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have survived losing his old bentgrass
greens, and play, at any point. Moreover,
the ultradwarf has allowed more
playing days because he deep-aerifies
just once a year now versus three or four
times with the bentgrass. “We’re saving
money on that process and bringing
in more money because we have more
days where we’re not just charging a
cart fee until the greens recover.”
For some, though, a significant
offset to savings is the sheer volume
of management required in pushing
and prodding the ultradwarfs to
peak performance. That same USGA
survey found 100 percent of respondents
spent more on topdressing,
equipment, and equipment repair
and maintenance.
To that point, the very same
month Bell was taking up the bentgrass
at Red Stick, superintendent
Ken Mangum was speaking with a
reporter about his greens that were
about to host the 2011 PGA Championship,
the first major on an ultradwarf,
at Atlanta Athletic Club.
The reporter remarked how pure and
seemingly devoid of grain—a chief
complaint about the older varieties—
Mangum’s Champion greens were. He
laughed, then replied: “This is a really
hardy plant. They say if it looks perfect
today, then you should have done
something to it yesterday.”
I
f one broad declaration does
apply to the ultradwarfs, it is,
as Mangum intimated, they
need work: verticutting, topdressing,
brushing and more. Ultradwarfs
generate considerable thatch, which
left untended, produces a mattresslike
springiness that is a curse on
putting. Naturally, that type of work
consumes labor, equipment, supplies
and, of course, money.
In that context, NC State’s Miller
urges operators to make sure they
get on the same page with their superintendents
when it comes to their
expectations for their ultradwarf
greens. Regardless of whether the
course is private, public, high-end or
low-budget, those in charge need to
be clear on what resources are necessary
to achieve the desired result.
“No one likes surprises,” Miller says.
Hardy as they are in the heat of the
sun, the ultradwarfs are also vulnerable
to shade and cold. Course owners
who convert without a comprehensive
tree program allowing sunlight
to reach greens are in for disappointment.
Those who leave their greens
open to bitter cold also run a grave
risk, which is why many converts invest
in covers for their greens. Some
say the expense involved in covering
and uncovering greens in the winter
makes a wash of no longer having to
wilt-watch and syringe in summer.
The USGA’s Hartwiger likens the
ultradwarfs to a 7-foot-tall star athlete
who wanders up to the high school
basketball coach and says he’d like to
give the game a try. “Now that coach is
going to be excited because he’s really
got something to work with,” he says.
In that vein, Hartwiger says the ultradwarfs
have injected new enthusiasm
into a generation of veteran superintendents
who were otherwise jaded or
burned out on managing bentgrass as
if they were doctors in an ICU.
“Bentgrass has run a lot of good
people out of this business,” says Curtis
Singleton, superintendent at The Oaks
Course. “That’s a gamble that might
catch up with you any given year, no
matter how good a job you do. I think
the ultradwarfs might help us keep a lot
of good, smart people, and in this economy
and with all the challenges facing