Continuing with the study of what happens to various turf species when they transition from the state of being maintained to the state of being abandoned, this paper by Garrison et al. (thanks to Frank Rossi for the reminder of this) looks at turf on two abandoned golf courses in Michigan. Or more specifically, at the lack of turf.

At the Matheson Greens Golf Course, the soils were sandy, and after five years, the turfgrass species formerly growing on the site were "nearly absent." Four Winds Golf Course had soils that held more water, but even at that site, unmowed and unmaintained turf was overtaken by other species, although some of the turf species remained in patches. 

I suggest that studying how various species perform when they are unmaintained can help us to understand which maintenance inputs will be most important when the species are maintained. For more about this, see:

• Turfgrass ecology, part 1: abandoned turf in Japan
• Turfgrass ecology, part 2: abandoned turf in Thailand

Related articles

Relationship between soil moisture and turfgrass surface hardness

Calcium deficiency in turfgrass, an imaginary problem?

Turfgrass ecology, part 2: abandoned turf in Thailand

Turfgrass ecology, part 1: abandoned turf in Japan