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At this time of year, a golf course superintendent faces one of his biggest challenges... keeping his greens in good condition in the heat and humidity so common south of the Mason-Dixon line.  And if he has bent grass, experience really makes a difference.  Last week I was in Alabama, checking out a course that had been nominated by a Hidden Fairways member for inclusion on the web site. 

In fairness, the course (I'm choosing not to reveal its name or location) was truly lovely.  Nice layout, beautiful fairways... lots of fun to play.  But the bent grass greens were awful.  Some were okay, but some were just pathetic.  To his credit, before I paid, the gentleman in the golf shop warned me that some of the greens were stressed.  He had no idea why I was there, so I'm certain he tells everyone the same thing.  He said that only two weeks before, the greens had looked excellent and rolled beautifully.  But the heat and humidity had caused a repeat of what they seemed to expect as the inevitable summer disaster on the greens.

For a moment, I bought in.  We had an awful winter, virtually no spring and a very hot summer.   So sure... bent grass can't hold up, right?  But then I remembered playing Cider Ridge, in Oxford, Alabama only two weeks before.  Their bent grass greens weren't perfect, but they were very good.  And Monday of last week I played Old Union in Blairsville, Georgia and their bent grass greens were spectacular.  Perfect.  So clearly, it's not simply that bent grass won't do well in the South in the summer.  The difference?  The course superintendents at Cider Ridge and Old Union are consummate professionals.  Chad Robinson, at Cider Ridge, is fairly new to that course, but I'm told he was very successful with the bent grass greens at Sky Valley, which is why Honours Golf brought him in.  At Old Union, Jack McTyre was there when the course opened a year ago, and he's doing a stellar job of maintaining the course, bent grass greens included.  

So if you play a course in the South with bent grass greens, you don't have to accept poor maintenance.  Great bent grass greens are possible, even in hot temps and high humidity.  If you have any doubt at all, take a drive to Blairsville, Georgia or Oxford, Alabama and enjoy what a great superintendent can do with bent grass in Southern heat and humidity.