Creeping bentgrass

Its fine leaves tolerate close mowing. The plant spreads through stolons, stems that run along the ground, helping the turf recover from foot traffic and ball marks. These qualities help explain its place on the putting surface.¹⁴

That surface takes considerable care. Creeping bentgrass requires regular mowing, fertilization, topdressing and disease management, with particularly demanding maintenance during summer.⁴

A research history links early strain trials in 1916 with the later breeding work that produced Penncross in 1954.²

The early work began with grass collected from golf courses. Charles Piper, Russell Oakley and Lyman Carrier tested promising strains at Arlington Turf Gardens in Virginia. Later, H. B. Musser’s breeding work at Penn State produced Penncross, a named cultivar within the species.²

Scarsdale Golf Club provides a documented example: a 2017 case study describes a transition toward bentgrass following turf loss in 2011.³

The case study reports that every Scarsdale green contained more than 80 percent creeping bentgrass by the end of 2014. This is a dated record of a transition, rather than a statement about the club’s greens today.³