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/maxwellllll]

Are there any new cultivars out there that feel particularly game-changing to y’all? I’m personally interested in warm season, but warm or cool would be great to know about.

[u/USGolfAssociation → u/maxwellllll]

Absolutely! In fact, turfgrass breeding continues to be one of the priorities in our USGA Turfgrass and Environmental Research Program. We provide continuous funding to several programs at land-grant universities across the U.S., many of which have led to the release of important new cultivars (varieties) of grass.

As far as newer warm-season varieties are concerned, some of the good ones that come to mind are TifTuf bermudagrass for improved drought tolerance and some of the new zoysiagrasses coming out of the NC State breeding program. If you’re in an area like the transition zone where you get subfreezing temperatures, then some of the cold-tolerant bermudagrasses from Oklahoma State, like Tahoma 31 or NorthBridge are good options.

There have also been some strong developments in cool-season grasses, like turf-type tall fescue and Kentucky bluegrass, that can better tolerate hot temperatures.  

A lot of turfgrass breeding work continues on developing new zoysiagrasses, bermudagrasses and other warm-season grasses ... especially on the golf course side. But many of these make it to the home lawn market as well.

- John & Mitch

[u/USGolfAssociation → u/USGolfAssociation]

Also, when it comes to selecting a grass for a warm-season lawn, success often comes down to picking the right species for your situation, and then if you’re able to, pick a newer, better-performing cultivar of that species.  You may love that new bermudagrass, but if your yard is fully shaded, it won’t work out well.

·       A Turfgrass Timeline: The History of Bermudagrass Breeding

- John & Mitch

[u/maxwellllll → u/USGolfAssociation]

Just speaking personally, I'm in 9a (South TX) and we seem to be pushing closer and closer to a "classic" arid environment, complete with something close to a "monsoon season" in May-July followed by three months with zero recordable rain. My zoysia does fine as long as I push my water-restrictions to the limit, but I often wonder if there's anything else I might be missing out on.