'golf as it was meant to be'

superintendents learn to maintain fescue at bandon dunes

Bandon Dunes’ motto is: “Golf as it was meant to be.”

True to the spirit of Scotland’s ancient links, this facility offers golfers the opportunity to immerse themselves in the traditions of a timeless game and the grandeur of southern Oregon’s rugged coast. Sweeping untamed shores stretch for miles. Primeval grassy dunes roll to the sea. Three distinctly different courses have been conceived in harmony with the natural environment.

It began in 1999 with the opening of Bandon Dunes. Designed by Scotsman David McLay Kidd, the first course is perched on a bluff high above the Pacific Ocean. It unfolds along pristine dunes where expansive ocean views are revealed on nearly every hole.

Pacific Dunes, designed by Tom Doak, opened in 2001. Emerging from shore pines and native grasses to magnificent 60-foot sand dunes, it is remarkably different in character and shot making requirements.

Bandon Trails, the third course, opened in 2005. Designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, the course begins atop a massive sand dune, quickly opens into a sprawling meadow, works higher into the coastal forest, back into the meadow, and finally returns to finish in the dunes.

While the varying elements of all three courses create a new experience each time golfers play, there is one thing they have in common — fescue. All the grass on each course is fescue, including greens. Resort superintendent Troy Russell says Bandon Dunes has the only all-fescue courses in North America.

“One of our best resources has been the British & International Golf Greenskeeper Association,” he says. “There are few to turn to in the United States who have fescue on their entire course. We had to learn our own methods when we built Bandon Dunes. On each course we've added to the discovery of what to do and what not to do growing fescue.”

Learning curve

Pacific Dunes' superintendent Jeff Sutherland uses less fertilizer and almost no fungicide compared to traditional grasses.

“Fescue doesn’t need as much nitrogen as bentgrass, Poa annua or warm season grasses,” he says. “We learned this from test plots and on Bandon Dunes. We didn’t use as much nitrogen on Pacific Dunes, and it has really worked out well for us. And, fescue is tolerant to most diseases. We won’t use fungicides unless we have to.”

Eric Johnson has been Bandon Dunes’ superintendent for four years, coming from Spyglass Hill and the Pebble Beach Company.

“I learned that patience is a big virtue with fescue,” he says. “We put down our preplant material and rode it out. Fescue will fill in. If we had tried to push it too hard, we’d have thatch issues. The first year the rough kind of putts along, but then it grabs the next gear and moves on. Color and density come around, and the real fescue look comes into play.”

Once fescue is established, patience remains a virtue.

“A cosmetic mistake with ryegrass can be fixed in a week or two,” Johnson says, “but with fescue a scar from a hydraulic leak or a turn from a tractor can stand out for a year or more. It’s hard to get an exact match. We pay dearly for our mistakes. However, it’s all cosmetic and doesn’t impact playability. The lesson is to hold back and not try to do too much.”

Soil samples are taken twice a year on all three courses.

“The results give us an outline of what we need,” Sutherland says, “but if you work with fescue long enough the grass almost tells you what it needs. I don’t go by a calendar; it’s more visual. We’re fertilizing less and less as the stand matures. Fescue is a slow starter, but once it gets a foothold it’s a good, solid turfgrass.”

Greens are fescue, too

Greens are equal parts chewing and slender creeping fescues, with about 6 percent colonial bentgrass. Mowing heights can vary from .200 in summer to .250 in winter. Speed ranges between 8 to 9.5 feet.

“Fescue doesn’t tolerate a low height-of-cut,” Sutherland says. “It doesn’t have much roll resistance because the leaf blade is so fine. We can have a higher height-of-cut and get good speed. With our undulations, firmness and the wind, we can’t get them over 10. There are playability issues; the ball would get blown off the greens.”

Greens are topdressed every two to three weeks. Aeration is done with solid tines.

“We don’t have any thatch to remove,” Johnson says. “We don’t pull cores because fescue doesn’t mend in like a creeping bentgrass. It will stay open for a long time, allowing Poa to move in. Poa really likes this climate and will battle for it. To keep everything in balance, we use solid tine aeration in spring and fall, topdress every two to three weeks and use low fertility.”

Sutherland adds, “Our goals are consistent green speed and a true roll. We topdress with a yard and a half of sand per green (greens average 7,000 square feet), and brush it in. An irrigation technician waters four to five minutes and then we mow, staying ahead of play. When golfers come through they don’t even know we’ve topdressed. Each course averages about 40,000 rounds a year. We start at 3:30 a.m. and we’re finished by 7:30 a.m.”

SLF-1880 handles contours

Until two years ago, all three courses used another manufacturer’s fairway mower before switching to Jacobsen’s SLF-1880™ super-light fairway mower.

“The SLF-1880 has a lighter footprint and is more maneuverable,” Johnson says. “Instead of stopping 10 to 30 yards away from the green, we can take them around the greens. This reduces our labor time mowing surrounds and approaches. The SLF-1880s have made us more efficient and give us a consistent look from the start of the fairway to around the greens.”

Bandon Trails' superintendent Ken Nice appreciates the SLF-1880 on his course because of its extreme and quirky contours.

“With this mower’s 18-inch reels and the fact that it’s lighter than the machines we were using, we get better contact with the contours,” he says. “We’re not concerned about striping; we block mow. We want the smoothness and texture of tight turf to be the aesthetic quality, not the pattern of the cut. And, we want golfers to be able to putt from well off the green. I’d like the player to have the option from 40 yards off the green to be able to use a putter and have no problems rolling it across the ground. In order for that to happen, the turf must be firm and fast all around the greens. The SLF-1880 has the small reel width and a little heavier reel than a triplex, so we’re actually doing some rolling when we mow.”

Practice facility

In 2005, Bandon Dunes expanded its practice facility to 50 acres with two driving ranges, a 40,000-square-foot practice putting green and two short game areas. The turf is identical to the three courses.

Common grounds superintendent Tom Jefferson, CGCS, says his staff’s biggest challenge is maintaining the ranges while golfers are using them.

“We’re constantly flip-flopping the use of the driving ranges so we can maintain them,” he says. “And, we treat the short game area like an actual golf course. We have to be flexible because we’re responsible for all areas outside the golf courses — trails, recycling program, practice center and the designed and natural landscaping — trying to give them a cohesive look. We glue together the resort environmentally.”

Links love

Nice was an assistant at a links-type course in Astoria, Oregon, before moving south. Conditions needed to be firm and fast, but the greens were not fescue.

“We have three distinct environments at Bandon Trails,” he says. “Three dune holes are influenced by the ocean, and then there are eight meadow holes, which are a transition into and out of a forest. There are distinct vegetation changes and each area has its own quirks. There are subtle differences in soil types and there is the influence of the wind. The more porous soils on the dunes holes drain more quickly and hold fewer nutrients. The turf is a bit leaner. The meadow holes have more organic matter for better nutrient retention. On the seven-hole forest side we capped it with different sand materials. The trick is to get all 18 holes to behave the same, firm and fast.

“I love maintaining a fescue course,” he continues. “It’s a very hands-off type of grass. The things that absolutely need to be done are a consistent topdressing program and moderate to low fertility.”

Sutherland has been in the golf industry since 1988, and was at a course with traditional grasses for nine years before coming to Bandon Dunes. Now he’s sold on links golf.

“It’s a totally different game,” he says. “You don’t fly the ball to the hole and get a plush lie. The game plays differently here. Everything’s firm and fast and the ball runs. Also, we have a lot of wind. Links golf fits this location and climate really well.”