In the midst of a complete renovation, Moody Gardens Golf Course is a links-style course located off the coast of Texas on Galveston Island. Due to its cost efficiencies and salt-tolerance, designers looked to Sea Spray seeded seashore paspalum from Scotts Professional Seed as their turf choice for tees, fairways and roughs.
Leading up to the renovation, many challenges made growing turf difficult at Moody Gardens, formerly known as the Galveston Island Municipal Golf Course. Included on the list: anaerobic and salt-laden sandy soils, an effluent water supply, and near-sea level elevations coupled with constant airborne salt.
“When we started out on the selection of turfgrass, water quality and climate were major considerations,” says Rex Vanhoose, senior vice president for Jacobsen Hardy Golf Course Design. “Paspalum was more salt-tolerant than other options and gave us more opportunity to manage the soils and turf, but could still be mowed tight.”
After deciding on the use of paspalum, the team immediately looked at the two most obvious means of establishment: sprigs and sod. However, because of availability issues and subsequent high costs associated with both options, the design team turned to Sea Spray, the industry’s first seeded seashore paspalum.
The use of Sea Spray on tees, fairways and roughs allowed the renovation of Moody Gardens to stay on budget, while eliminating concerns of availability. Recent research has also shown that Sea Spray establishes faster with more consistent uniform coverage than sprigged varieties at recommended rates.
“From what I can tell, paspalum will be the grass of the future and I like the seeded variety,” says Steve Yarotsky, superintendent at Moody Gardens. “You don’t have the seams for the sod and you don’t have root dieback. Plus the availability of a seeded variety will help quicken recoveries from divots or any other damage.”
In addition to the Moody Gardens Golf Course, Sea Spray is being used on golf courses in Mexico, Spain and the Dominican Republic.
