Bermudagrass vs. Seashore Paspalum

[Terry Buchen]

I was recently inspecting and reviewing some bermudagrass and seashore paspalum sprig and sod sources for an international client which brings up the subject of which type of grass is better to use on a new or renovation project that seems to always provoke some interesting comparisons?

Seashore Paspalum is not as easy to maintain nor is it as tolerant of "poor quality irrigation water" as is reputed, as grow-in reqires good irrigation water quality and routine flushing of good irrigation water quality is required during routine maintenance when fair to poor water quality is otherwise used. It seems that a superintendent is always doing something to it to make it grow and play the way they want it, making it a high maintenance grass - but well worth the efforts. It thrives on Calcium, Maganesium, Iron, Potassium, etc. to keep inevitable disease away. It does not take injury from aerification, deep verticutting, golf carts, etc. as well as bermudagrass does, but the newer Sea Isle Supreme and Seadwarf varieties are able to handle injury better than the more established varieties thus far. It generally tolerates overseeding with a smoother transition
depending on the overseeding rates, turf types and local climate.

One of the greatest benefits of the newer varieties such as Sea Isle Supreme, Seadwarf and even Sea Isle 2000 is that these varieties were developed for use on "greens" but they can be used wall to wall, which is a huge advantage compared to some of the other varieties. It is nice to have just one variety on the entire golf course that can be maintained at whatever mowing heights the superintendent would like to be able to provide the ultimate playing conditioning standards while still providing good agronomic conditions.

Bermudagrass contamination is a big challenge to keep it out with some granular salt products that can work and if all else fails use Roundup and Fusillade II Herbicides to kill it and then resod.

The new Sea Spray Seashore Paspalum seeded variety (which is currently available for sale in sod form in Southern California) seems to be a hot topic now that hopefully will show some promise, but not too many architect's, superintendent's or agronomist's are willing to take the risk of using it on their new or renovation projects thus far. Once this new turf variety is out for 3-5 years on "real world" golf courses and not just in turf nurseries, university trials or sod/sprig farms will anyone know if it is going to be a success.

Tifway 419 bermudagrass seems to still be the standard if bermudagrass is desired for everything except greens. Tifsport (fna Tif 94) made some headway in the mid to late 90's but its popularity is declining because of complaints mostly from mid to high handicap golfers in the sunbelt that do not like its compact growth habits (compared to 419) when used on fairways mowed at 1/2-nches or lower.

Tifway II is still available but I have not seen it used much in the past five years or so. The trend on new or renotaved golf courses now is to go back to using tried and true 419.

Tifeagle and Champion on greens seem to be doing well in climates where they adapt well. They are a high maintenance grass but well worth the extra work. I am seeing a few superintendents in Florida that will be switching back to Tifdwarf because it is easier to maintain but have not seen a big defection thus far from Tifeagle or Champion.  

It is still unfortunate that Floradwarf for greens did not do well after extensive testing at the university level and on turf nurseries. It did not handle traffic from golfers or maintenance practices which proves that it is better to test new grasses in "real world" situations for 3-5 years before committing to them, though someone has to use them first.

Thanks, and its nice to be a part of GCA.

And in closing " I would rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy!"

[S. Huffstutler]

Anybody that seriously wants to switch back to TifDwarf from Champion has other issues than the grass. This statement needs to be clarified, Terry, because, for the most part, it's just not true. People who think you can grow bermuda in the shade will be sadly dissapointed in their new ultradwarfs, but anybody who has done their homework would be nuts to go back. Champion is easier to take care of than TifDwarf, in my opinion.

Regards,

Steve

[Jeff_Brauer]

Steve,

We have seen a few clients as well as muni courses we have no connection with go back to TifDwarf in the name of easier maintenance.

We have seen the pendulum go back and forth between Tif Eagle and Champions here in DFW for those who don't.  No real converts either way, with some thinking Champions is easier to maintain and more cold tolerant, while others see it struggle under their conditions.  Mini Verde is making a push in Texas now to complicate matters even further......

