By Design – Issue 53, Summer 2021

TURF CHOICE Grass selection with purpose Stacie Zinn Roberts and Dr Yanqi Wu explain how research and real-world performance shows Tahoma 31 Bermudagrass is bred to play great and address common golf course issues. P erhaps the best way to select a grass variety for your golf course project is to read the university research results and then witness for yourself, or talk to colleagues who have seen the turf ’s performance in a golf course setting. That’s what Jeff Lawrence, ASGCA, who is president of South Carolina-based Lawrence Golf Design, did when he found his go-to grass, Tahoma 31 Bermudagrass. A new vegetative, warm-season grass, available as sod or sprigs, Tahoma 31 is the latest bermudagrass variety developed by the highly successful turfgrass breeding program at Oklahoma State University. Previous releases include Latitude 36, NorthBridge, and Patriot bermudagrasses. The research shows that Tahoma 31 is rated number one of bermudagrasses studied in National Turfgrass Evaluation Program (NTEP) trials, and other university tests, for early spring green-up, cold tolerance (winter survivability), lower water use and wear tolerance, and tied for the top spot in turf quality. In South Carolina, Lawrence tested Tahoma 31 on a few tees and green surrounds at 3’s Greenville, specified all tees and 18 fairways at Greer Golf, and is in the process of changing over all the tees at Pickens Golf Club, with a proposed nine- hole, par-three course to come, also using the grass. “For the application that we’re using it for here in South Carolina in the transition zone, and seeing the benefits of the turf green-up sooner in the spring, with green color that lasts a little bit longer in the fall, and the density and the recovery time, that's something that is very attractive when thinking of playability and visual presentation,” says Lawrence. “We’ve had success with Tahoma 31, and I look forward to expanding its usage to other courses.” To further compare research data to actual performance in a golf course setting, we spoke with Stacie Zinn Roberts and Dr Yanqi Wu Stacie Zinn Roberts is an award-winning writer focused on the field of golf and turf science. Dr Yanqi Wu is a professor in grass breeding and genetics in the Plant and Soil Sciences Department of Oklahoma State University. 28