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On-Site Testing Of Bentgrass And Bermudagrass Cultivars
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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