Turfgrass wear stress: Effects of golf car and tire design

Abstract

A turfgrass wear injury study was conducted at Griffin, Ga., on 'Tifway' bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon x C. transvaalensis) using two golf car tires and three golf car types driven in a semicircular pattern to deliver 85 passes over the tread path plot area. Wear injury for the 14 days after wear was applied was assessed by visual quality, percent green coverage, leaf bruising, and verdure. Golf tire x car interactions occurred, but more wear occurred with the low pressure (48 x 103 Pa), dimpled tread tire with flexible sidewalls than the commonly used bias ply (4-ply), V-shaped tread the with more rigid sidewalls. Significant differences in wear damage occurred for golf car type but were influenced by tire design. Thus, selection of golf car tire and golf car type can influence the degree of wear injury on turfgrass sites.