# Which bermuda sod to buy?



## GAbermuda (9 mo ago)

First post, looking for advice. I completely regraded my lot and ripped out fescue lawn. Got soil test and bought all the neccesary amendments. Have sod installer picked out to lay 18k of bermuda plus spread new topsoil and fold in amendments. Bought new spreader, reel mower, edger, etc. I'm ready to start off my 1st betmuda lawn doing everything right. All I have left to decide is which Bermuda sod. Price isn't an issue although I don't see huge price variations between different betmuda varieties like I see with Zoysia. I'm in Cobb county Ga. I'm leaning towards tiftuf. What hybrid bermuda sods do you like best and why? Thanks.


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## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

Tiftuf
Tifgrand
Lat36
Tahoma 31
Celebration 
And others


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## Dono1183 (Oct 11, 2021)

I went with celebration because we don't get a lot of rain in central Texas, and I want to minimize watering. But there's a lot of really nice journals on here about the different cultivars. I would review those as they provide a lot of insight into the pro's and con's of each. Sounds like you're all set for your new lawn!


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

Welcome to TLF!!

I think if you can describe what you are looking for out of your lawn we can better help you narrow down what would be best.

TifGrand and Celebration will be the darkest green.

LAT36 and Tahoma 31 will green up and stay green the longest.

Celebration and TifTuff will recover from damage the fastest.

Tahoma 31 and TifGrand are finer leaf blades and will reel mow really nice(not that the others won't).

This is just a few off the top of my head and if anyone has some of these specific cultivars please correct me if I misrepresented them wrong.


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## GAbermuda (9 mo ago)

Mightyquinn said:


> Welcome to TLF!!
> 
> I think if you can describe what you are looking for out of your lawn we can better help you narrow down what would be best.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the details. The attributes I'm looking for the most is drought tolerance (I don't have an irrigation system), and ability to stand up to traffic from the kids. Color isn't the highest priority. I plan on putting down pgr so that I can get away with mowing 2x per week. I don't want to have to mow more than 2x per week. Dont think this very germane but I have some slope in the front yard but the backyard has been graded flat as a pancake.


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

My list would look just like @Movingshrub's but I would switch Celebration and TifTuf positions.


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## GAbermuda (9 mo ago)

I didn't realize the list by @Movingshrub was a ranking. So you would rank celebration 1st and tiftuf 5th? Curious to know why other than reasons related to color. My understanding is that tifgrand needs to be mowed low, preferably with a greens mower. Is my understanding correct? I do not want to deal with a greens mower, not yet. Need to learn the basics first before I dive into the deep end. In my area it looks like I can get tiftuf, tifgrand, and celebration. I think you would rank those 3 as 1 celebration, 2 tifgrand, 3 tiftuf


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

For you I would go with Celebration as it seems to tick all the boxes.

To me drought tolerance and Shade tolerance should have an * next to it as it's very subjective on the differences between cultivars.


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## FATC1TY (Jul 12, 2017)

Mightyquinn said:


> Welcome to TLF!!
> 
> I think if you can describe what you are looking for out of your lawn we can better help you narrow down what would be best.
> 
> ...


My TifTuf stays green past thanksgiving most years… you saying the others do better?


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

@GAbermuda Yes, that would be my ranking but full disclosure: I don't have any personal experience with either of them. I have only seen TifTuf in a friend's yard who is struggling to get it to respond properly to regulation but after seeing @FATC1TY's TifTuf, my opinion is changing. Lots of members have recently put down Celebration and I believe they are all very happy with it for the most part.


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## FATC1TY (Jul 12, 2017)

GAbermuda said:


> I didn't realize the list by @Movingshrub was a ranking. So you would rank celebration 1st and tiftuf 5th? Curious to know why other than reasons related to color. My understanding is that tifgrand needs to be mowed low, preferably with a greens mower. Is my understanding correct? I do not want to deal with a greens mower, not yet. Need to learn the basics first before I dive into the deep end. In my area it looks like I can get tiftuf, tifgrand, and celebration. I think you would rank those 3 as 1 celebration, 2 tifgrand, 3 tiftuf


Sounds like TifTuf to me. It requires wayyyy less water to stay green. I can go days past my neighbors on watering and their 419s looking dormant.

TifTuf gets knocked on the lighter color, and it gets knocked by how easy it is to scalp. If you stay low and maintain it with PGR, scalping isn't an issue I've found in the last few seasons. Toss down some iron and it gets mighty green as well!

You'll also have a much easier time getting TifTuf in your area, and if you want good recover from scalping or kids or dogs- it's one of the best. It's also pretty low input. I do .25#/N per 1k sqft maybr 3-4 times a year. Minimal fungicide needs too, and I've yet to need to dethatch.


