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With a lack of year-round rainfall in the Los Cabos Region, the type of grass used on our golf courses is a very important factor in their design and maintenance, as well as in how they play. The strong tropical sun, the lack of large shade trees, plus the steady and constant use as a result of being resort courses, make the proper selection and care of course grass a paramount concern for owners, and of course, for those of us who play these beautiful grounds. Almost all the water used for care and maintenance is either treated gray water or desalinated ocean water, each adding another dimension that must also be figured into the equation.
The eight most common species of grass used on golf courses are Bahia Grass (also known as Paspalum), Bermuda Grass, Fescue, St. Augustine Grass, Zoysia, Rye Grass, Kentucky Blue Grass and Bentgrass. There are many varieties among each different species.
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Some varieties do well in warm conditions and others do not. If you are used to playing in the northern half of the United States or up in Canada, you are most likely accustomed to playing on Zoysia, Rye Grass (don’t confuse this with the grain!), Fescue or Kentucky Blue Grass on the fairways and roughs, and Bentgrass on the greens and tee boxes. These species handle cool weather very well, but do not handle our extreme summer heat and dry conditions as well, unless they are constantly monitored. In our area, the most common species cultivated on the fairways is Bermuda, and a special strain known as Bermuda 419 is the most common variety.
As a matter of fact, according to the latest information available, among the 13 local courses presently played or under construction, ten of them use Bermuda as the fairway grass, and six of them use one of two varieties of Bermuda as the choice for their greens. The reasons for this are fairly straightforward. Bermuda grass is a perennial, growing constantly and very rapidly. It is dark green, drought resistant, fairly salt tolerant, fast repairing, and can be mown very close. These attributes made it the perfect choice when the courses that use it were constructed, and still make a lot of sense today. Originally, in the 1500s, this lush grass was brought from Africa by the Spaniards to use was as forage grass for livestock. Long after this earliest application, it is now used as a grass to cover the surface of playing fields and for landscaping.
Fairways that are covered in Bermuda will not play like the ones up north that are covered in Zoysia or Bentgrass since the blades of grass do not allow the ball to “sit up” as well. This in turn allows less spin to be imparted to the ball and can affect your ability to stop the ball on a pitch or chip shot. If, unlike me, you are a golfer on a level in which you can apply and control the spin on your ball, it is a very good idea to spend some time on the driving range to discover just how much change you can expect.
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The three courses in Los Cabos that do not use Bermuda as their choice of fairway grass are the more recently built Club Campestre San José Golf Course and the two new courses at Puerto Los Cabos. They have chosen a strain of Paspalum grass. This grass is a variety of Bahia Grass, and has been around as a distinct variety since the mid 1970s. In the early 1990s, varieties known as Seashore and SeaIsle were developed for use in areas that had a heavy salt presence. These varieties of Paspalum went through a battery of exposure tests. From fresh water (less than 500 PPM) to brine water (45,000 PPM), and everything in between. Summer temperatures near 100 degrees F. with a humidity of 95%. Rains totaling 14 inches in one week that left the Paspalum under one foot of water for 5 days. And no rainfall at all for several months. After all of these adverse weather and environmental conditions, the Paspalum still held up strong. While in the beginning much more expensive than Bermuda, the price has crept down as it has become more widely cultivated. It has become the “buzz word” grass for the past eight years, and these newer courses in Los Cabos have selected it as their choice in fairway and tee box grass, with another closely mown variety as their greens grass.
Three courses in Los Cabos use Creeping Bentgrass as their choice in greens grass, even though it needs more care than the other species. The Cabo San Lucas Country Club and both the Desert and Ocean courses at Cabo del Sol chose this grass because it grows very thickly with a horizontal root spread, helping to keep out other broad-leaf grasses, and because it can be cut very short. When properly maintained, Creeping Bentgrass can have a smooth velvety appearance and perhaps make putting a challenge. These greens have an almost felt like appearance and feel, and in most cases result in a much faster ball roll, depending on how damp the green is. With Bermuda greens, the ball will normally roll a bit slower, again depending on how wet the green is.
Probably the most important consideration in putting is determining the direction the grain of the green is running. Later in the day the grass will have grown a bit longer and will have turned toward the sun, therefore a putt away from the sun will likely be against the grain and thus slower. A breaking putt can be very confusing if you are not sure of the direction the grain is running. A fairly common rule of thumb on our courses is that the grain runs toward the ocean, but it is always a good idea to actually run your fingers lightly across the surface in each direction to get a real feel for the grain.
When it gets down to the bottom line, the more you know about the course you are playing, the better your score will be.
Courses using Bermuda fairways and Bentgrass greens:
• Cabo San Lucas Country Club
• Cabo Del Sol Golf Club
(both courses)
Courses using Bermuda fairways and Bermuda greens:
• Cabo Real Golf Club
• Palmilla Golf Club (all three nines)
• Querencia Golf Course
• El Dorado Golf Club
• Mayan Palace Golf Los Cabos
Courses using Courses using Paspalum fairways and greens:
• Club Campestre San José Golf Course
• Puerto Los Cabos Golf Club (both courses))
By George Landrum
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Copyright © 2009 - Joseph A. Tyson - All Rights Reserved - www.loscabosmagazine.com
Los Cabos Magazines, Inc - Tyson Promotions, Inc - Promociones Tyson, S. A. de C. V.
Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico - Last Revision - 07 October, 2008 - fap
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