Grasses key to a golf course’s beauty

By Jeff Mingay

Regardless of its architectural merits, the aesthetic beauty of a golf course and its playing character are ultimately determined by the grassing scheme. Curiously, this is generally the most overlooked aspect of golf course design these days. Bent grasses are standard for tees, fairways, and greens; bluegrass is the overwhelming choice for peripheral roughs; and, as a result, far too many courses look and play the same.

Native grasses and other vegetation that help distinguish golf courses from one another are routinely eradicated in order to maintain the artificial status quo mandated by a legion of contemporary golfers who think a natural, multi-coloured golf course is a sign of inferiority.

The opening of Pete Dye’s Harbor Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina in 1969 marks a watershed in the history of golf course design. At a time when blatant length, mammoth greens, and large, immaculately groomed bunkers were the rage, Dye created a nifty, 6,600 yard layout featuring tiny, undulating greens, deep pot bunkers, and vast areas of un-raked sand. Still, as revolutionary as Harbor Town’s architectural features were, Dye cites an innovative grassing plan as the principle attribute that initially differentiated Harbor Town from other courses.

“What brought Harbor Town to life was the contrast in grasses,” says Dye. “The contrast in grasses has as much to do with the beauty of the course as the bunkers, the water, the rough, the trees.”

Indeed, a variety of grass types provide a golf course with an elegant texture and natural beauty. A majority of the world’s most intriguing courses exude such a feel, exhibiting a multitude of natural colours across the landscape, as opposed to a single shade of green.

There’s a wonderful new book available from Sleeping Bear Press entitled, The Art of Golf Design, that reminds us of this fact. Featuring essays by noted golf course design writer Geoff Shackelford, the book is decorated with a series of brilliant paintings by Mike Miller. The majority of Miller’s work is based on antique photos of some of the world’s most admired courses, including Crystal Downs and Pine Valley in the United States, Sunningdale and Royal County Down in Great Britain, and Australia’s rugged Kingston Heath. Each of Miller’s paintings comprises a dynamic array of colour: green, brown, yellow, orange, red, and purple hues that clearly illustrate golf courses are most attractive when they mimic nature.

An innovative grassing scheme not only enhances the beauty of a golf course. Mixtures of grass types make for a heartier playing surface that requires less water and fewer pesticide applications. And less water equals a more consistently firm playing surface.

Over-watered bent grass fairways lack the bounce essential to high quality golf, making courses far less interesting to play than otherwise. When courses are soggy, better golfers are permitted to play exact yardages without having to consider what the ball might do once it meets the turf. Conversely, firm conditions through the green force players to genuinely play strategic angles. Otherwise, getting the ball close to the hole becomes much more difficult.

Over-watered courses also make the game more difficult for weaker golfers, who benefit greatly from a few extra yards off the tee and some assistance with running the ball along the ground onto the green.

Ironically, golf course superintendents understand that green grass is rarely healthy turf. In fact, over-watered courses are most susceptible to disease. Still, in so many cases, superintendents are obliged to cater to the whims of club members or risk their livelihood. Soon though, golfers might not have a choice but to except golf courses in a more natural state. Tighter restrictions on water and chemical use expected in the near future will make it nearly impossible to maintain lush stands of green turf over large areas.

Many enterprising superintendents are already investigating alternatives to today’s standard golf grasses. Conversions can quite easily be made over time through over-seeding. The idea is to cultivate a more natural, textured golf course using grasses that require less water, and in turn, fewer pesticide applications. Such turf will also assist superintendents with maintaining a more consistently firm playing surface.

Returning our courses to a more natural state is a positive step in the right direction toward the future of golf design and course maintenance. The benefits speak for themselves.

Appears in the February 2002 issue of GreenMaster magazine