developed in the 1950s, commonbermudagrass was one of the fewwarm-season turfgrass options for golfcourses. Naturally, with the develop-ment of today's improved cultivars,many older courses want to converttheir greens and fairways to providegolfers conditioning and quality com-parable to that found at newer facilities.With bermudagrass putting greens, therenovation or turf conversion proce-dures have been well established. Thisis not the case when it comes to fair-ways, however.

The hybrid cultivar Tifway was re-leased in 1962 and since then has beenthe standard for fairways as well as tioning expected today. These coursesroughs and tees. Tifway has a fine also are undergoing complete renova-texture, dense upright shoot growth, tion. Following is a review of the strate-and a dark green color. Also, compared gies that have proven to be successfulto common bermudagrass, Tifway has for renovating and converting fairwaysimproved wear, pest, and cold toler- to new bermudagrass cultivars.ance. Because of their improved winterhardiness, Vamont and Midiron are Row Plantingtwo other bermudagrass cultivars that The process of row planting ber-have been used on fairways in the mudagrass sprigs was developed in theupper South and transition zone. Tif- early 1980s and has been used on manySport is the most recent introduction courses in the Southeast. This tech-and is similar to Tifway in many re- nique is popular for repairing winterspects. However, it possesses improved damage in the spring and early summer,winter hardiness, can be maintained at and has been promoted as a means oflower heights of cut, and, because of making a smooth transition fromstringent production and certification common or a mixed stand of bermudarequirements, offers the highest degree to an improved hybrid cultivar withof genetic purity. Given the expecta- limited course disruption and downtions and demands of golfers today, time. The basic process consists of:a hybrid bermudagrass turf cover 1. Pre-plant preparations: Approxi-throughout the fairways is essential. - mately two to three weeks prior to the

As you might expect, many old scheduled planting date, core aeratecourses with common bermudagrass and reduce thatch via other culturalhave been undergoing fairway renova- means. This is followed by a pre-planttion for some time. Also, a rather large fertilizer application based on soil testnumber of courses built in the last 20 results.to 30 years used inferior cultivars or 2. Competition reduction: Applica-contaminated plant material, and the tion of a nonselective herbicide orresulting "Heinz 57" mixture of ber- growth retardant is recommended onemudagrasses makes it impossible to week prior to the scheduled plantingprovide the top quality fairway condi- date. In the early 1980s, paraquat com-

monly was used to burn down existinggrasses or weeds to minimize competi-tion for the new sprigs. Today, glypho-sate and glufosinate formulations arethe most commonly used herbicides.Furthermore, in locations with a historyof heavy goosegrass or crabgrass pres-sure, an application of the pre-emergentherbicide oxadiazon just prior to orimmediately following the row plantingprocess is recommended. This treat-ment is considered safe for bermuda-grass sprigs and does not inhibit root-ing or turf establishment.

3. Row planting: The equipment forrow planting and the process itself werepioneered by Southern Turf Nurseriesin southern Georgia and are availabletoday as a sprig planting service fromseveral turf producers. The first rowplanters for golf course use weretobacco or vegetable planters that weremodified to cut in bermudagrass sprigs.Current row planters use two sets ofspecial Colter disks to open 2-inch-deep slits and then press the sprigsdown into the slits. A pressure rolleron the back of the planter closes theslits and produces good sprig-to-soilcontact. The sprig rows are on 6-inchcenters, and the standard planting rateis 500 bushels per acre.

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4. Grow-in: Grow-in irrigation, fer-tilization, and cultural practices areessentially the same for bermuda sprigs,regardless of the planting process. Turfproducers often suggest grow-in pro-grams, and Green Section regionalagronomists also can provide detailedsite-specific suggestions.

During the summer, when optimalbermudagrass growing weather isoccurring, 60 to 90 days are typicallyrequired to establish full turf coverageand appropriate fairway conditioning~Play can resume shortly after the rowplanting process has been completed,but cart traffic should be kept off theturf until it is well established. Fordaily-fee operations, row planting isa good option because it minimizesrevenue losses.

Total Renovation

A few courses in Florida have con-ducted total fairway renovation projectsin the past several years. In every caseof which I am aware, other courseimprovement projects, such as puttinggreen regrassing or reconstruction, teeleveling and enlargement, irrigationsystem upgrading, and/or bunkerrenovation were being conducted atthe same time. To some degree, theseother projects helped ease the pain ofhaving the course closed for an entiresummer. Although there have been

variations in the process of total fairwayrenovation, the following are commoncomponents:

1. Kill the existing turf cover: This isan extremely important step that will bediscussed later.

2. Debris disposal: Regardless ofthe method used to kill the existingturf cover, a large quantity of deadsod and organic debris is created andmust be removed. The ideal approachis to use commercial-grade sod cut-ters and completely strip the existingturf. This material must be buried onsite or hauled away. Then, rototillingis conducted to break up and incorpo-rate the remaining thatch and organicdebris into the soil. Rototilling doesnot always fully break up clumps ofdead bermudagrass, however, and sidedelivery rakes have been used toharvest this material into windrowsfor removal.

3. Soil cultivation: Rototilling with astandard tractor-mounted heavy-gradeunit to a depth of 6 to 12 inches hasbeen the standard process. In a coupleof cases, large disk harrows have beenused in combination with rototilling tothoroughly work the soil. On a coupleof jobs, however, large roadbed roto-tilling units have been used for soilcultivation. In addition to having anincreased effective depth of operationin the range of 12 to 18 inches, unitssuch as a Caterpillar SS 250 or a Bomag

MPH 100 are able to produce soilblending that is superior to what isproduced with standard tractor roto-tilling.

