AU Victory: A New Bentgrass Cultivar.

Creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera) has long been used as a putting green grass because it offers superior playability, dense turf and a dark green color.  However, in the southeast the grass suffers in the prolonged heat and humidty of summer, and thin and poor stands are a result.  One result of this has been a definitive shift to ultradwarf bermudagrass cultivars.  However, some turfgrass managers prefer creeping bentgrass, and thus new cultivars are always a topic of interest.  The objective of this work was to examine the relative performance of a new Auburn University creeping bentgrass cultivar ('AU Victory') when compared to seven other currently available bentgrass cultivars.  Conducted at Farmlinks golf course in Sylacauga, AL, this study consisted of 4 replications of the following cultivars:  'Penn A-1', 'Penn G-2', AU Vistory, 'Crystal Bluelinks', 'Tyee', 'Focus', '007', and, 'T-1'.  Grasses were seeded on a USGA-type putting green in 2011, with establishment, color, quality and shoot density data recorded at regular intervals throughout the year.  All cultivars had high quality in fall and winter, while summer stresses produced differences in grass quality to cultivar.