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How to make your yard look like a golf course?

19K views 32 replies 14 participants last post by  zemog 
#1 ·
I have owned my house now for 8-9 years. I have always kinda taken pride in my yard. Im not overly fanatic, but I do take good care of it.

I have bermuda grass in my yard. I fertilize a few times a year, I water 2-3 days a week in the summer, mow once a week, etc..

the grass looks good, dont get me wrong. I probably have one of the nicer yards in my neighborhood. I played with the mower height a few times. I used to like it real tall and thick looking, but now Im thinking of changing to a low profile look.

I was on the golf course Sunday and their fairways were still dead looking. But there was a house with the nicest looking grass I have ever seen. I told my buddy it had to be turf, no way it was real. So we went over and looked close, even pulled a piece out to verify and sure enough, it was real. I swear, his yard looked better than the golf course in its best shape.

So my question is, how do I get that look? Obviously I need to cut it shorter, which Im sure Ill have to do slowly as right now I would just scalp it. But how do I get that DARK GREEN look? Any tips/tricks other than just water/scotts fertilizer I been doing?
 
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#2 ·
I've always heard it was tiff grass (on the fairways), but I'm not sure. I posted in another thread the other day, and some lawn jockey (zemog) laughed at me because according to him, tiff is bermuda. I don't know the real answer, but I know what you are talking about. I will try and snap a couple pictures tonight, as a neigbor down the street has that same type of grass, as does another house a few blocks away. I know the type of grass I'm talking about requires a special lawn mower.


Oh, and don't worry about scalping your yard. Now is the time to do it if you want to do it. It will help the grass grow in thicker which in turn will help choke out the weeds.
 
#17 ·
I've always heard it was tiff grass (on the fairways), but I'm not sure. I posted in another thread the other day, and some lawn jockey (zemog) laughed at me because according to him, tiff is bermuda. I don't know the real answer, but I know what you are talking about. I will try and snap a couple pictures tonight, as a neigbor down the street has that same type of grass, as does another house a few blocks away. I know the type of grass I'm talking about requires a special lawn mower.


Oh, and don't worry about scalping your yard. Now is the time to do it if you want to do it. It will help the grass grow in thicker which in turn will help choke out the weeds.

If you don't believe him, maybe you'll believe the internet.

http://www.lawnplugs.com/bermuda/bermuda419.html
http://www.pacificearth.com/cont/tif.html
http://www.lawnworks-sa.com/tiff419.html
http://www.bermudagrass.com/varieties/
http://www.eastonsod.com/index_tifway.html
http://www.sodfather.com/turf-grass/tifway-419-bermuda.asp
http://www.sandhillturf.com/TifwayBermuda.asp
 
#3 ·
Ya, i was told golf course's use a "reel" mower. Which are like the old fashion push mowers. But the gas powered ones are pretty expensive. I wonder how one of those push ones would work?

I believe he was correct on the tiff=bermuda. I think its just a certain type of bermuda. I have no idea what type i have, just know its bermuda.
 
#5 ·
this "lawn jockey" is also a golf course superintendant,
and i wasnt being a jerk , i was just clarifying
the grass you probably saw was winter rye,
fairways have a variety of different grasses,
tifway "419" hybrid bermuda along with all the other tif grasses were developed in tifton georgia, hence the name tif
tif "328" bermuda
tifway, tifgreen
some have just improved bermuda
greens have old school " 328" not many of these left
most have mini verde bermuda, champions bermuda, tifeagle etc..

most fairways are mowed 2 to 3 times weekly at a final height of 3/8" usually maybe a 1/2 if its really hot, it varies from course to course according to $$
for your home lawn 1/2" if good if you have a reel mower
 
#7 ·
zemog,

So whats the trick to getting my yard to look like that? Would I need to overseed with some tiff? Then could I use my current regular mower and just mow it low? What about those push reel mowers? Are they any good?

Then what about water/fertilize, etc... whats the trick to getting it looking THAT good.
 
#8 ·
tif is only available in sod, sprigs, or plugs.
you can use a push mower on it, you are just going to have to mow it 2 or 3 times a week, it is best with a reel mower, i have not used the cheaper reel mowers, (mine cost around 8k for the 21" toro flex greens mower, and 28k each for the tri plex) so i am not sure how they mow, i dont do a whole lot different on the fairways than i do on my residential contracts, fert 5 times during the growing season starting in april, you can spray a nutrient package with iron, calcium, manganese, etc.. that really helps with the color, as opposed to just nitrogen.
 
#10 ·
i have everything blended according to what nutrients are lacking, according to my soil test, there is no one product to use, i suggest having or taking a soil sample and see where you are at. for the home owner i would call you local lesco/john deere landscapes shop , and they can help you out.
 
#12 ·
The idiots that built my house planted tiff. At the end of each summer i have carpet. But to keep it that green requires frequent watering and fertilizer. Only do this if you are willing to provide the amount of water and fertilizer it takes, and it really requires mowing about every 4-5 days. I just use an ordinary craftsman mower on it.

Also, it tends to come up a month after everyone else's grass has turned green (so the weeds have a good head start), and it stays green for about a month after everyone else's grass has yellowed (gotta keep on mowing). In other words, lots of maintenance. Fall preemergent is a must.

But when it's right, you'll have the best yard in the neighborhood.
 
#13 ·
Zemog...

So my wife ordered like 2000 plugs of zoysia grass. Do you have any experience with this? Will it "take over" the grass I already have? What is the best way to put these plugs in the ground and what do I need to do to care for it once it is in the ground? Thanks a lot.
 
#14 ·
the best way is to start with a bare area and not have any grass or weeds that will compete with the new grass, zoysia is somewhat slow to cover when compared to bermuda or st augustine, but it is a very nice, dense lawn when full,
try and start with a clean bedding site, you can use a trowel to plant the plugs ( i have a special plugging tool for the course, but a trowel will work) plant the plugs in a checker board pattern between 6 and 12" apart (the closer they are the sooner full coverage), also apply a starter fertilizer (12-24-14 or similiar), keep plugs moist as they tend to dry fairly quick, and try to keep any weeds or grasses clean from between the new plugs so there is less competition when trying to spread.
 
#27 ·
We have 8 or 10 and last year we had someone come out and take off all of the lower limbs and thin out some if the upper limbs. That helps to let some light in.
 
#28 ·
didnt read the whole thread but i had a customer one time that lived on a golf course and he had his whole front yard done in tiff grass.....he said it "grows" like that. im sure some maintenance is done to it but it was pretty crazy looking
 
#29 ·
I use to work at a golf course when I was younger, and I can tell you mowing the green is pretty tricky business. I think I worked there for a couple years and never quite managed to not scalp at least some portion of the green. Maybe it was the power reel mower, I don't know. It's better to think of greens as moss than actual grass.
 
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