[Mike_Young]

I have also seen some go to Tifdwarf instead of one of the ultradwarfs...I have found the Tifeagle cannot ever be cut above.130 without and it seems to take more light topdressing and vertigrooming etc....
So for some of the munis it is more maintenance IMO
Mike

[Mark Brown]

Terry,

Welcome aboard. And thanks for the grass analysis. Can't read it all now, but one note, at Palmetto Bluff they did all but greens in paspalum. The main thing I noticed was that it's a little sticky and spongy, making it hard to get it to play firm and fast. What do you think?

Talk more later.

Cheers, Mark

[Patrick_Mucci_Jr]

Terry Buchen,

Doesn't Paspalum tend to produce VERY tight lies ?

[Gary_Mahanay]

Jeff,

What did the Mini Verde look like at Ridge View Ranch at the end of last summer?  What is that now, the third different grass for the greens...? tifeagle...champions... Mini Verde?  All of those are way more labor intensive than Tifdwarf...but putt way better.  I hear that Mini Verde is not the thatch producer of the other two so that may be the sudden interest.  If you don't have a good mechanic that can keep the mowers sharp and a good verticutting and topdressing program then Tifdwarf might be the way to go.  No matter how good you keep any of the ultra-dwarfs, they will never putt as good as bent grass.

[kurt bowman]

Mark,

I think your observations about the playing characteristics of the sea isle 2000 at May River GC are correct. The upside of paspalum as I see it is it's excellent green color, and striping ability; good playing surface; and no dew in the morning due to it's waxy leaf blade. Not to mention being more salt tolerant. Terry can speak better to the differing management styles between paspalum, and bermuda.

The waxy leaf blade also makes the paspalum a little stickier, and spongier as you mentioned. We chose against using Paspalum on the greens at MRGC because at the time SI 2000 was all we could get our hands on, and we felt that the ultradwarf bermuda's were superior at the time. As the newer dwarf variety's of paspalum get proven, the greens could be easily re-grassed as a summer project.

Cheers,

Kurt

[Anthony_Nysse]

 No matter how good you keep any of the ultra-dwarfs, they will never putt as good as bent grass.

Amen!

Tony Nysse
Asst. Supt.
Long Cove Club
HHI, SC

[Terry Buchen]

Steve,

The switch back to Tifdwarf that I have seen is on private courses that have a medium to low maintenance budget and on public courses that wanted to reduce their maintenance budget. These courses were one of the first to use an ultradwarf and were also experiencing some mutation and segregation and when they re-grassed they were considering going back to Tifdwarf. These courses did not have a shade situation.

Jeff,

Mini Verde is gaining popularity in Florida that looks real good when there is enough money to maintain it properly. It does not seem to produce as much thatch/organic matter and it does not get as "puffy" as the other ultradwarf's.

Mark,

Paspalum is somewhat sticky and spongy and can get "puffy", but when maintained at 3/8- inch fairway mowing height and kept as dry as possible can produce a firm and fast playing surface. Obviously the thatch and organic matter need to be kept routinely under control with light/deep verticutting, aerification and routine fairway topdressing is an added plus.

Some of the best warm season grass greens that I have seen were with Sea Isle 2000, Sea Isle Supreme and Seadwarf. They are a high maintenance grass but when maintained properly are as good or slightly better compared to the bermudagrass ultradwarf's. These greens are mowed by hand; groomed weekly; topdressed weekly; aerified 2-4 times during the summer; lightly verticut monthly; deep verticut during the summer months to keep the thatch/organic matter under control on an as-needed basis. Nitrogen (once they are fully grown-in) is kept to a minimum and the Calcium/Maganesium ratio is kept high along with high amounts of Iron and Potassium. Depending on the routine maintenance irrigation water quality, flushing is usually required during the dry times of the year approximately every 2- weeks for about a week at a time and as-needed during the wetter, warmer months.

Patrick,

Yes, paspalum produces very tight lies. It is so tight that in Florida there is little or no infestations of Mole Crickets because they cannot penetrate through the thickness of the turf.

Cheers,

Terry

[Chris Munoz]

I think we should get Ronnie Duncan on this forum.  He is the expert on Paspalum....