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## FATC1TY (Jul 12, 2017)

If you want to see how dense you can get it, TifTuf that is.


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

I'm not sure about TifTuf needing less water but I do know that my 419 is thirsty compared to my Empire or my friend's TifTuf. He struggles with the scalping and has never really successfully gotten it under regulation so it's not a very good example for comparison. I'm chalking it up to "operator error"... no offense Ryan if you are reading this. I think my 419 has a better color but green is green as long as they aren't side by side. His Tiftuf most certainly goes dormant way later and wakes up way earlier than my 419, but that's not a good comparison down here because we barely go into semi-dormancy most winters.


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## GAbermuda (9 mo ago)

@FATC1TY I was being swayed away from tiftuf which was #1 on my list and now you are swaying me back. I have a pretty big lawn, 16k that will be bermuda and 4k of fescue in the shade where the bermuds will not do well. I don't have the funds to put in irrigation system before sodding, wish I did, so i will be hose watering with sprinklers for a couple years before I put in irrigation. So basically if tiftuf is less fussy about water than celebration or tifgrand then that's the best choice for me. Is that the case? Also, there are no bermuda lawns in my neighborhood. It's 75/25 fescue/zoysia. Left neighbor has zoysia, rotary cut high and he never fertilizes. Its thick but not very green. Kind of scruffy looking. My neighbor on the right has a thin fescue lawn that's probably 1/3 weeds. Whatever I put in is going to pop and blow away my neighbors. Mentioning this because I won't be in a situation where my tiftuf, if I go with it, would be next to a darker variety bermuda.


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## GAbermuda (9 mo ago)

Also, I will be brand new to reel mowing. Never done it before in my life. Will go to reelrollers turf park and practice a little before my first cut. That will also help me decide on mower, which will be either tru cut27 or mclane 25. It seems a lot of people knock the mclanes but for a newbie it seems to be a good choice, basically for the easy backlap..

Sorry for the mower digression, I guess my point is that being new to it I'm probably going to eff up a time or two until i get the hang of it. Not sure if that should impact my sod decision as all the varieties seem like they would heal just fine, it just a matter of how fast

Thanks to everyone participating. This is very useful info


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

GAbermuda said:


> Sorry for the mower digression, I guess my point is that being new to it I'm probably going to eff up a time or two until i get the hang of it. Not sure if that should impact my sod decision as all the varieties seem like they would heal just fine, it just a matter of how fast


Any variety of bermuda is going to be very forgiving. I have thought I killed mine on several occasions and it pops right back. The F-ups are going to happen. I would not sweat the color issue with TifTuf. It's not like it's some light apple green. It's lighter than say 419 but not by much.


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## HungrySoutherner (May 29, 2018)

Redtwin said:


> I'm not sure about TifTuf needing less water but I do know that my 419 is thirsty compared to my Empire or my friend's TifTuf. He struggles with the scalping and has never really successfully gotten it under regulation so it's not a very good example for comparison. I'm chalking it up to "operator error"... no offense Ryan if you are reading this. I think my 419 has a better color but green is green as long as they aren't side by side. His Tiftuf most certainly goes dormant way later and wakes up way earlier than my 419, but that's not a good comparison down here because we barely go into semi-dormancy most winters.


TifTuf just requires a lot more PGR to get it to regulate similar to say 419. Its definitely going to be more draught / shade tolerant than the Celebration but I think the Celebration has a nicer color. For me the down side to Celebration is it can get gnarly thatchy grain and puffy. A neighbor has it and I constantly am begging him to get a mower with a groomer or verticutter. I've got Tifgrand and TifTuf now and I'll say the Tiftuf is a vigorous grower and I definitely would not be going full ham with the nitrogen on TifTuf, but with the robot its a breeze. We can also now throw IronCutter into the mix too along with Tahoma.


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## Dono1183 (Oct 11, 2021)

HungrySoutherner said:


> Redtwin said:
> 
> 
> > I'm not sure about TifTuf needing less water but I do know that my 419 is thirsty compared to my Empire or my friend's TifTuf. He struggles with the scalping and has never really successfully gotten it under regulation so it's not a very good example for comparison. I'm chalking it up to "operator error"... no offense Ryan if you are reading this. I think my 419 has a better color but green is green as long as they aren't side by side. His Tiftuf most certainly goes dormant way later and wakes up way earlier than my 419, but that's not a good comparison down here because we barely go into semi-dormancy most winters.
> ...


