Will Zoysiagrass be the Next “Big Thing” for Putting Greens in the Transition Zone?

By Thomas Walton

M.S. Student, Turfgrass Science • Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, U of A System Division of Agriculture

Although not historically used on golf course putting greens in the United States, several newly released cultivars of zoysiagrass have the potential to produce high-quality putting greens in the transition zone. In this video, Thomas Walton discusses a field trial currently being conducted at the University of Arkansas which is a comparison of ‘Lazer’ zoysiagrass to ‘TifEagle’ bermudagrass grown under varying light intensities, mowing heights, and growth regulator treatments. The goal of this project is to compare the turfgrass quality and surface characteristics of ‘Lazer’ zoysiagrass to a widely-used, industry-standard putting green such as ‘TifEagle’ bermudagrass to determine if zoysiagrass really could be the next “Big Thing” for putting greens in the transition zone.