Sustainable & Fescue Greens?

[Chris Tritabaugh]

Am I wrong in assuming that the tree largest components to sustainble fescue greens are

1) Climate (heat being the primary enemy moreso than other grasses)
2) Height of cut (a good fescue surface is probably mowed at double the length of a good bent or poa surface)
3) Traffic

Ideal conditions probably include an environment with a lot of temps in the 50-65F range, moderate rainfall, 0.20-.25 on the cut, and moderate traffic.

Re: climate, as Brett mentions, you need it to be either cool or relatively dry.  If you get a lot of wet weather, it's harder to keep the poa annua from invading.

Soils are also important.  I've never seen really good fescue on anything other than free-draining sand.  Presumably, it would do all right on a USGA green, but I am a little bit concerned about how it will do on the loamy native soils Randy cites.  It will probably be fine as long as there isn't anyone there to over-manage it!

It definetly deosnīt like clay but seems to be doing well on loam on a project that we have but it has not opened yet. Good surface drainage will be important to not let the big rains enter the soil. If it doesnīt hold up so well, we can always overseed with some perrenial rye. Thanks for the input

Don't be so sure fescue doesn't like clay. We have a lot of both in our fairways here. Aeration and deep/infrequent watering are the key as Neil mentioned.

I agree with Neil on the ryegrass comment. Fescue and ryegrass shouldn't be mentioned in the same breath let alone put into the same turf system together.

[Adrian_Stiff]

Where is the rye grass comment? One of my posts mentions rye but its not relating to sowing fescue and rye together on greens, its about how fescue & poa look together and how rye & poa or bent & poa integrate better.

[Bradley Anderson]

Chris,

I have been considering adding fescue to the divot mix we use for clay loam fairways. Is there is variety that you like most? We do about 20,000 rounds of cat traffic a year.

[Chris Tritabaugh]

Chris,

I have been considering adding fescue to the divot mix we use for clay loam fairways. Is there is variety that you like most? We do about 20,000 rounds of cat traffic a year.

Brad,
We have been using chewings and creeping red in our divots for five years. I started over-seeding the tees and fairways with fescue in 2007 and having been doing so every since. Depending on the area the fescue populations have become very nice.

It seems everyone wants to dog on fescue playing surfaces but those who actually have it in theirs, once you have it you know how good it is. I have been quite fortunate to get to know Tom Mead very well over the past few years. Tom knows fescue fairways better than anyone (Tom Doak and attest) and I have learned a lot from him. Often it is said that fescue doesn't stand up to traffic but Tom says that its is more slow establishment than an inability to stand up to traffic. Seeing what we have seen on our fairways and tees I would agree. A fine fescue surface maintained properly will stand up to cart and foot traffic. What it won't stand up to is the mechanical damage brought forth by many of today's cultural practices. The less aggressive we have been in maintaining the surface of our fairways the more fescue we see. It makes a lot of sense. Remove a core and force the turf to re-establish that area and fescue is going to lose out. Punch a solid tine in the ground and create the hole but leave the turf and the fescue will do just fine.

Concerns about fescue not standing up to traffic are a bit over-estimated in my opinion.