Sponsors websites:

www.ozbreed.com.au www.bestplants.com.au


Beyond the Fairway

By Todd Layt

Environmental, low maintenance turf and plants for roughs, penalty and out of bounds areas on golf courses.

Hitting a ball from a rough, or a penalty area is not meant to be as easy as a beautifully maintained fairway. With this in mind, why do we use high maintenance grass on roughs when there are more environmentally sound grasses that work just as well? And better still, they save vast amounts of money on maintenance. Planting ornamental plants around roughs is often used for both function and beautification. If the right plants and techniques are used, golf course maintenance can be greatly reduced. Community relations can also be bolstered by golf courses showing a more environmentally friendly face by reducing carbon emissions through less mowing, using more native plants, and even using newly available native turf.

Whether it is short or long rough, there are much lower maintenance alternatives to couch or Kikuyu roughs. Some may say, 'But we need to move the boundaries of the long, and short roughs, and the fairways around from time to time'. Firstly how necessary is this. On some tournament courses it is, and on some it is not. Secondly, there are some grasses that are much lower maintenance at higher mowing, yet can be mown short and still be used as part of a fairway. Zoysia turf is probably the best choice for this. Some Golf courses have used Buffalo for roughs, but only for permanent roughs. Buffalo can be particularly useful in shaded areas, but so can Zoysia. Zoysia blends in much better with Couch. Empire Zoysia is regularly used for roughs and fairways in the USA, so if boundaries need to be moved then this solves the problem. Roughs usually equate to larger areas than Fairways, so finding a grass that reduces maintenance on these areas can really reduce costs. Empire turf has been proven in a research study to require almost a third the mowing of Kikuyu and half the mowing of Couch. Another recent test showed that if not mown for 20 weeks in summer and autumn, Empire only reached a height of 117mm, while Kikuyu reached a height of 413mm, and Couch a height of 205mm. So why are more golf courses in Australia not using Empire Zoysia? Firstly, Zoysias are only new to Australia, and until Empire was available, the other Zoysias were way too slow to establish. Zoysias transplant slowly in winter. Easy fixed. Do not lay Empire Zoysia in winter. In Victoria, Empire Zoysia browns off too quick. Given enough fertilizer, I find it browns off about the same, or even after winter green couch, but either way we are only talking a week or two. Many golf courses like to over sow the roughs. Empire is regularly over sown in the USA. We have not traditionally used Zoysia in Australia. This is the real reason. If Golf Courses are serious about saving money, and reducing the strain on the environment, it is time to look at the non-traditional.

Other grasses that could also be considered for roughs include one used in the USA Buchloe, but it goes brown a month and a half before Couch or Empire, so I think that may be a hard sell to golfers. This spring, the first Australian native turf suitable for roughs and fairways will be released. Nara native turf is a Zoysia macrantha. It is a little faster growing than the exotic Empire Turf, but slower than Couch. Being the first all purpose Native turf, it will finally give golf courses a native choice, which is important for courses near bush land.

Trim work is the most labor intensive facet of golf course maintenance. Roughs that utilize a grass such as Empire Zoysia could reduce trimming by two thirds. Even a few strips of Empire around bunkers could save big dollars. Perimeters of ponds, creeks, bunker edges, sidewalks, and cart paths, and around the base of trees, signs, and ball washers all require near-constant trimming. On highly maintained courses it is not unusual to find 6 to 8 workers devoted mainly to trim work throughout the entire growing season. Surely it is time to change. There are other ways to reduce trimming, including a reduction in the number of bunkers, using growth regulators around edges, and chemicals sprays given the correct plant choice.

Ornamental plantings around golf courses can be functional or just for show. Either way planting to reduce maintenance makes financial and environmental sense. The first and most important advice for reduced maintenance of ornamental plantings is for areas adjacent to turf grass, such as roughs and bunkers to never plant true ornamental grasses right next to turf. If you plant shrubs, ground covers, or strappy leaf grass look alike plants you can use Fusilade to kill Couch, Kikuyu, Zoysia or any other lawn grass that invades the planting without harming the plants. Ornamental grasses and native grasses do look so natural planted next to the rough, but they do add to maintenance. To get this natural look, use fine leaf Lomandra plants such as Nyalla, Tanika, or Liriope like Just Right. These are fine leaf plants that look like ornamental grasses, but need trimming only every 5 to 6 years instead of every year, remaining evergreen. Best of all, Fusilade can be used to kill the encroaching turf grass. A lot of golf courses like the look of Pennisetum alopecuroides plumes near roughs, or the ornamental Poa tussocks like Kingsdale. These can still be used further back from the edge. Plant the edge with the fine leaf strappy leaf plants, then behind these a couple of metres back you can plant the true grasses. This way they will be protected by a buffer zone, which can be sprayed with Fusilade. Ground covers such as Myoporum or the newly available ground cover Westringia called Mundi could also be used along the edges of roughs. One final choice is the new and unique Liriope called Isabella. This is the only low growing fast spreading Liriope in the world. Planted in large areas, it needs mowing once every year each July. This becomes an evergreen ground cover, which can have the encroaching turf grass sprayed out with Fusilade. For more information on these plants or turf go to www.bestplants.com.au or www.ozbreed.com.au 

Tradition is a great thing, particularly for celebratory days like Anzac day or Australia day, but not when it comes to work place traditions that cost money. Maybe it is time to change. Methods that lead to reduced maintenance and a better environment need to be embraced.