Solid Bermuda

On March 3rd, I spent about 45 minutes driving around with a tank full of herbicide and knots in my stomach.  I was about to spray some fairways with a product that kills any grasses that are not bermuda.  I was nervous about the application because much of the bermuda was covered with poa annua and ryegrass that had been growing through the winter while the bermuda was semi-dormant.  Some locations look like solid cool season grass and I can only hope that bermuda lies beneath.

The fairways that received this treatment were #'s 6, 7, 10 and a portion of 18.  In the coming weeks, we will spray #'s 5, 8, and 17.  Other holes will be sprayed as bermudagrass fills in and the poa annua and ryegrass weakens from summer heat.

The beauty of this product is the slow rate at which the cool season fades away.  For the first week, growth stops, but color and texture remain the same.  About 10 days in, grasses that are not bermuda start to yellow and they are browning up at this time, 17 days after the application.  The grass is still very playable and will not fade away completely for a few more weeks.  During this period, we fertilize the bermuda grass and encourage growth without any competition.

My fears of spraying are usually relieved when the bermuda starts growing through the dead grass.  There is plenty of bermudagrass on these fairways and they will fill in quickly.

A mono-stand of one species of grass is so much prettier than a hodgepodge of turf types.  Most of our fairways have ryegrass, poa annua, hybrid bermuda, and common bermuda in patches and different percentages throughout the playing surface.  Wiping out the rye and poa will really clean up the appearance and provide better playing conditions year-round.

 If we do encounter a thin or bare spot, we will mark ground-under-repair and maybe sod the location if recovery time is too great.  This application is an aggressive technique, but like you, I'm tired of waiting for this transition to take place naturally.  We are on the fast track now and the fairways will look like you've never seen at BHCC.  The last few photos show a portion of #6 fairway that is loaded with poa annua.  Last summer, this area was nearly all bermuda and will be all bermuda once again.

Yellow and dying poa annua covering bermudagrass.

Closer inspection shows some green bermuda within the dying cool season grass.

Here I've pulled up on the bermuda runners that will fill in this area.