A closer look at Hyde Park CC’s fairways

Karl Danneberger

This spring, I headed to Hyde Park Country Club in Cincinnati to meet Superintendent Pat O’Brien. Hyde Park CC is a stately club, established in 1909 with a nine-hole course designed by Tom Bendelow.

The club expanded in 1922 to 18 holes designed by Donald Ross. The course originally was located on the outskirts of Cincinnati, but Cincinnati grew, and it is now near the city’s center.

The drive from Columbus, Ohio, to Cincinnati is a two-hour shot straight down I-71. Although a relatively short drive, the change in climate is dramatic. Cincinnati falls in the Transition Zone for managing turfgrasses. It’s often stressful to cool-season turfgrasses through the summer because of the heat, but too cold in winter for warm-season turfgrasses to survive, making it a difficult place to deliver quality turf.

Its fairways are what make Hyde Park unique in Ohio. They are comprised of Zoysia japonica — the only ones, I believe, in the state. I wanted to learn more about the history and management of Zoysia japonica for teaching purposes. I previously had spoken to Pat about the topics I was interested in, and he told me that zoysia is the “easiest grass to manage.”

I thought this was going to be a quick visit, but Pat — being Canadian — often downplays or takes in stride any issues he faces. In the late 1970s, Zoysia japonica was established as a test on the 14th fairway. The club’s decision to go with zoysiagrass was based on observations made by club members who had seen courses in St. Louis with zoysia fairways.

Managing cool-season fairways that were predominantly annual bluegrass through the Transition Zone was almost impossible during the summer months. In areas from St. Louis to Kansas City, a number of golf courses went with zoysiagrass fairways as a long-term plan to provide a superior playing surface during the summer. Conversely,

Zoysia japonica has excellent cold tolerance, so winter conditions were less likely to cause damage compared with bermudagrass or Zoysia matrella.

The course decided to sprig the remaining fairways in 1981. Tom Brehob was superintendent during the period of establishment. Zoysia japonica generally is slow to establish, so it took about three years to achieve fully established fairways. Today, golf courses may sod or strip sod to establish zoysiagrass. The downside is cost. There are seeded varieties of zoysiagrass, but establishment still is relatively slow.

Once established, zoysiagrass fairways require few inputs. When Pat arrived at Hyde Park 14 years ago, he made the mistake of trying to maintain zoysia fairways like bentgrass. But, he says the key to managing zoysiagrass fairways is to keep water and nitrogen applications to a minimum. In addition, maintain height of cut at one-half inch, which provides a lie where the golf ball sits up like it’s on a tee. Continually sharpening mower blades is critical to maintaining a desirable playing surface.

Few pests are associated with zoysiagrass fairways. The major — and probably only significant — disease is large patch (Rhizoctonia solani), which occurs mainly when zoysiagrass is coming out or going into dormancy. Billbugs (bluegrass and hunting) can also be an issue. Given the slow recuperative rate of zoysiagrass, anticipate pest problems and treat before damage is observed.

Zoysiagrass in Cincinnati starts going dormant in September and breaks dormancy in April. Entering dormancy in the fall is much more predictive than breaking dormancy in the spring. Dormancy in fall is, to a large degree, tied to photoperiod. When I visited Hyde Park, the visual effect of dormant zoysiagrass fairways surrounded by the green cool-season turfgrass roughs was striking.

After visiting a superintendent, I always walk away with more knowledge than when I arrived. Find more insight from Pat O’Brien on Zoysia japonica fairways here.