GN-1 Gives N.C. Club Luxury Turf

ROSEBORO, N.C. -- Tucked away in the southeast corner of North Carolina, in the middle of Sampson County, lays a pristine yet unsophisticated golf course.

Lakewood Country Club handles about 16,000 rounds a year and caters to its 105 members with hospitality and reasonable greens fees -- $15 during the week and $25 on weekends. It's safe to say Lakewood will not soon be confused with more famous in-state tracks like Pinehurst or Forest Oaks Country Club.

The person in charge of keeping the grounds in order -- and watching every penny that goes into maintenance -- is Winston Hall. He grew up in a tiny town 10 minutes from Lakewood's front door and has been superintendent there for a decade.

"I know every one of the members, and I know their mothers and their fathers," Hall said. "And they know my mother and father. We're all pretty tight. They're open with me, and I'm open with them."

It's a good thing, because Lakewood went through some serious renovations a few years ago. It decided, unsuccessfully, to experiment with a new turfgrass in the landing areas and approaches on five holes. Neither Hall nor the members liked it.

Along came Rick Neisler from Oakland Plantation Turf Farm. After assessing the situation, he quickly suggested Hall go with GN-1, a genetically pure hybrid-bermudagrass from the Greg Norman Turf Company. Hall decided to visit Oakland's turf farm and see the grass himself.

"We looked at the quality of that turf and were very pleased with it right away," Hall said. "So we elected to go with GN-1 on the other 13 holes, and it preformed very well."

Hall works with a limited maintenance budget and was understandably concerned about the cost associated with sprigging Lakewood with a product such as GN-1. However, Neisler assured Hall that GN-1's quick establishment rates, coupled with its phenomenal growth characteristics, would in the end allow his budget to remain intact while providing a quality playing surface normally found on only the most exclusive courses.

"It was a little bit more per acre, but the quality is great, and I swear to you it's the greenest grass I've ever seen in my life," Hall said. "I know I didn't put down too much because my budgets were so tight, and we were completely covered within five weeks."

"When I counsel superintendents, one of the things I have to convince them is that while GN-1 may cost a little more on the front end, you certainly don't need to plant as heavily," Neisler said. "Over the course of its life, the grass may actually pay for itself because of the decrease in fertilizers and chemicals needed to maintain it."

GN-1, the turf of choice for Super Bowl XXXIII at Pro Player Stadium in Miami and Super Bowl XXXV in Tampa, is a dark green, medium-textured hybrid-bermudagrass that is used primarily as a fairway grass and as a high-end turf for sports stadiums throughout the southern and western United States.

"I've seen GN-1 at Lakewood and The Point Golf Club (a Greg Norman design in Mooresville, N.C.) and it's a good grass that's very aggressive," said Dr. Leon Lucas, who spent 30 years at North Carolina State University working with turfgrasses and turf diseases. Lucas now works as an advisor for the North Carolina Golf Association. "From what I've seen, it requires much less fertilizer because of its growth rates."

GN-1 is grown from high-quality stolons that have been propagated in a controlled cultural environment. It results in a high quality, healthy sod that is virtually free of weeds, harmful turf insects and disease.

It has an exceptionally dark green color during the growing season, and with proper maintenance produces little seed head.

GN-1 produces only a low to moderate amount of thatch, and with a regular mowing schedule during the growing season, a low to moderate fertilization program and annual verticutting will help keep thatch under control. Because it requires much less nitrogen than other hybrid bermudagrasses, from an industry perspective GN-1 is environmentally friendly.

Lakewood is entering its third season with GN-1 and Hall has had no thatch problems whatsoever. And southeast North Carolina gets its share of inclement weather. Through three winters, one of which Hall described as harsh, there has been no winterkill at all.

"It recovers from divots so quickly," Hall said. "It's not that you can't take a divot, but the grass is so resilient that when you do it just doesn't fly out of the ground. It kind of gives you a fluff, and you can just push it back down with your foot most of the time. It makes my job a lot easier."