I agree with this comment about celebration. I have it. Laid it less than 10 weeks ago, and it already needs verticutting. That being said, I've found it to be very conservative from a watering standpoint. I watered once this past week and temps have been near 100 in Dripping Springs (just outside Austin). But the puffiness thing is for real. There's some good videos from LSU on their fields, and they note that it needs to be verticut a couple times a season. Hope this helps.


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## FATC1TY (Jul 12, 2017)

GAbermuda said:


> Also, I will be brand new to reel mowing. Never done it before in my life. Will go to reelrollers turf park and practice a little before my first cut. That will also help me decide on mower, which will be either tru cut27 or mclane 25. It seems a lot of people knock the mclanes but for a newbie it seems to be a good choice, basically for the easy backlap..
> 
> Sorry for the mower digression, I guess my point is that being new to it I'm probably going to eff up a time or two until i get the hang of it. Not sure if that should impact my sod decision as all the varieties seem like they would heal just fine, it just a matter of how fast
> 
> Thanks to everyone participating. This is very useful info


As you cut lower and lower you'll need water, so just keep that in mind. All said- I don't have irrigation, and I make it just fine, my yard stays green and dark and looks as good or better color wise than the folks across the street with irrigation and 419.

Water once a week at best, or don't, it'll work out just fine in your area.


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## GAbermuda (9 mo ago)

@FATC1TY That pic of your tiftuf with the glass on it is impressive. What was HOC in that photo? Looks pretty low


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## rjw0283 (May 11, 2020)

I can speak of Celebration and Tifway 419 and about 10 other types of variants of Bermuda in my yard. 
Celebration is darker, it spreads about twice as fast as Tif419... It spreads runners very fierce. As far as staying greener before it goes dormant for the season, it is tough to tell, and comparing drought tolerance to your neighbor's yard isn't effective either. My yard used to go dormant in early October, and not wake up till May. Once I started hitting it with the nutrients it needed (Mostly potassium, I was extremely deficient) it starts waking up in March and makes it till Nov. I honestly do not know what I have in the front, it's not fine enough to be tif419, yet does not like PGR rates that common can take... My point is.. they all can look awesome if you feed it what it needs.


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## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

Redtwin said:


> My list would look just like @Movingshrub's but I would switch Celebration and TifTuf positions.


Just for clarity, mine wasn't a ranking. The key is the right plant in the right place relative to the. requirements.


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## latitude36 (Mar 27, 2019)

Hard to screw up hybrid bermuda too bad but if money was not an issue and you can ad here to a schedule of fungicides than zorro zoysia is the king of warm season grasses in my opinion. Long season of green and stripes very well.


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

If wear were not an issue I would do my whole yard in Empire Zoysia. It is way more drought tolerant than my 419 and gets super thick. I'm keeping the 419 because it gets lots of kid traffic and repairs very quickly. @rjw0283 is correct though, any of them are going to look outstanding if properly cared for.


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## jayhawk (Apr 18, 2017)

Good list above
Having had 419 and still some tifgrand, i'm biased toward zoysia. 
Tifgrand ...doesn't require a greens mower. Nothing special if rotary mowed. Won't grow as rabid but sufficient...let's be honest, your stress is not as high as a HS soccer field, public park, equestrian park;

Mine is not irrigated. Smyrna, near Depot HQ ...come see it anytime. I can show u my trucut mowed vs rotary. Someone's photo can't convey it's appeal fully.

NG Turf sells TG and the baby Jesus, tiftuff.

Edit: neighbor has empire cut with cal trimmer ...carpet, mows 1x week


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## jayhawk (Apr 18, 2017)

rjw0283 said:


> I can speak of Celebration and Tifway 419 and about 10 other types of variants of Bermuda in my yard.


You and @Spammage going for the title :thumbup:


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## GAbermuda (9 mo ago)

jayhawk said:


> Good list above
> Having had 419 and still some tifgrand, i'm biased toward zoysia.
> Tifgrand ...doesn't require a greens mower. Nothing special if rotary mowed. Won't grow as rabid but sufficient, not irrigated here. Smyrna, near Depot HQ e...come see it anytime. I can show u my trucut mowed vs rotary. Someone's photo can't convey it's appeal fully.
> 
> Edit: neighbor has empire cut with cal trimmer ...carpet, mows 1x week


I love Zoysia but I've wanted a bermuda lawn for 20+ years. Ive got almost everything set except picking the variety. I'm still leaning towards tiftuf, it checks all my boxes. It looks like I can get lat36 but I can't see the prices, requested a quote today. Being in metro Atl the UGA Tif types are are highly available, the Okie St grasses not so much


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## Zimmerman (May 20, 2019)

I bought my Tiftuf from ng turf. I keep it under around 5/8"-3/4" and never have to water unless I'm watering in some type of product. My yard stays green until around the first of December and I'm three hours north of you. I only wish it would green up sooner here (usually the first of may before I'm 100% green). But I'm still green earlier than my neighbors' yards with whatever type of Bermuda they have.


