On-Site Testing

On-Site Testing of Bentgrass and Bermudagrass Cultivars for Golf Course Putting Greens

There is growing interest within the golf industry to develop on-site testing of turfgrass cultivars. This concept is not new, but has not been a common practice in recent years. Therefore, the United States Golf Association (USGA), the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA), and the National Turfgrass Evaluation Program (NTEP) agreed to revitalize on-site testing of turfgrass cultivars on golf courses, particularly on putting greens. This project conducts evaluations of new commercially available bentgrass and bermudagrass cultivars on USGA specification putting greens constructed at golf courses across the country. This on-site testing program is designed to provide scientific information of a more applied nature about putting green turfgrass cultivar performance.

Information from this project is valuable to the golfing industry. These studies will determine the adaptation of grasses for golf course use. In addition, information obtained from on-site testing will be of particular value to plant breeders, researchers, extension educators, USGA agronomists, golf course architects, and superintendents, who need to select the best adapted putting green cultivars for a particular regional climate.

A five-person committee composed of Dr. Jeff Nus, GCSAA Research Director; Dr. Mike Kenna, USGA Research Director, Mr. James Moore, USGA Construction Education Director, Mr. Kevin Morris, NTEP Executive Director; and Dr. Bob Shearman, NTEP Special Projects Coordinator determined the trial site locations and the trial specifics. Input from golf course superintendents, USGA agronomists and turfgrass researchers assisted the committee members' decision making process.

Location and Number of Trials

These cultivar evaluation trials are located on golf courses near a land grant university with a turfgrass research program or in a major metropolitan area that is readily accessible to a university turfgrass scientist. Sixteen (16) regional evaluation trial sites have been established. Trials are located in : a) northern locations for bentgrasses, b) southern locations for bermudagrasses, and c) transition zone locations for both species. Trials are located where golfers practice putting and/or chipping. Host clubs provide daily maintenance of the putting green site at their own expense.

Trial Specifics

The NTEP functions as the coordinating agent for the cultivar trials. These trials are five years in duration. Trials are conducted under mutually agreed upon guidelines, procedures, and funding outlined in a research agreement agreed to and signed by the appropriate representatives of the USGA, GCSAA, NTEP, each research cooperator (i.e., university turfgrass researcher), and golf course site. Trials are conducted at each location under the leadership of the assigned research cooperator. These persons are responsible for establishing and conducting the trial, and collecting and transferring the data to NTEP according to the research agreement.

Trials are maintained by the golf course superintendent at each location using management procedures common to their own golf course, the geographical area and in consultation with the research cooperator. No special management practices are prescribed as these trials are intended to receive real-world golf course conditions and stress.

These trials are conducted principally with commercially available, named cultivars. Experimental lines that will be commercially available in the near future (i.e., before the end of the five-year test cycle) also were included at the sponsoring company's discretion.

The NTEP administers the program and its funding, sets advisory committee and gathers their input and recommendations for each species trial. The NTEP organizes and distributes the seed and vegetative materials that constitute the entries for each trial location. The NTEP provides the maintenance and data collection protocols to each site; collects, analyzes and disseminates the performance data in annual and final reports; and conducts an annual site visit for each trial.

This article was adapted from the printed annual report, "On-Site Evaluation of Creeping Bentgrass for Putting Greens - Progress Report 1998" prepared by Kevin Morris, NTEP Executive Director. For more information or copies of reports, please contact:

Kevin Morris, Executive Director
National Turfgrass Evaluation Program
Beltsville Agricultural Research Center - West
Building 002, Room 013
Beltsville, MD 20705
USA

NTEP reports also can be found on the World Wide Web at www.ntep.org/ntep.

Disclaimer

The information provide on the NTEP web site or in published reports contain data collected during only one year of a multiple year investigation. Seed is used from one seed lot, therefore data for an entry is from only that one seed lot. For these reasons, interpretation, publication, or display of data should be done with caution because the results may vary with additional experimentation.

On-Site Putting Green Entries

Bentgrass

Entry No. Name Sponsor 1 L-93 AgriBio Tech, Inc. 2 Putter Jacklin Seed Company 3 Cato Pickseed West, Inc. 4 Crenshaw Lofts Seed, Inc. 5 Grand Prix (LCB-103) LESCO, Inc. 6 Penncross Standard Entry 7 Backspin Turf Merchants, Inc. 8 Trueline Turf Merchants, Inc. 9 Providence Seed Research of Oregon 10 SR 1020 Seed Research of Oregon 11 SR 1119 Seed Research of Oregon 12 Viper International Seeds, Inc. 13 Century Burlingham Seeds, Inc. 14 Imperial Burlingham Seeds, Inc. 15 Penn A-1 Tee-2-Green Corp. 16 Penn A-4 Tee-2-Green Corp. 17 Penn G-6 Tee-2-Green Corp. 18 Penn G-1 Tee-2-Green Corp.

Bermudagrass

Entry No. Name Sponsor 1 MS-Supreme Mississippi State University 2 TifEagle Georgia Seed Development Commission 3 Mini-Verde Thomas Bros. Grass Co. 4 Tifdwarf Standard Entry 5 Champion Coastal Turf, Inc. 6 Tifgreen Standard Entry 7 Floradwarf Florida Turfgrass Foundation

On-Site Putting Green Test Locations

Bentgrass only

Golf Course Location Superintendent Research Cooperator Crystal Springs Golf Course Burlingame, Calif. Ray Davies Dr. Ali Harivandi California Cooperative Extension Fox Hollow at Lakewood Lakewood, Co. Bruce Nelson Dr. Tony Koski Colorado State University Lassing Point Golf Course Florence, Ky. Jerry Coldiron Dr. A.J. Powell University of Kentucky North Shore Country Club Glenview, Il. Dan Dinelli Dr. Clark Throssell Purdue University Purdue University Kampen Course West Lafayette, In. Jim Scott Dr. Tom Voigt Unversity of Illinois Snoqualmie Ridge Country Club Snoqualmie, Wa. Tom Wolff Dr. Gwen Stahnke Washington State University Westchester Country Club Rye, N.Y. Joe Alonzi Dr. James Murphy Rutgers University Westwood Golf Course Vienna, Va. Walter Montross Dr. David Chalmers Virginia Tech University

Bentgrass and Bermudagrass

Golf Course Location Superintendent Research Cooperator Bent Tree Country Club Dallas, Tx. Keith Ihms Dr. Milt Engelke Texas A&M University Country Club of Birmingham Birmingham, Al. Lee McLemore Dr. Elizabeth Guertal Auburn University Country Club of Green Valley Green Valley, Az. Mike Bates Dr. David Kopec University of Arizona The Missouri Bluffs St. Charles, Mo. Mike Vogt Dr. John Dunn University of Missouri SCGA Members Club Murrieta,Calif. John Martinez Dr. Robert Green University of California-Riverside

Bermudagrass only

Golf Course Location Superintendent Research Cooperator Country Club of Mobile Mobile, Al. Ron Wright Dr. Bryan Unruh University of Florida Jupiter Island Club Hobe Sound, Fl. Rob Kloska Dr. John Cisar University of Florida Lakeside Coutnry Club Houston, Tx. Mike Sandburg Dr. Richard White Texas A&M University