May Question of the Month: What is your preferred golf course grass surface?

The greens on Maui were generally large, severely undulating, and subject to The Grain.

The greens on Maui were generally large, severely undulating, and subject to The Grain.

The Bearded Golfer (and Wife) jaunt through Maui has come to a close.  Of course the scenery was beautiful, it was nice to have dipped our toes in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans in the same calendar year (a first for me), and was generally a fantastic vacation.

The three rounds of golf I played were all great and unique, both compared to golf on the continental 48 states, and as between the three courses I played (Kapalua, Wailea, and Kahili).  Lots of memories were made, and I’ll be writing up each excursion soon.

However, one of the lasting memories I will take home with me is the complete schooling I received from the greens on Maui.  Each was a different variety of Bermuda grass, but each also produced the “with the Grain / against the Grain” dichotomy that we hear so much about on television when the PGA Tour is in Hawaii, south Florida, or even the coastal Lowcountry of the American South.

In Lexington, we are on the cusp of several zones that support different golf course grasses.  I regularly play courses that are bent grass or Zoysia grass from tee to green, courses with Bermuda grass fairways and bent greens, and courses that simply have our native Kentucky Bluegrass and fescue varieties.

I’ve never really noticed that much difference between the varieties, except that bents are greenest in spring and fall, and Bermuda is largely dormant until Easter.  Until now.

So I ask you, Dear Readers, what is your preferred golf course grass to play?  Curious if you guys pay more attention than I do.

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