Seashore paspalum: friend or foe?

[Neal_Meagher]

I'm sure most here are at least aware of the basic reasons why more and more courses are going to seashore paspalum, that being their increased tolerance to salts primarily.  Many newer courses are being planted to this up front and many existing courses are converting to it.

Although I have seen and played on a few myself, I'm not really dazzled with what I have seen so far.  One was in northern California, another was in The Bahamas and the biggest difference I noted was that the warmer weather in The Bahamas made for a sparser surface that requires frequent verti-cutting to reduce excess thatch buildup.  The one in norther California was "spongier".

What say all of you who have played on a paspalum course?  Have you noticed strong seasonal variations in the conditions and how does that affect shots hit from it?  How about color?  In short, especially for you southern climers, does a well groomed hybrid bermuda course still outperform the paspalum that you've played from?

[THuckaby2]

Hi Neal.  I might have played the NorCal course to which you refer:  Monarch Bay in San Leandro?  They replaced all the fairways with paspalum and I think it is REALLY neat.  Yes, it is somewhat spongy in places, but for the most part it plays pretty darn firm and fast, because the ball sits up so well on it and rolls over it so quickly.  It really is a joy to play off of.

As for seasonal variations, well we haven't had a change of seasons yet!

Color is kinda different, also.  Right now it its kind of golden-green.. I think it's pretty darn neat looking... nor sure if the regular players of this course will like the divergence from lush green.  We'll see.

I obviously have no answer for how it performs compared to bermuda, but I wil say it's a HUGE improvement from what this course had before, which was dying due to salt spray from the bay.

TH

[Mitch Hantman]

Neal,

I have played several paspallum courses, and the turf is superior to most hybrid bermuda fairways we see here in south Florida.  The rough is very dense, which makes for fewer balls dropping down to the bottom as is often seen with bermuda, especially in summer.  

The firmness varies with season, because in summer, it is lush, and the blades are very sticky, so the bump and run is not easily done.  In winter, as they dry out and go semi dormant, it becomes increasingly easy to predictably bump the ball, and the roll on tee balls is significant.  

The species of putting green grass that have come out using paspallum have been iffy at best.  Sticky, difficult to attain good speed, and the ball doesn't roll as true as Tiff Eagle or Mini Verde.

Hope this helps,
Mitch

[Bill_McBride]

Salt water resistant grass would have been a good thing for Pensacola CC in the wake -- literally! -- of Hurricane Ivan. At least half the course was under three to four feet of gulf salt water for hours following a 15' storm surge that came ashore at high tide.

The good news at this point - five weeks after the hurricane - is that we see little damage to our hardy Bermuda rough and fairways and Tifdwarf hybrid greens.  This is primarily due, we think, to the heroic work of our greenskeeping staff led by young superintendent Greg Burroughs.

[TEPaul]

Neal:

I've only seen paspallum fairways once. They put in a couple at Gulf Stream G.C. in Delray Beach Florida, a course on a thin stretch of land between the Atlantic and the Inland Coastal Waterway, that has a number of holes that're very low and prone to severe flooding. I only played on them in March and they were very good but I wouldn't have know they were any different than the rest of the fairways unless someone told me. As for how they are in the summer, they close that course in May and don't open again until around October like a number of South Florida courses so no one probably really knows how that grass is in the off-season at Gulf Stream G.C.

[RJ_Daley]

Anyone know how they compete with other invading or encroaching species?  Are there the same issues of edges where bermuda or bent greens edged by paspalum have a zone of raggedy encroachment.  Does it outcompete poaland like in CA where Huck and Neal have seen it?

They say it takes the heavy salts and minerals of waste treatment effluent well.  It seems to me that instead of the geneticists trying to go forward with the herbicide resistent bents, that they could do research to find some genetic techniques to develop new cultivars of what ever the paspalum has genetically to process the salts... (like I know even an scintilla of what I just said )  

Hey Brad S., don't you know something about this stuff?

[Tom_Doak]

Neal:

If water quality is not an issue, I think that you can dial up the new Bermuda grasses to a higher level of maintenance than you can with paspalum.

However, I haven't worked in many places in the last 5 years where water quality is not a major issue.  If you're dealing with recycled water, the paspalum seems to handle it better.

I am not a stickler for deep green color so I couldn't care less about that, but one problem with designing a course for paspalum is that there is no contrast of colors available between fairways and roughs and greens, if you care about that stuff.  With Bermuda, different cultivars will give you some definition ... each one goes dormant slightly differently, and their colors vary ... but with Paspalum, right now it's all one monotone.  And if you PLAN on using bad-quality water, then you can't use other grasses to supply the contrast.

[patrick_burton]

Existing Bermudagrass courses wishing to convert to Paspalum expeirence the most difficulties. Mainly b/c Bermuda that has been there through the ages does not simply go away over night - no matter how many times it's sprayed w/ round-up.

Typically when courses go to Paspalum, they don't integrate it w/ other turf types b/c of encroachment issues. For all enthusiasts of paspalum, it's important to remember that Paspalum development is in its begining stages. Green Industry Companies aren't as willing to spend money on Paspalum Development, nor herbicide development & research, until the need is really there -- which is just starting to happen.

As time goes on, Paspalum will continue to become more refined.

RJ - Salts cannot easily exit the plant above ground through stomata, b/c it would just sit on the leaf blades and burn the tissue. As it processes salts below ground, salts will bind to the soil which causes salt levels to build up. This is why paspalum courses must be periodically flushed with freshwater.

-jj

[cary lichtenstein]

I have seen and played paspallum on tees , and I like it very much.

