Mississippi State - developed grass on golf course

A bermudagrass-MS Express-developed at Mississippi State and available commercially for the first time this year, is being planted at the University Golf Course.

As a result, the front nine greens and surround were renovated to repair winter damage. Severely damaged spots to fairways also were replanted.

A year-round public facility, the 18-hole, par 72 course is located three miles east of campus on state Highway 182.

Although the back nine will remain open through the summer, agronomist Mike Goatley cautions that there will be little grass on the greens. Overseeded rough bluegrass that provided an outstanding winter surface normally dies in the spring, he said.

Greens will be overseeded once more in the fall for winter playing, and next spring the back nine greens will undergo the same facelift the front nine now are experiencing.

"The course actually will improve as the new grass becomes established," he predicts.