Following the soil cultivation work,board floats and box blades are usedto reestablish the desired contours andsurface smoothing. This also is theappropriate time to apply and incorpo-rate the pre-plant fertilizer and anyamendments, such as lime. If soilsterilization with methyl bromide is tobe performed, steps 2 and 3 should beconducted first.

4. Sprigging: After a smooth and firmsoil surface condition is achieved, stan-dard machine sprigging is performedand the grow-in process is initiated. Asprigging rate of 400 to 600 bushels peracre is recommended. However, forlate-season plantings the sprigging rateusually is increased to 800 to 1,000bushels per acre. It has been my ob-servation that there is no benefit toincreasing sprigging rates beyond thisrange.

As with row planting, and if soilsterilization is not conducted, a pre-emergent herbicide treatment is usuallyadvised just prior to or immediatelyfollowing the sprigging process. Alwaysspecify and use certified planting stock.Over the years there have been manycases of renovation projects that failedbecause clean and top quality sprigswere not used.

Soil sterilization with methyl bromide prior to replanting fairways ensures the highest degree of bermudagrass kill as well as controllingother pests such as nematodes, mole crickets, and weed seeds.

14 USGA GREEN SECTION RECORD

Where's the '419' be1mudagrass?

The West Coast MethodA few courses in California have used

a distinctly different approach for con-verting fairways from common to Tif-way bermuda. The basic process con-sists of stripping off the commonbermuda and then installing big rollsod. Generally, half of a fairway isstripped and then resodded lengthwiseso that the course can be kept opento play throughout the conversionprocess. A free drop from the soddedportion of the fairways is allowed untilthe turf becomes established. A logisti-cal problem with this conversion pro-cess is what to do with the commonbermuda sod. Hauling it to a dump orlandfill can be cost prohibitive. In onecase, other locations were found wherethe sod could be reused, and the con-tractor charged a few cents per squarefoot for delivery. Although apparentlynot an issue at these courses in Cali-fornia, when adequate measures are nottaken to completely kill the undesirablegrass before replanting, regrowth of theexisting bermudagrass has been a majorproblem for courses in the Southeastand Florida ..

Killing BermudagrassRegrowth of common or other un-

desirable bermudagrasses has been amajor problem with fairway renova-tion/turf conversion projects. Whenrow planting operations were firstconducted, it was thought that Tifwaywould be able to out-compete anddominate common bermudagrass.Thus, little effort was put into trying tokill the existing turf cover. It wasthought that in as little as two years,

and at least within four or five years, acomplete conversion could be accom-plished. In the many years I have visitedcourses where row planting was per-formed, I have found that, at best, only50% to 75% of the fairway turf coverwas composed of a fine-texturedhybrid-type bermuda.

Based on my experiences to date,producing a high degree of kill of theexisting bermudagrass turf cover isessential for achieving a successful fair-way conversion. There are also examplesof where inadequate measures or short-cuts were taken in killing the existingbermudagrass with total renovationprojects. In as little as two to three yearsafter renovation, a mixed turf cover ofdifferent bermudagrasses can be ob-served. For golf courses in Floridawhere the heaviest play occurs duringthe winter months and the bermuda isnot actively growing, a mixed turf coveris a big problem in being able toprovide the level of conditioning andaesthetic appeal expected.

Research conducted in 1988 by B. J.Johnson, of the University of Georgia,determined that three applications ofglyphosate over the summer growingseason are required to produce anacceptable level of bermudagrass con-trol. Acceptable control is defined as90% or better. As high as 96% controlhas been achieved, but in some cases4% survival of the undesirable grassesis considered unacceptable. Also, hav-ing to take four months to kill the fair-ways before starting the replantingprocess is not an option in most cases.

At several courses in South Florida,the time interval between glyphosatetreatments was reduced to 21 days. In

between treatments, aggressive pro-grams were conducted to promoteregrowth. So far, it appears thatan acceptable level of control wasachieved. Yet, a follow-up spot treat-ment program usually must be usedeach summer to kill areas of regrowththat are found. Dr. John Boyd, Univer-sity of Arkansas, also has found thattwo treatments with a combination ofglyphosate plus fluazifop- P-butyl(Flusilade II) produced a level ofcontrol equal to three applications ofglyphosate.

Soil sterilization with methyl bro-mide has been a standard practice tokill undesirable grasses prior to replant-ing bermudagrass greens. Along withproviding the highest degree of kill ofthe remaining bermudagrass, this treat-ment eradicates most soil-borne pestssuch as weed seeds, nematodes, anddiseases. Sterilizing 20 or more acres offairway turf is often considered cost-prohibitive. However, it offers the high-est degree of kill of undesirable ber-mudagrass and requires only five toseven days to complete. Thus, there issignificant time saving realized, and acourse can be reopened to play muchmore quickly.

Although the practice of sterilizingfairways prior to replanting is gainingacceptance, both the production anduse of methyl bromide are being pro-gressively phased out and will no longerbe available in 2005. This raises majorconcerns throughout the bermudagrassindustry about being able to establishand maintain monostand plantings.Research is underway, but at this timea viable and equally effective soilsterilization treatment has not beenidentified.

ConclusionUnquestionably, the combination of

new, better adapted bermudagrasscultivars and ever-increasing golferdemands result in an increased numberof fairway renovation projects. Optionsare available, but several factors mustbe taken into consideration in deter-mining the best process to use at aparticular site. It must be clearly under-stood that course disruption, cost, andthe results achieved will vary greatlyfrom project to project. As with everyother aspect of life, communication andeducation are essential to a successfulrenovation/conversion program.

JOHN FOY is director of the USGA GreenSection's Florida Region, where he visits golfcourses throughout the state of Florida.

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