Wednesday, August 04, 2021

Bentgrasses

 

At the practice facility, on the approach beside the chipping green on the left side of the tee, is a small 6" drain basin.  If you look around the basin, you can see what appears to be several different grasses.  However, all of the grass on this approach is Creeping Bentgrass.  The difference is the variety.  On the right side of the photo is bentgrass that appears leggy and thin.  On the left, circled in yellow, is a very dense, fine textured Bentgrass variety, likely the Pure Distinction variety that was seeded on the greens.  Highlands CC is made up of bentgrass like that on the right.  It's been around for 90 plus years and has gone through numerous mutations and segregations.  If we were to resurface greens, tees or approaches, we would use a grass like the one circled above, that offers numerous advantages from playability to aesthetics.