Vanderbilt Legends Club Re-Grasses

In the wake of 100-degree weather and scarce rainfall, the Franklin, Tenn., club is covering its South Course with MiniVerde Ultradwarf Bermuda, which thrives in extreme heat.

Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin, Tenn., is taking the 100-degree weather and scarce rainfall as an opportunity to re-grass its South Course with MiniVerde Ultradwarf Bermuda, a species that thrives in extreme heat, the Tennessean reported.

Course Superintendent Joe Kennedy is leading his crew in a makeover of the 18-hole course by spreading 40 bushels of the sprigs every 1,000 feet over a sand and peat-moss mixture that covers the old turf, the Tennessean reported.

Kennedy said he can already see the difference in the spots that received the grass last year.

“The greens are firmer, faster, and we worry about it less,” Kennedy said. “Heat is not a problem.”

The club, which is owned by Vanderbilt University, marks its 20th anniversary this month. Redstone Golf Management signed a three-year extension earlier this year, the Tennessean reported.

Paul Bergen, a golf course management expert and owner of Professional Golf Management Inc., said the turf change is crucial.

“It’s the best thing they could have possibly done. They’re so fortunate they did it and they did it now,” Bergen said. “Bermuda is certainly going to withstand the heat much better than the bent.”

The change should make the greens faster and avoid full pitch marks after approach shots. The course uses Franklin’s treated wastewater and can receive up to 2 million gallons a day. Now, the course uses between 1.25 million and 1.5 million gallons a day, the Tennessean reported.

“It’s a little higher here the last couple of weeks,” Kennedy said.

Tags: Franklin Tenn. Joe Kennedy MiniVerde Ultradwarf Bermuda Paul Bergen Professional Golf Management Redstone Golf Management Vanderbilt Legends Club