Cover Story
A Collaborative
On-Site Research Project Between Independence Golf Club and the Virginia Tech Turf Team By Mike Goatley, Ph.D., Extension Turfgrass Specialist, Virginia Tech
The
Virginia Tech turf team has established a unique cooperative research partnership with Independence Golf Club (Midlothian, VA) through the support of owner Giff Breed and superintendent Dan Taylor. Independence has a nine-hole executive golf course, and Mr. Breed has offered the Virginia Tech turf team full access to this property for turfgrass and environmental research, along with the commitment to the regular maintenance of the course under the direction of Independence superintendent Dan Taylor and his staff. Independence Golf Club was the first course to install Champion bermudagrass greens in the Richmond area, and the success they have realized to date with these greens warrants further research efforts to evaluate the potential for expanded use of bermudagrass or zoysiagrass for putting
green turf in the Mid-Atlantic. A focal point for the research at Independence is the evaluation of new varieties and management strategies for warmseason putting greens. To our knowledge, this will be the most northern research site for warmseason putting green turf research in the United States, and definitely in the Mid-Atlantic. In addition to the research opportunities on putting greens, Breed has offered us the remaining acreage to modify as needed for additional golf and sports turf research, with one specific request being the installation of a bermudagrass soccer pitch. The grasses that have been selected for the putting green trials were chosen based on their performance in the ongoing NTEP warm-season putting green trial (directed by Dr. Erik Ervin and maintained by Dave Rathke, Christian Sain and team at Country Club of Virginia-Tuckahoe Creek). A
14 | Virginia Turfgrass Journal May/June 2017 www.vaturf.org
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