Abstract

Ball roll distance on golf greens is inversely related to friction.  Close mowing contributes to "faster" greens, that is, those with lower friction and longer ball roll.  Close (below 3.0 mm) mowing is damaging to Cynodon (common names: bermudagrass, couchgrass) greens, thus it would be desirable if lower friction, "faster" greens cultivars could be developed.  The object of this study was to compare the ball roll friction of Cynodon spp. genotypes, based on ball roll distance using a 19-cm modified (Gaussoin et al. 1995) Stimpmeter.  Four replicated blocks of 12 Cynodon genotypes were evaluated under greens height on five dates.   African bermudagrass (C. transvaalensis) genotypes had higher coefficient of friction and 6% to 13% shorter ball roll distances compared with hybrid bermudagrass genotypes (C. magenissii = C. dactylon X C. transvaalensis and its reciprocal).  African bermudagrasses mostly died out during the study.  Among the remaining hybrid bermudagrasses, ball roll distances and coefficients of friction of genotypes were statistically significant (P < 0.05) but practically insignificant.  Selected trade cultivars exceeded the ball roll distance of 'Tifdwarf' by an average 2%.  While there is an opportunity to select grasses tolerant of close mowing, and practices such as topdressing should be evaluated, there is probably no opportunity to breed "faster" greens cultivars.