Fine fescues
Fine fescues are a group of grasses with narrow leaves. The five commonly listed turf types are strong creeping red, slender creeping red, Chewings, hard and sheep fescue. The group name describes their leaf texture; it does not identify a single species or a named cultivar.1
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Their appeal includes relatively modest needs for water, mowing and fertilizer. The University of Minnesota identifies useful drought and shade tolerance, but also poor performance in extreme heat. Those characteristics make the site and the particular fescue type consequential choices.1
A fescue suitable for longer turf is not automatically suitable for a putting green. In Minnesota's 2017 greens-height research, slender creeping red and Chewings fescue outperformed hard fescue and strong creeping red fescue. Hard fescue did not tolerate the low cutting height in that trial.2
That trial found that the two stronger candidates could produce acceptable greens-height turf with less nitrogen than creeping bentgrass. Its author still identified traffic tolerance as an unanswered question at the time, keeping the promise of lower inputs separate from proof of performance under play.2
A later Minnesota trial, seeded in 2019, applied simulated golfer traffic. The university's 2022 report described Chewings and slender creeping red fescue performing well under high snow-mold pressure. These were results from specified grasses and conditions, not a claim that every fine fescue suits every green.3
At a glance
- Botanical group
- Festuca species and subspecies4
- Growth category
- Cool-season grasses4
- Character
- Narrow-leaved grasses with modest input needs, useful shade tolerance and limited extreme-heat performance.1
- Common turf types
- Strong creeping red, slender creeping red, Chewings, hard and sheep1
- Cold-climate study
- Minnesota trial seeded in 2019; findings reported in 20223
Sources
- University of Minnesota ExtensionBuying turfgrass seed for Minnesota lawns
- University of Minnesota Turfgrass ScienceUsing fine fescue species as a low input turf for golf greens in Minnesota
- University of Minnesota Turfgrass ScienceEvaluating fine fescues for golf greens in cold climates
- NC State Extension TurfFilesFine Fescue