It is tougher to play off fairways, unless it is cut very close. Those courses that like to keep their fairways a bit long so ladies can get their woods in the air, I don't like hitting off that surface.

For sure, the color looks artifical, and the overall look, without the color contrast as Tom has pointed out, lacks definition.

[Neal_Meagher]

Thanks for all the very good responses to this questions.  

Tom Paul mentioned Gulf Stream in Florida, are there any other courses out there, right now, planted to paspalum that really make the most of the species that any of you have seen and/or played?  How about the Ocean Course at Kiawah, which I have not seen.

[les_claytor]

Neal,

I'm in the middle of researching Paspalum for a project a couple of years downstream.  I saw a few courses a month ago in Naples: Old Collier, Wilderness, and Hammock Bay and liked what I say.  Three different varieties, but good stuff.

I think it all comes down to cultural practices like any other grass.  The long term performance is still unknown, and some say the grass can mutate to a particular site.  It has to be a monoculture, so color differentiation is a concern as Tom stated.  Howerver, Tim Heirs told me the grass will change shades depending on the height of cut.  Old Collier had some great looking rough at about 1 1/2" which was one of our primary concerns.  I'm interested to see how it looks unmaintained along lake banks.

Paspalum is definitely a topic to keep an eye on over time.

[les_claytor]

Oh,

The Ocean Course has the new variety SI 98, on greens.  The cultivar has yet to be released, and it's quite a political football.  Everyone says they are PUREEEE BABY.  

Les

[Brent Hutto]

I guess next month we'll be able to watch on TV and find out how the Paspalum greens at Kiawah putt when they're cut down to 1/10" or so for the Tour pros.

[RJ_Daley]

I guess if I'd have thought about it a little more, I'd have realised that if paspalum is used with heavy effluent or salty water irrigation, competition and other cultivars encroaching 'into' the paspalum is moot.  The others won't survive the salts and heavy stuff, hey?  But, then is there a thought that to conserve good ground water to a degree by having two irrigation supplies.  Effluent for fairways and tees in paspalum, and good water for greens and surrounds planted in bents blues or bermuda?  Then the encroaching line to be managed would be in the fore green and outward side of surrounds, away from the green edges.  Is anyone aware of a dual supply irrigation water scheme?

[Neal_Meagher]

Dick Daley,

I've worked with a club over the years, Richmond C.C. in the bay area, that has a dual supply water system with the potable water used only for greens and the rest of the course irrigated with reclaimed water.

This dual system was installed about 10 years ago to help give an additional lifespan to their old push-up greens, some of which dated to the late 20's and some to the mid-50's.  The rest of the course is kikuyu so it doesn't know any different regardless of the water quality.  Actually, this course manages the fairways very well and it provides a good playing surface, at least as good as kikuyu can be.

Now, they have gone to all new bentgrass greens on a sand base so the fresh water is enabling them to maintain these new SR dominant blend greens to a high standard.

[Mike Vegis @ Kiawah]

Oh,

The Ocean Course has the new variety SI 98, on greens.  The cultivar has yet to be released, and it's quite a political football.  Everyone says they are PUREEEE BABY.  

Les

Actually, our variety is OC 03 (Ocean Course 2003).  They've exceeded our expectations.  We also have paspalum on all of our tees as well on the fairways of No. 1, the first half of No. 2 and No. 14.  We're looking to convert the entire course over to paspalum because the water quality we have out there acts as a growth retardant on 419 Bermuda.

Any supers interested, I could put you in touch with Jeff Stone, The Ocean Course's superintendent, who could give you a detailed accounting of how Paspalum has been working for us...

[Mike Vegis @ Kiawah]

I guess next month we'll be able to watch on TV and find out how the Paspalum greens at Kiawah putt when they're cut down to 1/10" or so for the Tour pros.

If you're talking about the UBS Cup which will be on The Golf Channel next week, that will be held on Cassiaque, one of the private courses on the Island which was designed by Tom Watson.  They have TifEagle.  Only The Ocean Course has Paspalum...

[Forrest Richardson]

Paspalum needs lots of heat and relies on salt, at least periodically. We've seen it grow IN lakes — floating and alive!

At Las Palomas in Mexico we are 65% planted with dwarf paspalum and we are going with just one turf over the entirety of the course. I have only seen one course in person — it behaves as Bermudagrass does with excellent results in hot weather and marginal water quality.

Test plots are better than Bermudagrass — but the proof will be in the eventual mowing and growing. My forecast is that the dwarf variety of paspaulm will be better than Tifdwarf Bermudrgrasses and equal to super-dwarf Bermudrgrasses. The primary difference will be that — at least in Mexico — we are NOT planning to overseed. The paspalum lingers longer and has an earlier rebound out of any dormancy.

[Jim_Coleman]

   Pete Dye's new course at Casa de Campo - Dye Fore - has paspalum fairways.  I think everyone is very happy with it.

[Jimbo]

How is it as a putting surface?  It produces a viable seed. I am hearing that it is near impossible to keep out of greens if you plant it in roughs or fairways.  

If this is true, I expect that it will escape to clubhouse grounds, and off site.  There are chemical controls for it, so at least it can be slowed down. I expect we'll be seeing it on roadsides, in yards.  This will be neat to watch.

[Forrest Richardson]

I have seen terrific greens at Mauni Lani (Hawaii). At the Links at Las Palomas we plan on mowing heights less than Tif-328 Bermudagrass, a traditional choice at many coastal Mexican courses. I would suspect it will come close to the super-dwarf Bermudas and may equal them in terms of performance. Certainly, from all accounts, it will be more durable.

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