Golf Course Grass seed – Greens and Roughs:
When thinking about golf courses, it is imagined as a well maintained, smooth and short cut lawn. The reality is that grasses for golf courses are traditionally tough, but also have to be fast at repairing themselves after ordinary use and heavy traffic on the course from large groups of golfers with their trolleys and golf buggies. Golf course grass seed mixtures are specially formulated for by experts to create the right grass playing surface for the type of area.
How to Choose the Right Grass Seed Mixtures:
Depending on the region that you are based in, will in turn dictate how the grass will develop and withstand hot or cold temperatures. Also the area that you are looking to create will dictate the species of grass selected for each area, for example the fairway grass seed with be different to the rough section.
The species of choice is often Bent grass and Fescue grasses. This is because they spread long creeping stems, over their growing surface, they take root quite quickly and easily, then grow to form a thick, smooth turf like cover which is ideal for the golf greens. Bent grass produces a deep green colour while forming a thick dense layer, which is the image created when imagining one of the famous international golf courses.
The bent grass is available in many different varieties, and is found on many golf courses and is a member of the Agrostis family. This makes it considered one of the “best” grasses available for a golf courses greens area due to its fine texture but it can stand well against low / close mowing as well as constant use.
Creeping bent grass is a native species to Europe, it is one of the best species to form a dense matting due to the shallow root system with the long slim line leaves. This species is one of the most popular forms of bent grass and is now being used extensively for lawns and athletic fields as well as the traditional Golf Greens.
Fescue grasses are ideally used on link courses and rye free courses. This is because they are tolerant to dry, free draining conditions but can also be combined with the bent grasses when developing the golf green. Fescue grasses can also endure a range of temperatures which makes it most suitable for a variety of courses. The fine blades of the fescue grasses and the deeper, well rooted systems generally mean that they have a higher drought resistance and tend to be more disease free.
The fescue’s rough, coarse texture and its ability to regenerate quickly makes it an excellent species when looking at erosion control. These qualities make it ideally suited for use on compacted soils and areas with heavy traffic; such as sports grounds or play areas.
Seeding Golf Roughs:
When seeding a golf rough area, the mixture of Bent, Fescues and Poa Grasses (or meadow grass species) combined with the natural occurring wild grass species will create the rough texture that is expected. Grasses such as Sweet Vernal Grass, Crested Dogs Tail, Meadow Foxtail and Poa species are all suitable grasses for golf roughs, but avoid using Poa Annua, as this is quite an invasive species which would not work well on a golf green.
Seeding Tee Boxes and Fairways:
A favourite form of grass species for tee boxes and fairways is often the Perennial ryegrass as it makes a great over seeding species. Perennial ryegrass benefits these areas when sown on top of bent grass as it has a fine texture that when grown tends to clump rather than run like the bent grass / creeping bent, although the ryegrass must be heavily planted to prevent it becoming loose and holes forming in the turf.
Choosing the Right Seed Mixture for Your Golf Green, Tee, Rough and Fairway:
Follow the links below to see the range available from Phoenix Amenity Supplies Ltd:
Or choose from the following:
- Premier Greens Grass Seed Mix
- Traditional Greens Mix
- Fine Ornamental Grass Seed Mix
- Prize Grass Mix (non-ryegrass)
- All Bent Renovations Grass Seed Mix
If you need any more information then we have created a series of help pages and guides.
Alternatively, you can contact us here.