By Design – Issue 53, Summer 2021

Chillicothe CC in Ohio converted fairways and tees from bentgrass to Tahoma 31, and it has withstood hard winter conditions with no issues is in use as far north as Colorado and New Jersey, where winters can be brutal. The benefit in northern climates is to be able to change out cool-season grasses, such as bentgrass, with Tahoma 31, a warm-season grass that can survive through the winter and thrive in hot summers when bentgrass struggles. In Ohio, Jared Burgess is the golf course superintendent at Chillicothe Country Club, a 1915 Donald Ross design. In April of last year, the club’s fairways and tees were converted from bentgrass to Tahoma 31. As for winterkill, Burgess says: “I don’t think that’s going to be an issue. We had the hardest winter here that we’ve had in four years…I think it’s almost impossible to kill it off.” Low water use A field trial conducted from 2013- 15 at Oklahoma State University published in the release documents for Tahoma 31 (designated in research trials as OKC1131), showed that, averaged over 24 recorded dates in three years, Tahoma 31 used 18 percent less water than TifTuf, a competitive variety of bermudagrass known for drought tolerance. Before changing over to Tahoma 31, Burgess says: “Our city water bill was running up around $40,000 a year, and it was not even enough for the bentgrass not to burn out” in the middle of the summer. Now, his course’s need for irrigation is minimal. Burgess says: “Mother Nature takes care of most of it, as long as it gets some rainfall during the week.” Wear tolerance and turf quality In tests of bermudagrasses grown under traffic stress at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tahoma 31 was rated the top performer for turfgrass quality. At the Naval Academy Golf Club, David says Tahoma 31’s recovery from traffic is so good, along with tees and fairways, he uses it for cart paths leading in and out of his maintenance facility in areas that would otherwise be a muddy mess. The grass’s lateral recovery, even when it starts to slow down vertical growth in the fall, is where it truly shines, he says. “On tees where we have people hitting from an area, we move the tee markers, and three days later, it’s recovered. It’s really, really traffic tolerant,” says David. Tahoma 31 tied for the top spot in turf quality in the 2013-17 NTEP study on bermudagrass. “It’s so much better than the standard varieties that we’re typically used to,” says Lawrence. • For more information, download a comprehensive summary of all research cited. TURF CHOICE Photo:Jared Burgess 30