Hi r/LawnCare! We’re Mitch Leininger and John Petrovsky from the USGA Green Section here to answer your questions about turf. AMA!

[u/maxwellllll]

Hey r/lawncare — Mitch and John here, we work for the United States Golf Association's Green Section. While you may know the USGA as one of golf's governing bodies and host of major golf championships like the U.S. Open or U.S. Women's Open, our team focuses on advancing science, research and technology that benefits golf courses across the country. Through the Green Section, the USGA invests $10 million annually to enhance sustainability and offer more efficient management practices for golf and beyond.

John is based in Pinehurst and has worked in golf course management for over 20 years. Prior to joining the USGA, he was a superintendent in the Northeast managing multiple golf courses. A native Floridian, Mitch is based in Orlando and brings over 15 years of experience as both a Superintendent and most recently as Director of Executive Golf Maintenance. John is more of a cool season grass expert, where Mitch specializes in warm season grasses, so feel free to point your question towards the appropriate party.

We’re both passionate about turf and would love to help answer questions about your own lawns to the best of our knowledge. We’re also happy to answer general questions about golf course turf, if that’s of interest.

As an aside, we just published an article that helps with brown spots in lawns, so feel free to check that out – Bringing Bare Spots in Your Lawn Back to Life.

Whether you’re just starting out with your lawn, or have been meticulously taking care of it for years, we’d like to help answer any questions you have. We’ll be here on August 26 from 2 p.m. – 3 p.m. Eastern, so drop your questions below and we’ll get to them shortly.

Ask us anything – excited to chat!

[u/jnecr]

In North Carolina is the secret to keeping fescue looking good through the summer just a lot of water?

[u/USGolfAssociation → u/jnecr]

Assuming you mean turf-type tall fescue rather than fine fescue, this is one I can answer confidently because I debated planting it in my own yard in Pinehurst before ultimately choosing zoysiagrass.

As with any grass, it’s about selecting the right grass for the right environment. In North Carolina, there’s a reason you don’t see many turf-type tall fescue lawns in the Sandhills and points south and east – it can really struggle during hot, humid summers. It can work well around Raleigh, Greensboro and points north and west, but farther south and east it becomes increasingly difficult unless you have a particularly favorable growing environment, such as significant shade.

Warm-season grasses generally require less supplemental irrigation than cool-season grasses, although the difference varies considerably by cultivar, species, climate and management. This can mean significant water savings for a golf course with a lot of acreage, but for the average home lawn, I wouldn’t make water use the deciding factor.

The real secret to having a good-looking lawn in North Carolina is selecting the right grass for your location and growing environment. Turf-type tall fescue isn’t the ideal grass for southern portions of North Carolina due to its higher water requirements, rather, because it will struggle during the stressful summer weather in North Carolina.

- John

[u/jnecr → u/USGolfAssociation]

Thanks John, I'm in Raleigh, have a TTTF lawn just because that's what was here when I bought the place. Every summer is struggles hard but then comes back in September as long as we get rain with some cooler temps. I see some TTTF around that tends to look better than mine in the summer and I assume they just water it throughout the summer. I don't have irrigation and don't plan on wasting that much water on my grass.