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## FATC1TY (Jul 12, 2017)

GAbermuda said:


> @FATC1TY That pic of your tiftuf with the glass on it is impressive. What was HOC in that photo? Looks pretty low


Thanks! I have it around .350 inches currently.


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## jsams22 (Apr 20, 2021)

I was torn between TifTuf and Celebration. I had a 500sq ft section of TifTuf that performed great. With this being said, I ultimately went with the Celebration because I have a couple shaded areas. Also, Celebration has a "softer" blade and I have kids that will be using the yard a lot. Celebration definitely has a unique color to it compared to TifTuf.

Like others have stated, you cannot really go wrong with a good hybrid. I never waters my TifTuf and it was green and thriving all summer.


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## WillyT (Jun 26, 2019)

Tahoma 31 may be available in your area. Drought and cold tolerant. Fine blade for reel mowing and great color. One of the more shade tolerant bermudas also. I have just sprigged my yard with it and only have experience with 419 so can't help with others. My 2 cents.


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## GAbermuda (9 mo ago)

@WillyT I can't find Tahoma. I did find lat36 but a couple things about it. 1 - the farm is currently allocating all.of thier sod to a golf course in the Caribbean. That job will wrap up in a couple weeks but until then they don't how much if any they will have left over 2-the lat36 is $40 more per pallet than tiftuf. Not sure if that's worth it when I'm already leaning towards tiftuf, especially when I'll be ordering 32-36 pallets We haven't had water restrictions in atl area for a while but all it takes is one drought and water will be tight again. All atl gets its water from the Chattahoochee River but AL and FL own a lot of the water rights on the river Atl is actually tight on water supply and sooner or later if I get lat36 I think I'll be kicking myself for not getting tiftuf


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## RentalLawn (Jan 4, 2022)

GAbermuda said:


> Also, I will be brand new to reel mowing. Never done it before in my life. Will go to reelrollers turf park and practice a little before my first cut. That will also help me decide on mower, which will be either tru cut27 or mclane 25. It seems a lot of people knock the mclanes but for a newbie it seems to be a good choice, basically for the easy backlap..


Good idea to start with a Tru-Cut or McLane. Don't forget about California Trimmer, too. Great buys if you're buying new. Easy to fix if you're buying used.

The thing I discovered with being new to reel mowing is just how much more precise of a cut it yields and makes the yard look "slick" on just the first reel cut. My lawn is bumpy as frig and it still looks great! Advice: Always walk the lawn prior to mowing to pick up errant mulch, twigs, etc., as the reel doesn't like anything larger that a few sheets of paper in total thickness…it'll make a "thunk" sound if it does hit some wood. I never see any damage though. Now, small rocks or nails (yes, a old roofing nail once…🙄) will chip the bed knife and reel and make a harsh "zizzz" sound when the reel is spinning. Stop and hand file out the damage, then lightly back lap.

I'm currently using a McLane and it does just fine for my needs at 5/8". I do want to explore greensmowers (John Deere, Toro) in the near future as the cost of them at auction ($300-700) is very attractive at my personal mechanical skill set if they do need some work.

Good luck, sir!


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## GAbermuda (9 mo ago)

It's still paralysis by analysis with me haha. Found both tahoma 31 and Lat36 in my area. So I'm still gyrating. Narrowed down totiftuf, tahoma 31 and Lat36. Celebration is out just because I don't want to HAVE to deal with veryicutiing.

Also, I decided to put in irrigation before I sod which should be in the ground at the end of June, so watering is not as big of a factor that was swaying me to tiftuf. I did buy a mower, have a brand new C27 in the garage waiting for sod.

So once again I'll ask for advice deciding between tiftuf, lat36 and tahoma 31, irrigation now not an issue, shady area on about 15% of an 18k lawn


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## Tx_Ag19 (Dec 13, 2020)

If irrigation is not an issue, hands down go with either latitude 36 or tahoma 31. I don't understand the big hype of tiftuf unless you don't have ability to water. All of the best hybrid bermuda's in the world have came out of Ok St. and there is a reason more stadiums and golf courses go with latitude 36 and tahoma 31. We have spots spread through the yard where I tried various hybrids, tiftuf included, and latitude 36 is by far our favorite.

