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Seashore Paspalum Putting Greens Rate Well With Golfers
June 1, 2004 By: Mike Healy TurfGrass TrendsIn 2000, the Perdido Bay Golf Club underwent an extensive redesign and renovation. Tifeagle ultradwarf bermudagrass was selected for use on all in-play greens. Salam Seashore Paspalum was selected for use on roughs, fairways and tees. In addition, two practice greens were sprigged with Salam.
To prevent Salam from encroaching into the Tifeagle greens, a 42-inch wide barrier of Tifway 419 bermudagrass sod was planted around the edges of each green.
 Perdido Bay Golf Club superintendent Bill Herring supervises the mowing of the Salam seashore paspalum practice green. |
In fall 2002, Salam had not only invaded the Tifway 419 barrier but could be found growing as patches up to 2 feet in diameter throughout many of the Tifeagle greens. Also in the fall of 2002, Tifeagle developed significant leaf and root diseases. The patches of Salam growing within the Tifeagle greens were seemingly unaffected by these diseases. It's important to note that the two Salam practice greens were maintained in a nearly identical manner to the Tifeagle in-play greens. The dilemma for Perdido Bay Golf Club now is whether to keep and decontaminate its Tifeagle greens of Salam or to convert the course into a 100-percent Salam facility.
Tifeagle is the most widely used of the ultradwarf bermudagrasses, and often selected because of its ability to produce high Stimpmeter speeds. The seashore paspalums, including Salam, are generally considered in the same class speed-wise as the old standard Tifdwarf. Although seashore paspalums are often selected because of their ability to withstand extremely low water quality, this issue was not a factor for use at Perdido Bay.
 The practice putting green was broken into individual turf plots. Each received different management regimens. |
The objectives of this study centered on evaluating various combinations of cultural techniques that would increase Salam Stimpmeter speeds while maintaining acceptable visual quality. On the larger of the two Salam practice greens, a treatment grid of 16 12-foot by 12-foot areas were established. Each of the 16 areas ended up having a different series of cultural practices.
Cultural practices included different mowing heights (.135 inches and .120 inches), light topdressing vs. no topdressing, periodic verticutting vs. no verticutting, and the use of Primo Maxx plant growth regulator vs. no Primo Maxx. The study began with the first application of Primo Maxx on July 25, 2003, with speed rating and visual quality measurements for all 16 treatment combinations taken on Sept. 17.
 The seashore paspalum roots (right) drove deeper into the soil than those of the Tifeagle. |
Two golfer preference studies were conducted on three separate Salam putting surfaces on Sept. 26 and Oct. 2. In all the evaluations, the Tifeagle No. 18 in-play green was used as a standard of comparison to the 16 different Salam putting surfaces.
Results summary
On Sept. 17, speed ratings were taken at 10:30 a.m., 3 p.m., and 6:15 p.m. for the 16 Salam cultural practices combinations along with the No. 18 Tifeagle in-play green.At 3 p.m., visual quality ratings were taken. For all cultural treatments, Stimpmeter speeds were slowest at 10:30 a.m., fastest at 3 p.m. and in the middle at 6:15 p.m. The day was sunny and moderately windy. Mowing height reduction from .135 inches to .120 inches provided a 20 percent increase in speed. Salam mowed at .120 inches the use of Primo Maxx and verticutting had speed slightly in excess of the in-play Tifeagle green (mowed at .135 inches).
For speed and visual quality, Salam mowed at .120 inches with Primo Maxx produced the most favorable numbers. In most cases, topdressing did not appear to significantly increase Stimpmeter speeds (See Table 1).
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On Sept. 26, 30 golfers completing the 18th green were selected at random to putt three balls on each of three different Salam putting surfaces. All golfers selected filled out a brief survey along with rating the three selected Salam surfaces to each other and to the Tifeagle green they had just exited.
One of the three Salam surfaces was selected as "best" by 70 percent of the golfers surveyed. Golfers rated this surface as superior to the in-play Tifeagle greens 50 percent of the time and as equal to the Tifeagle greens 50 percent.
On Oct. 2, a second group of 30 golfers randomly selected after completing the 18th green were selected to putt sixc balls on each of three different Salam putting surfaces. Although the demographics of the golfers surveyed along with the survey technique were slightly different than in the Sept. 26 survey, the results of both surveys were similar.
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