What type of grass?

[BobReeves]

Hi,

Bought 10 acres just outside of Tulsa OK and one of the things I want to do is put in (create) a 180 foot circle of short thick grass so I can fly Control Line model airplanes. This would not be unlike a golf green but I don't want to have the maintenance headaches I have heard a golf green requires. Anyone have any recommendations for what type of grass would be short, thick and smooth enough so my 2 inch wheels don't sink in but is easy to maintain with normal watering and mowing.

Please realize I am a complete idiot when it comes to this stuff, I have lived in a mobile home park for the last 20 years and didn't even cut my own grass /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[Golfgar4]

Hi Bob! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I'm no grass expert either, although I do have a little experience in the mowing side of it! /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

Anyway, even though you mention that you don't want the headache of maintaining a "golf green" quality patch of grass, you actually might not be that far off.

I'd be willing to bet that some type of bent grass would do you just fine. Bent grass is the kind that is used on many golf course fairways. It has a very tight nap to it, so the wheels of your planes wouldn't sink in, but yet you can mow it with a normal rotary mower. I think the better courses actually use reel type mowers on the fairways, but rotaries would work just fine.

If I were you, I'd stop by a local golf course and talk with the maintenance manager about what works well in your area. He could even probably tell you where to purchase the seed and give you recommendations on how to grow it and maintain it.

Good luck! Remember to take some pictures as your project progresses! /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Gatorboy]

Does Bermuda grass grow in your area? If you plant that, and cut it as short as your mower can go, you should get yourself a decent landing/takeoff area.

 

[Docsknotinn]

I think the best answer you might get on that is too go to a local grain/feed store that carrys seed. Explain to them what you want and they should easily be able to reccomend what type of seed would be best for your area/soil/climate as they will be familiar with your area. Dave

 

[cowboydoc]

I'd go with good old Kentucky Blue Grass. It does well cut short. Holds up extremely well to traffic and is very resistant to drought and disease.

 

[TresCrows]

Gatorboy is right. The Bermuda would also be my choice and it does grow in Oklahoma /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif.
Since being in Kansaw I have picked up on the rivalry between Kansaw and Okieland. Driving south from Wichita the fields are nicely kept, shiney tractors stowed away, not but a few trailer homes, mostly Fescue lawns, cross the Oklahoma state line and tralers galore, unkept fields, broken tractors faded and rusted laying about in the fields, and mostly Bermuda lawns. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif Oh, and they got something going on down there about meat goats. What is a meat goat? /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
Anyways, a fine blade fescue might be nice as well but the "runner" nature of Bermuda probably will give a smoother surface and can be cut much shorter.
In much of the South, St Augustine and Centepede are the grass of choice and Bermuda is a weed, up here in Yankee land Kansas, Fescue is the grass of choice and Bermuda is still a weed. Funny that, in Oklahoma they grow weeds for a lawn /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif. J

 

[Bird]

Bob, for that part of the country, I too would recommend Bermuda if it's out in the open where it gets lots of sunshine which I'm guessing it is in view of what you want to do on it. In my opinion, it makes the nicest lawn you can have if it gets full sun and plenty of water, but it doesn't do worth a hoot in the shade.

 

[Hoosier_Daddy]

Astro turf and a cordless sweeper.

 

[BB_TX]

I would check with a greens keeper about bermuda. There are many varieties of bermuda available now. Many golf courses in the southern (read that hot) states use hybrid bermuda on their greens and it can be mowed very low. If you can putt on it, you can land a model airplane on it. You will also need some reasonably good bed preparation for a good smooth surface. Bent grass doesn't handle the heat very well and requires a lot of care.

 

[BobReeves]

Sounds like Bermuda it will be. Thanks for the tips, we have a new golf course going in over next to the bingo hall maybe I can locate the greens keeper and bend his ear.

I will reserve my comments on the Kansas/Oklahoma war, I have many model airplane friends in Wichita and Topeka. You should hear us when we get together at a contest. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif