The hardy, drought-tolerant grass has been bred through a partnership between the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the USGA. The Nebraska club plans to test the grass this fall, rounding out a slew of changes to the course, while the North Sioux City, S.D., club has a test underway on an acre of the course that was damaged in a 2011 flood.

The Omaha (Neb.) Country Club is planning to test buffalo grass developed by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) this fall, the Omaha (Neb.) World-Herald reported.

UNL is working with the USGA to develop new strains of grasses to cut down on the need for water, herbicides, pesticides and labor, the World-Herald reported.

The partnership is working directly with course managers to change their mind-set on the maintenance and look of courses so they will be more sustainable, said Dan Hubbard, assistant director of communications for the USGA.

A UNL-USGA partnership in place since 1984 has focused on taking the nation’s only native grass—hardy, drought-tolerant buffalo grass—and breeding it into something that is even more utilitarian and attractive, the World-Herald reported.

Eric McPherson, director of green and grounds at the Omaha Country Club, said the course plans to test UNL’s buffalo grass this fall, now that the U.S. Senior Open is over.

In the meantime, McPherson ticked off some of the actions already underway at the course:

• Converting some of the grasses, including areas with bent, rye and bluegrass, to tall fescue, which stands up to heat and humidity well and requires less water
• Creating naturalized areas by converting some areas from irrigated to non-irrigated
• Reducing overall mowing acreage by 6 percent to 8 percent, which also saves water and energy
• Increasing the use of spot watering, which is more efficient than blanket-watering with sprinklers
• Installing a new water pumping station, which saves on electricity

Many of those practices have been replicated at other golf courses, said Kimberly S. Erusha, managing director of the USGA’s Green Section, and the organization’s top agronomist. The Omaha Country Club is among those courses nationally that have embraced more functional, efficient systems, Erusha said.

Tall fescue, Erusha said, has deeper, more extensive roots than the rye and Kentucky bluegrass that had been planted there. As a result, it can reach deeper for water and last longer through drought. It’s also better able to handle the area’s humidity, and it requires less mowing, the World-Herald reported.

The Omaha Country Club has pruned away lower limbs of its towering trees and removed undergrowth and smaller trees. Aesthetically this has contributed to sweeping vistas, but it also allows more sunlight to filter through the trees and improves the air flow, both of which are necessary for healthy grass, the World-Herald reported.

In tree areas away from the heart of the course, underbrush has been allowed to grow into dense, natural areas, the World-Herald reported.

One of McPherson’s goals is to encourage habitat that allows wildlife to co-exist with humans. Golfers at the Omaha Country Club may encounter deer, turkeys, foxes and the usual menagerie of rabbits, squirrels, ducks and songbirds, the World-Herald reported.

The USGA’s commitment to research goes back to 1920, Erusha said.

“We’ve recognized that we have to stay ahead of the issues,” she said. “You have to put money into research.”

In recent decades, the organization has spent $40 million on research, including nearly $2 million at UNL. Over that period, water has emerged as a chief concern, the World-Herald reported.

At UNL, Keenan Amundsen, assistant professor of turfgrass, said USGA-UNL research into buffalo grass also benefits consumers, because it results in improved varieties becoming available to the general public, the World-Herald reported.

“We’ve really improved the turf-type buffalo grasses,” Amundsen said. “We’ve (bred) for color, canopy density, how good it forms sod, how quickly it establishes.”

The Dakota Dunes Country Club in North Sioux City, S.D., is testing UNL’s buffalo grass on an acre of the course that was damaged in a 2011 flood. Justin Arlt, the PGA pro at the course, said the partnership with UNL will help eliminate what could have been an eyesore, the World-Herald reported.

“If this goes well, it’s something we would probably include in other areas of our golf course,” Arlt said. “And I can see other courses doing this. Any time you can do something natural with a new type of buffalo grass, there’s a definite benefit to nature.”

The key to moving forward will be the acceptance and support of golfers themselves, which Erusha said is happening already, the World-Herald reported.

“Fashions change over time. Even golfers’ perceptions of what a course should look like change over time,” Erusha said.

The pendulum is swinging away from the time when courses had to be mowed from edge to edge, perfectly manicured, the World-Herald reported.

“We need to continue moving the pendulum in that direction,” Erusha said, “so that it’s OK to have naturalized areas and it’s OK to have some blemishes as long as the playing quality is good.”