[Mark Brown]

The Patriot at Grand Harbor (?) by Davis Love has mini-verdi  on the greens and it was a very strange experience to me. It was spongy, it didn't hold and the leaf seemed to grow straighter up to a point that it looked too long, but didn't putt as slow as it looked.

Does this make any sense to those who know?

[Brent Hutto]

Mark,

I played the Patriot in the winter when it was dormant (and BTW Mini Verde has a lovely color when dormant although not as gorgeous as the Paspalum at the Ocean Course) and it definitely fools you by looking almost shaggy but then putting true and quite briskly. I also noticed the springiness of the turf on the greens.

Can't say I recall whether they were holding or not since I hit the ball low with no spin and there was a 15mph breeze the day we were there. Plenty of challenging slopes at the Patriot to practice one-hopping shots onto the green.

[Forrest Richardson]

Terry — I am in Mexico as we speak and have spent the day with Michael DePew, developer of Sea Dwarf Paspalum. It is a terrific and amazing grass. At The Links at Las Palomas we have it wal-to-wall; tees, fairways, roughs, greens. It is simply the most amazing warm weather turfgrass I have ever seen. I will share your comments at dinner tonight. DePew will be very proud.

[S. Huffstutler]

I gotta be honest with you, for what it's worth, and I know it's not worth much, anybody who wants to go back to TifDwarf from Champion is not doing something right. It requires a little more effort with regard to cultural practices, but a whole lot less effort with regard to keeping it alive. My club is definitely not high budget, but I can maintain my Champion for just a little bit more money than I did my Dwarf and I don't worry about losing grass in the winter as long as my greens are in the sun for most of the day. Of the guys that I've spoken to who want their Dwarf back, it is invariably because they are not willing to adapt to a different way of thinking. The biggest budget increases for me are topdressing and aerification and frankly, that doesn't amount to much. Champion does fine in summer when mowed at .150 and fine in the winter at .115. It wants to live, the Dwarf was always trying to die. The Champion is dense, the dwarf is open. etc, etc.etc. There is more required of the Superintendent with an ultradwarf, because he needs to readjust his thinking and unlearn a whole bunch of stuff that has been beaten into his head over the years. TifDwarf is not even the same grass from supplier to supplier, there's Quality Dwarf, Tifton Dwarf, Pike Creek Dwarf, ad infinitem. God knows what you'll get when you order grass, but for sure it won't be the same stuff you got ten years ago. Why would you want to go backward, when with a little effort, you can make a quantum leap forward?

Steve

[Terry Buchen]

Forrest,

Glad to hear that you went wall to wall with Seadwarf at The Links at Las Palomas and that you are very pleased with the results. I first saw Seadwarf at Crown Colony Golf & Country Club in Fort Myers, Florida, last December which was the first golf course worldwide to use this newer strain of paspalum on their greens. The greens were near perfect, as the 10+ foot Stimpmeter reading, ball roll, firmness, smoothness, resistance to ball marks, trueness, color, etc. were excellent.

I want to go and visit Hammock Bay Country Club in Naples, Florida one of these days. They have Seadwarf wall to wall and I have heard nothing but raves about the playing conditions and appearance.

The new TPC at Treviso Bay in Naples, Florida is going wall to wall with Sea Isle Supreme, which is a new Arthur Hills/Hal Sutton design and it should also do quite well. Tim Hiers, CGCS, at Old Collier Golf Club also in Naples, has had Sea Isle Supreme on the greens for approximately 2 1/2- years and they are in excellent condition in all ways like the Seadwarf at Crown Colony.

I was on The Big Island of Hawaii last week and visited Kukio Golf Club and they have Sea Isle 2000 on the greens (Salam everwhere else) and they were excellent also. The Nanea Golf Club across the street has wall to wall Sea Isle 2000 and I did not get a chance to see it but it is reportedly in great condition also.

