We were on a short vacation to Lake Norman near Charlotte last weekend and I had a chance to play three rounds of golf – two at Mallard Head Country Club in Mooresville and one at Trump National Charlotte.
I had played Mallard Head before at a family reunion tournament but they had closed the course in June when we normally play. They were in process of re-doing all the greens. Now they were ready and they looked beautiful – all lush and green, but a little spongy, which the golf pro warned us about. They may have been the slowest greens I’ve ever played. You had to whack your putt pretty good even on downhill lies just to get it to the hole.
But again, the golf pro told us that would be the case until the greens had fully settled. After my first round, I asked what kind of grass it was and the answer was Diamond Zoysia.
I have played on Zoysia fairways at Old Trail and Stony Creeks, but I had never heard of nor seen Zoysia greens. This may be the grass of the future for courses that get a lot of wear and tear, yet lack the maintenance budgets that exclusive layouts take for granted.
Diamond Zoysia performs well in shaded and semi-shaded areas. It also resists extreme heat and can prosper with less water. It requires fewer chemicals than bent grass or Bermuda and this variety comes to life earlier in the spring and goes dormant later in the fall. One thing I noticed right away was the lack of ball marks on the greens. Several of my approach iron shots left no marks whatsoever.
As all golf superintendents will tell you, ball marks are the work of the devil and require lots of labor and repairs to correct.
But if this grass does better in heat and drought conditions, requires fewer chemicals and resists ball marks – wow! What a product.
By the way, after a couple rounds on the super slow greens at Mallard Head, I had a hard time keeping my ball on the slick-as-glass greens at Trump National and I sent many putts scurrying way past the holes.
But remember the name Diamond Zoysia and watch for it at a golf course near you.