Insider Tips for Keeping Golf Courses Green in Summer

If you can't stand the heat, your lawn can't either. The scorching heat and soaring temperatures in summer can be stressful for your grass. It makes it difficult to strike a balance between maintaining a healthy, green lawn and conserving resources. It's easy to wonder how golf courses stay lush and green even in these harsh conditions.

As providers of one of the most preferred grasses for golf courses, we're here to let you in on a secret: it all starts with selecting the right grass and committing to proper, consistent maintenance. Discover how you can apply these expert strategies to keep your lawn looking just as green and healthy all summer.

How Golf Courses Keep the Grass Green

Achieving a lawn that rivals the lush greens of a golf course starts with the type of grass used on these athletic fields. Many golf courses in the U.S. rely on BIMINI® Bermudagrass—a prime example being the fairways and roughs at the Panther National Golf Course in Palm Beach, Florida.

BIMINI® is an improved Bermuda variety favored by contractors for its exceptional drought tolerance and durability. This hard-wearing grass can withstand the constant wear and tear of athletic fields without compromising its aesthetic appeal. Its dark green color and fine-bladed texture contribute to its lush appearance, making it a favorite in high-traffic areas like golf courses.

One of the standout characteristics of BIMINI® Bermuda is its deep root system and vigorous growth rate, supported by dense rhizomes. These features provide excellent shear strength and allow the grass to handle heavy foot traffic, meeting the minimum requirements for golf courses everywhere. Additionally, BIMINI® Bermuda is slow to go dormant in the winter and among the first to green up in the spring. This means you can enjoy a beautiful emerald green lawn longer than other grass varieties, giving your lawn the same year-round appeal as a high-end golf course.

Maintaining Golf Course-Quality Grass

Golf courses employ a comprehensive, multi-step approach to ensure their grass stays green and healthy. It focuses on providing an optimal experience for golfers, which is essential to their business. While the practices used—irrigation, mowing, fertilizing, and aeration—are the same as maintaining residential lawns, golf courses take a more advanced and precise approach.

Watering

Golf courses install advanced irrigation systems to keep the grass healthy and prevent it from drying out. These systems account for varying levels of shade and sun exposure, delivering water precisely and evenly. While installing sprinkler systems is optional for home lawns, what matters is that your lawn gets adequate water.

Most warm-season grasses need about 1-1.5 inches of water weekly. Proper watering helps avoid the risks of overwatering and nutrient leaching, thus keeping nutrients intact. Some of the best watering practices include watering early in the morning, allowing the grass to absorb moisture before the heat of the day. Water deeply but less frequently, around 1-2 times a week, ensuring the soil is moist 6-8 inches deep.

Water conservation is essential year-round, particularly during the peak of summer. Adhering to these practices ensures your lawn will receive the necessary water to thrive, even in these harsh conditions.

Fertilizing

Regular fertilizing helps restore nutrients to the soil and support steady growth. Golf courses carefully analyze soil and grass conditions to determine the correct type and amount of fertilizers.

For residential lawns, it's recommended to fertilize every 6-8 weeks during the peak growing season, typically from late spring to early fall for warm-season grasses, including bermudagrass. Although optional, a soil test provides a more specific approach to fertilizing by determining soil pH and nutrient levels, guiding your fertilizer application and amendments for optimal growth.

Mowing

Grass in golf courses is kept short to ensure optimal playing conditions and improve the overall golfing experience. Short grass provides a smooth, uniform surface that allows golf balls to roll consistently and predictably. This is particularly crucial for fairways and greens where precision is key.

BIMINI® bermudagrass can tolerate low mowing heights, as low as 0.5 inches, adding to its appeal for golf courses and athletic fields. However, mowing too low, too often, or too much at a time can scalp and stress the grass.

Adjust your mowing schedule and height depending on local conditions—mow less frequently when the grass is not actively growing and raise the mowing height during summer to help shade the soil. Additional tips include mowing no more than one-third of the grass blades at a time, keeping blades sharp, and avoiding mowing when the grass is wet to prevent disease.

Weed Control

Proactive weed management, including manual removal and the use of herbicides, prevents extensive weed issues and keeps your lawn healthy.

Whether on golf courses or on your lawn, selecting and applying the correct amount of herbicides is essential to prevent adverse effects on the surrounding environment.

Core Aeration and Dethatching

Golf courses are usually aerated 1-3 times annually to relieve soil compaction due to heavy foot traffic and equipment traffic. Aeration creates holes in the soil, allowing better water and nutrient absorption and improving circulation. Dethatching goes hand in hand with aeration, removing the excessive layer of organic debris that can prevent water and nutrients from reaching the roots. 

Takeaway

Introducing BIMINI® bermudagrass as sod to your lawn provides several advantages, including almost instant coverage, which consequently aids in erosion and weed control. It guarantees faster establishment than traditional methods, resulting in a higher success rate.

By adopting these comprehensive maintenance practices of golf courses, you can achieve a healthy, green lawn that stands up to the summer heat and looks just as impressive as the fairways and roughs at high-end golf courses.