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Member Clubs
Ultradwarf bermudagrass is
being tested as a possible
solution to strengthening
greens at Virginia courses.
than others, but there is nothing that caus-
es the course to shut down. Occasionally
we may have a few areas temporarily roped
off to prevent traffic, but these are typically
on fairways and out-of-play areas.”
“Ultimately, the end game of any golf course superintendent
is to provide the best possible playing surface in the most
environmentally and economically sensible way possible.”
—David McCall
GOLFER INPUT
Impact on daily play appears minimal says
Taylor. “The golfers seem to find it inter-
esting. With many different grasses across
Independence one big concern is putting
green consistency, since each grass responds
differently to sand topdressing, aeration, fer-
tility and a slew of other common practices,”
says McCall. “It isn’t realistic to expect all of
these grasses to perform the same.”
Taylor believes that all the greens are
putting the same with the possible excep-
tion of No. 6, which is ultrafine zoysiagrass.
“We maintain them all the same so they
should all putt similarly. A really, really
good player might tell the difference. The
average player will not. The speed is not
any different. We keep stimpmeter speed
on the short and championship courses at
12
11 to 11 ½ for regular and at 13 for champi-
onship play,” he says.
To gain golfer perspective Tech and
Independence are working to create a
short course scorecard where the golfers
can rate their impressions of each grass.
“This will bring the human element into
our research, as opposed to strictly relying
on objective data for every decision we
recommend,” says McCall. “Ultimately, the
end game of any golf course superinten-
dent is to provide the best possible playing
surface in the most environmentally and
economically sensible way possible.”
Despite the activity, be it painted
research areas or varied strains of turf,
the short course is wide open for play. “We
highly encourage the traffic,” says McCall.
“Some studies impact playability more
V I R G I N I A G O L F E R | J A N UA R Y / F E B R UA R Y 2 0 2 0
With respect to climate change, the
researchers at Virginia Tech are cognizant
of its implications. “I’m not a climatologist,
however I do pay attention to weather
trends,” says McCall. “The climate has
always been, and will continue to be, in
constant change. Our job as scientists is to
come up with solutions to reactively adapt
to these changes now and proactively
provide recommendations based on cli-
mate projections. Fifteen years ago, there
were no golf courses in Virginia growing
ultradwarf bermudagrasses. Now, almost
10 percent of the courses have made the
transition. Many more are considering
it. This is a combination of improved
cold-hardiness and a tactical response to
a changing climate.”
Looking ahead, McCall says he is excit-
ed not so much about climate-related
developments as advancements in tech-
nology. “Every industry, including golf
course management, is becoming big-da-
ta driven. Our group uses drones to map
pest outbreaks across golf courses and
then to incorporate those maps into GPS
sprayers that will allow targeted pesti-
cide applications. This evolution allows
for less expense through precise and
reduced application resulting in smaller
pesticide footprints.
“Beyond drones and GPS technology,
the turf industry is also evolving with the
use of various portable and in-ground
sensors to manage soil moisture, pest out-
break prediction models, timed chemical
applications and advanced DNA screen-
ing to identify and quantify the presence
of emerging pathogens. To this end we
will continue to use Independence as one
of our proving grounds,” adds McCall.
“We are pleased with our progress so far.
I couldn’t in my wildest dreams imagine
this would play out as it has. We are a
work in progress, but have come a long
way in a short time.”
Notes Taylor, “Virginia Tech embraces
the partnership; we love it. It’s turned
into a great marriage so far.”
vsga.org
CHANGING WITH A CHANGING CLIMATE