Bermuda Greens in Winter

[DevilDog]

For those of you who play in the South or elsewhere where bermuda greens are prominent, it is that time of year they are all dormant and putting changes on them. At my home club, they get quite fast and the grain has no effect so you can get some weird breaks. What is it like putting the bermuda greens in winter where you are?

[lumberman2462]

Until we switched out to Bent about five years ago it was pretty tough putting on the Bermuda.

We used to cover with straw then we stepped up the technology and covered them with plastic.....with straw on top of that.

You haven't lived until you've played on temporary "winter greens". Big fun.

Bent is better except in July & August when our greenstaff keeps them soaked to the point where every shot (even with a long iron) plugs.

We were too stupid to switch to Champions Bermuda.

[DevilDog]

The grounds crew "paints" the greens with a fairly realistic looking water based paint during winter that also usually contains winter weed control. They also keep them smooth and quite playable. Just with them dormant they get fast and the grain that normally has an effect disappears. Funny how on some holes the grain will take a ball one way and in the winter it goes the other.

[jholz]

I love bermuda greens in the winter. Fast, true rolling, and generally firm - like putting on astroturf. Once they paint the greens at my local, you can be sure that the putts will roll just the way you envision them. Needless to say, I tend to sink more putts in the winter.

[El Kabong]

I'm another fan of Bermuda, winter or summer. Saturday was the first round since they painted the dormant greens at my local, and they were smooth, true, and fast.

[Holy Moses]

Every course down south needs bermuda. Boy can the putts get fast. I think the supers usually keep them a little long too.

[MarkCPA]

Want to see a better putting bermuda grass surface than champion bermuda? Find a course with tiff eagle bermuda. I'm fortunate to have a daily fee track nearby whose tiff eagle greens I'd stack up against any private club in the area.

[lumberman2462]

I've played Tiff & Champions and they are both great. It just depends on where in the country you're located as to which will thrive.

[RichieHunt]

Depends on the type of Bermuda. There's a misconception that Bermuda will cause the ball to break the other way. Instead it only causes the ball to break more or less if the grain is heavy and going a certain direction. But with today's Bermuda grasses it's not a big deal. Here's what I've found:

TifEagle - My favorite of the bunch. Easy for courses to maintain and handles traffic really well. Only issue is that courses should not try and get the stimp over 10.5 with TifEagle very often.


TifDwarf - When it's in great shape it's a great surface because it can play up to 12 on the stimp and roll quite smoothly. Doesn't handle traffic and weather nearly as well as TifEagle.


Championship Bermuda - The fastest of the Bermuda's. really designed for private clubs. Southern Dunes in Orlando has Champ Bernuda and can get the greens rolling at a 13. Better have tremendous care and money put into these green. Works great if you do.


I haven't really played Miniverde. The basic Bermuda grasses are difficult to putt on because they are so slow and bumpy.







RH

[act0fgod]

What I wonder about this thread is why 3 people seem to think painting the greens is important? Give me the smooth rolling dormant grass any day. If they are painting to put down weed control, as devil dog mentions, that makes sense. Not sure why people get caught up on color.

[Holy Moses]

Golf courses color the bermuda in the winter because the players want it and more than a few will complain if you don't. Makes me think warm thoughts too.

[jptruck]

Played a place a few weeks back that had Champion. They were about to install the "permanent" pins for the winter. I guess you can't cut holes with Bermuda when it's colder because it'll kill that location.

This was a really, really nice club, and the greens were "meh." We had played Dormie Club the day before and they were faster/better, but they were also bent.

[Llortamaisey]

My home course has miniverde grass on the greens. They are firm and fast in the summer. When winter comes, and the greens go dormant, putting becomes unfair. The greenskeeper usually puts the pins in the flattest location otherwise golfers will be playing hockey. Handicaps and putts per round generally go up during the winter.

[lumberman2462]

Older standard "stand" Bermuda was the go to grass for years. If you grew up playing that particular species then you learned to read grain and that you needed a putter with a little loft to get things going.