Mark,

The Mini Verde that I have seen in sod/sprig farms is usually mowed with triplex greens mowers 3-4 times per week and it looks shaggy because it is obviously mowed at a higher mowing height with minimal greens conditioning than under actual playing conditons but it still putts better than it looks like it would. Some of the newer courses are considering Mini Verde for greens and I am glad that there is another ultradwarf option for consideration.

Steve,

I think Champion and Tifeagle (and Mini Verde) are the best options for golfers in the sunbelt to have the next best thing to creeping bentgrass playing conditions like they like to rave about from where they play during the summer on cool season or transition zone climates. They are definitely worth the extra effort and like you said they love to grow vigorously. I would rather have a turfgrass that grows quite well and have to throttle it back a little than to have to frequently try and bring a weaker grass (Tifdwarf) up to the same standards as the ultradwarfs.

Cheers,

Terry

[RT]

Terry,

With your experience of Paspalam, what is the farthest north, next to the ocean, would you contemplate using the newer varities?  Even if it goes dormant in winter, and could provide a good playing surface.  I know there will be some other variables to consider.

I have not played the newer varities, but can they reasonably produce near fast and firm conditions, without saying it, 'links-like' conditions.  Consider the soils to be sand based too.

Thanks

RT

[Jimbo]

Terry,

In your travels, have you seen any segregation/mutation/contamination of any of the ultradwarfs yet, besides the one you mentioned?

We chose to install Tifdwarf at my last project, Nicklaus Course at Baypoint, Panama City Beach, for the following reasons:
1. Overseed season is 7 months, have to have green grass, no paint.
2. Budget is moderate
3. Resort tee times projected to be wall to wall, hoping for 40,000 plus rounds=less time for intense maintenance:verticutting, grooming,aerifying,topdressing
4. We can easily achieve daily speeds of 9+, through simple height adjustments and water control.  Much faster than that and slow play
5. Greens have serious movement
6. For tournaments and special events, can still get speeds of 13+ if needed through simple rolling, double cutting, and dialing back water.

At prior project, very private course in Miss.,  we went with Eagle since conditions and goals were much different than above.

Like all management decisions, I think this choice should be based on factors beyond agronomy.

Seashore paspalum has its place I suppose in challenging environments.  But if going bermuda I would not trade 419 for all the GN-1's, Tifsport, etc for anything. 419 simply is not broken (except for mutations), and doesn't need to be fixed.

Mini verde looks great.  I will try to add pictures to this post showing differences in texture.

This is funnest part of our business, no?

Glad to see you here.  Also, Kurt Bowman has the best gig and the funnest wife in the industry. Kurt, get off the golf course and get back to work.

Jim DeReuil



Miniverde looks tightest to me






Plugs as they came out of the cup cutter


Plugs with the soil shaken off.  Tighter grass seem to = less or at least shallower roots

[Terry Buchen]

RT,

Paspalum can be grown as far north as Raleigh on inland courses in my experiences, as it will still make it through the winter. I live in Williamsburg, Virginia and I have messed around with it in my back yard and it will not make it through the winters what so ever.

As far as next to the ocean, I would estimate that it could be grown up to the southern sections of the Outer Banks in North Carolina and still make it through the winters.

Paspalum seems to take overseeding and spring transition much better than bermudagrass in general terms.

Yes, the newer varieties can produce firm and fast playing conditions as can be expected obviously considering that it is a warm season grass. Frequent light verticutting/grooming; frequent topdressing; frequent mowing and good water management can produce a very good product.

Jimbo,

I have not seen any true mutation or segregation on the ultradwarfs yet. I am seeing light and dark colored circular patches that resemble mutation and segregation but they are actional some slight surface grain. Frequent grooming/light verticutting and topdressing will get rid of it and using higher rats of Manganese Sulfate will mask it as well.

Thanks for the great photos of the surface texture and plugs of the root system as they are a great attention to detail. I am seeing the same thing in my travels where the tighter, firmer and faster the ultradwarfs are the shallower the root system is. I am also seeing on occassion that the older the ultradwarfs get the shallower the root systems are on each subsequent year, i.e., The root systems are really good the first couple of years and then even at their peak in the spring are noticeably less and less (not significantly less) each subsequent year.

Cheers,

Terry

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