Check out @Brodgers88 lawn journal for latitude 36 over his journey. https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=11301


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## DocTodd (9 mo ago)

GAbermuda said:


> It's still paralysis by analysis with me haha. Found both tahoma 31 and Lat36 in my area. So I'm still gyrating. Narrowed down totiftuf, tahoma 31 and Lat36. Celebration is out just because I don't want to HAVE to deal with veryicutiing.
> 
> Also, I decided to put in irrigation before I sod which should be in the ground at the end of June, so watering is not as big of a factor that was swaying me to tiftuf. I did buy a mower, have a brand new C27 in the garage waiting for sod.
> 
> So once again I'll ask for advice deciding between tiftuf, lat36 and tahoma 31, irrigation now not an issue, shady area on about 15% of an 18k lawn


I blindly went with Tahoma after hearing about it. I'm rotary mowing it at the moment, but plan to phase in a reel mower. One of our more exclusive country clubs put in Latitude a couple years ago, but I'm hearing more of the local courses putting in Tahoma now. I like the cold and drought resistance, and the quicker green up and lasting of color is the icing on the cake. 
We have one scrub oak in our lawn that is maybe pushing 15' tall at the moment. The lowest limbs are about 5' high and I haven't had any issue with the grass thinning out yet (~11 mo old sod). That said, I do plan on limbing up that tree when the wife isn't looking this fall. 
Not sure if that helps or not, but the grass is super soft, very green, and is aggressive as all get out. Can't wait to sprig a bunch of our pasture and get a giant lawn of Tahoma for the kids to play on.
Here is a pic of the best part of the lawn:


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## Chadwicktr (May 26, 2020)

@DocTodd nice! What's your HOC in that photo? Just sprigged Tahoma, and have a zero turn, but looking at reels. That's one of the higher HOC I've seen but still looks great.


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## DocTodd (9 mo ago)

Chadwicktr said:


> @DocTodd nice! What's your HOC in that photo? Just sprigged Tahoma, and have a zero turn, but looking at reels. That's one of the higher HOC I've seen but still looks great.


It is actually at or slightly over 2" in that picture. I want to say my pin was set at 2.5" on my Ferris deck, but I have not done a detailed deck leveling to verify the heights. The Tahoma sod was really thick and there has been retraction between the rolls giving numerous deep lines to deal with. The lawn is also in need of an aeration and leveling, and running a 61" deck gives me ample opportunity to scalp. 
The 61" deck certainly has it's benefits of speed to mow the yard and pasture area of our property, but the scalping is getting on my nerves pretty bad. I'm hoping to find a used triplex at some point, but plan to mow the area around our pool with a reel to start with in hopes the Mrs likes it enough that it'll be her idea to mow the rest of the yard with a reel 

EDIT: and that pic is the best part of the whole yard. There are some scraggly places here and there due to the clay soil. I'm hoping the lawn leveling, pending fertilizer application, and carbon applications will make a noticeable difference.

Lastly, I do have aspirations to sprig maybe another 1.5-2 acres of Tahoma over the next few seasons so there isn't a huge rush on needing to get the HOC down as I'll want to get it pretty tall for harvesting sprigs. That project is going to be a massive undertaking on top of a lot of other stuff to get done.


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## southernguy311 (Mar 17, 2017)

GAbermuda said:


> @FATC1TY That pic of your tiftuf with the glass on it is impressive. What was HOC in that photo? Looks pretty low


Interested also


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## FATC1TY (Jul 12, 2017)

Tx_Ag19 said:


> If irrigation is not an issue, hands down go with either latitude 36 or tahoma 31. I don't understand the big hype of tiftuf unless you don't have ability to water. *All of the best hybrid bermuda's in the world have came out of Ok St.* and there is a reason more stadiums and golf courses go with latitude 36 and tahoma 31. We have spots spread through the yard where I tried various hybrids, tiftuf included, and latitude 36 is by far our favorite.
> 
> Check out @Brodgers88 lawn journal for latitude 36 over his journey. https://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=11301


UGA would like a moment to speak in the corner about this statement. 😂


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## FATC1TY (Jul 12, 2017)

southernguy311 said:


> GAbermuda said:
> 
> 
> > @FATC1TY That pic of your tiftuf with the glass on it is impressive. What was HOC in that photo? Looks pretty low
> ...


Cutting .350 on the TifTuf.


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## WillyT (Jun 26, 2019)

FATC1TY said:


> If you want to see how dense you can get it, TifTuf that is.


Bourbon county?


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## FATC1TY (Jul 12, 2017)

WillyT said:


> FATC1TY said:
> 
> 
> > If you want to see how dense you can get it, TifTuf that is.
> ...


Could have been, but don't remember!


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