Kikuyu fears and the Riv

[A_Clay_Man]

I want someone to try to clear up what is an appparent ambiguity?
Do all super's feel it is too demanding to maintain?
 Is the Riv the only top 100 course that has it?  and,
Other than the best lies in the game what other strengths does this much maligned grass provide?

[Peter Galea]

In the early 80's I heard the super from Riviera speak about maintaining "double K". Twice a year they would set a flail mower (hammerknife) down to the dirt and "mow" the golf course. This would produce an amazing amount of debris which was swept up and disposed of by the truck load. Then the dirt would be fertilized and watered, and in two weeks the playing surface would be acceptable.
Kikuya is very invasive. If it ajoins the greens it will creep in quickly, then it will have to be edged and pulled by hand. This would have to be done repeatedly throughout the year. If not treated in the above manner it quickly develops a thick mat. I've seen it 6-10 inches above the soil surface. Mowers will ride above it and cut only the leaves, the runners intertwine and get thicker. Mowers, "marcel" or chatter and leave a washboard cut.  It will also go dormant after a good frost, leaving a yellow/brown look. It is drought tolerant, requires little fertilizer, and is fairly pest resistant, but can be severely damaged by white grubs.
When deciding to undertake a ryegrass conversion on my kikuya fairways, I spoke with Paul Ramina, supt. at Riviera last year. He told me that he was having good success maintaining KK using PrimoŽ (plant growth regulator), it thinned the leaves and slowed the accumulation of mat. I am assuming in LA the frosts are not hard enough to force it into dormancy. Perhaps Lynn or Geoff could shed some light on this.
Kikuya eradication is difficult even with all the tools available today. It will regenerate from underground plant parts well below the effective depth of chemical control. A postemergence program must be followed religiously to keep the weed at an acceptable percentage. Ryegrass is the best choice for the conversion because of it's tolerance over the top chemical control.
More than you wanted to know?

[Don_Mahaffey]

Adam,
I had 25 acres of Kikuyu sports fields in the early 80's. This grass was very difficult to maintain, especially by a school that was under funded. If I didn't renovate as Pete described at least once a year, my fields would get the consistency of a water bed and the irrigation heads would end up under six inches of grass. Riviera has been dealing with Kikuyu as long as anyone in Ca. and they know what there doing, but I would bet they would love to have another grass to maintain.

[A_Clay_Man]

Thanx boys! I am still amazed at what ignoring it will produce, as Pete can confirm by the conditions at the old home course.  I think the NFL should look into it. It sounds like the antithesis of synthetic surfaces and sub-surface? Good for the joints.

[Kevin_Reilly]

I'm always surprised that the Kikuyu grass on the 9th at Harding park hasn't spread more.  It's been in the fairway from the green to about 100 yds as long as I can remember...20 years at least.  But to my knowledge it hasn't spread anywhere else on the course.  I doubt the crew from the City have done anything at all to it, but it seems to have been confined to this particular spot.

[Lynn Shackelford]

:-/ After many years I am getting a bit tired of playing on kikuya.  I find some chips are impossible to try, even 3 woods from 10 yards off the green don't work well.  I have come to the conclusion that a USGA official was right in the 80's.  He told me that there was a concern about defining the best players in a USGA event because of the kikuya around the greens.  It is very difficult to run a ball on this surface.  But having said that, it is a great tough surface for a muny course and when one is close enough to the ocean it stays green and healthy 12 months a year.  I suppose the best of all worlds would be for kikuya to be in the fairways, hazards and roughs.  At 2 inches, in the summer it is wrist breakingly tough.

[Bill_McBride]

I know from visits there that the Valley Club of Montecito is ever vigilant and pulls any new kikuyu immediately upon spotting it.  Too bad LaCumbre didn't do that in Santa Barbara; there is nothing tougher in golf than a pitch from above a fast green that should be a bump and trickle but must be pitched over the kikuyu onto the green proper.  This is a bad situation which only total eradication can prevent.

[A_Clay_Man]

Now I know it's no riv but when the senior tour used to play Rancho park I was always amazed at how low they went on the KK.
What about the strategy involved in playing against this natural defender?
 Is it strategy or just experience?

 :oIsn't Zoiysha worse?