Zoysia Around Bunkers

[Jay Kirkpatrick]

My club in the Piedmont region of NC has a very thick 3-5 foot barrier of zoysia around all the bunkers on our course.  Often, the zoysia prevents balls from entering the bunker and is generally more penal than the bunkers themselves as the ball settles down into the wiry grass.  With the exception of this zoysia, our course is all Bermuda with Bent greens.  For you grass growers, I ask why is zoysia used in this fashion?

[rjsimper]

My triangle/triad NC course has this same "feature" and I quite despise it.  I almost hit myself with a chip shot yesterday from a greenside bunker.  Typically if you go in to look for your ball in one of these areas, you will step on one or two that were lost before.

[archie_struthers]

 

The reason is simple...it wears like iron and handles the desiccation from the sand and wind much better than most grasses.

It's like a hybrid bermuda ...wears like iron but the playing qualities aren't so good...unless of course wear is your biggest fear!

cheers

[Jay Kirkpatrick]

so... the tougher make-up of the grass is more resilient to the constant dumping of sand on it?  i assume it also prevents bunker erosion during major rain storms. 

that being said, is it possible to have zoysia around bunkers that is mowed at a fairway/light rough type level?  i've always thought that having thick rough around bunkers prevents the strategic need for bunkers in the first place.  aren't mishit shots supposed to end up in bunkers? as it stands at our course, virtually the only way to end up in a bunker is to fly it in there as anything rolling towards one comes to an abrupt stop when it hits that gnarly grass.

[Jim Sweeney]

Lassing Pointe GC in No. Kentucky rebuilt a couple of bunkers using zoysia for the grass surrounds, for the exact reasons stated of erosion control and handling the sand thrown out of the bunker. However, these bunkers are in an area of rough, and the zoysia is at the same height as the surrounding grass. Since the rest of the grass is a rye/bluegrass mix, the zoysia color is in quite contrast after the first frost and before the early summer warmth, which is quite attractive to my eye.

[Jimbo]

It grows slower than bermuda and doesn't need to be mowed or edged as often.

[A.G._Crockett]

It grows slower than bermuda and doesn't need to be mowed or edged as often.

Zoysia is also used sometimes to ring the green because it is less intrusive than bermuda.  It works well in that way, but the bounces you get from it are completely different than bermuda, which makes some ground game shots tough to judge.

[TX Golf]

I know that Dallas Country Club recently introduced zoysia grass as the fringe around the green. They previously had problems with the rough and fairways encroaching on the bent greens.

[Tim Nugent]

If the Zoysia is mowed to 1" or less, the ball will not settle into it.  It is a dense, upright grass with a rigid blade.  If the ball doesn't roll into the bunker, perhaps the grade around the bunker should be looked at.  Does it fall into the bunker? Rise up to it? Or is the area generally flat.  In most instances where an action like this is taken in response to an adverse condition, one should first try to mitigate the root cause for the condition rather than just band-aide over it.  Sand tends to blow (and be hit) out of bunkers and build up over time.  It is not uncommon to find to find anywhere from several inches to a foot or more of sand (see the greenside of the bunkers at PB).  This leads to a daughty environment that leads to turf decline (a major reason why supers "edge" bunkers into shapes different than what the architect intended).
Check the side oppositeof the prevailing wind and also the direction to the green to ascertain the degree of sand build up.  Also, check the depth of sand in the bunker.  If sand is just added year in and year out, the depth of the bunker can get shallower.  The shallower the bunker, the easier it is for sand to leave it.

[Richard Hetzel]

Lassing Pointe GC in No. Kentucky rebuilt a couple of bunkers using zoysia for the grass surrounds, for the exact reasons stated of erosion control and handling the sand thrown out of the bunker. However, these bunkers are in an area of rough, and the zoysia is at the same height as the surrounding grass. Since the rest of the grass is a rye/bluegrass mix, the zoysia color is in quite contrast after the first frost and before the early summer warmth, which is quite attractive to my eye.

Jim, Which holes did they re-sod with zoysia?