Establishing and Trafficking New Bentgrass Putting Greens

Establishing and Trafficking New Bentgrass Putting Greens Golf turf managers are pressured from the golfing community to reduce the establishment time of playing surfaces. To this end, accelerated grow-in procedures are implemented that eventually permit play on surfaces that are less than prepared to receive traffic. Research hassuggested that accelerated grow-in procedures and premature traffic results in a turfgrass stand that is more prone to damage from pests, in particular, diseases. New cultivars of creeping bentgrass are available and mark a significant improvement in visual quality, growth habit and ability to tolerate close mowing. The ability to lower cutting heights is critical for golf turf managers who are required to provide ball roll distances consistently greater than 10 feet. The goal of our research at Cornell University is to determine optimum putting green establishment programs that lead to a more stress tolerant, disease resistant stand of turf, less reliant on pesticides. ■