Jim Delfino, assistant superintendent of Parks for San Francisco; Clay Wood, turf manager at Oakland Coliseum; and Rich Genoff, manager of the 49ers Training Facility in Santa Clara, explain that the base provided by Tifway II stands up to sports better than cool-season grasses. They say the bermuda resists damage better than Kentucky bluegrass or tall fescue, recuperates better, and provides a better field both earlier and later in the season. Of course, there is no contest during the summer. Overseeded with perennial ryegrass, you can't even tell you're playing on bermudagrass.

Whether they resod each year, like 3Com (formerly Candlestick Park) and Oakland Coliseum, or maintain the same turf for years, such as the Polo Fields and the 49ers Training Facility, Tifway II has become the sports turf of choice for the Bay Area. "When you have to convert from baseball to football or motocrosss every year, you don't have time to let turf build a new base for footing," explains Wood. "The sod has to come in with that base already there. It also has to be actively growing to repair divots quickly."

The Athletics' season started this past year on March 29. "The players didn't even know they were playing on bermudagrass until late May when the Tifway got cranking," comments Wood. By July, the percentage of bermuda in the infield was 90 percent, perfect as a base for football. Divots in the fungo area would heal easily between homestands. Wood overseeded with more perennial ryegrass in July to give both the ryegrass and the bermuda time to get solidly reestablished before the Raiders' first exhibition game.

Jim Delfino has been a strong believer in Tifway II since 1990 when he installed it at Kesar Stadium, the former home of the 49ers and now host to a full schedule of high school and junior college soccer, football, rugby and track. "After eight years, Kesar still has its base of bermudagrass," Delfino points out. He thought Tifway II might be the answer for such a heavily used facility after watching kikuyugrass withstand abuse at Kesar Stadium and Park Pacifica Golf Course year after year. When Tifway II, with better winter color and high wear tolerance, became available he decided to convert Kesar. It doesn't go totally dormant in the Bay Area and is very aggressive once soil temperatures reach 68 to 70 degrees F.

Success at Kesar convinced him to replace all 16 acres at the Polo Fields with overseeded Tifway II. "We used to resod almost 80,000 square feet of the Polo Fields every year," he reveals. "Now, with Tifway II, we use a small fraction of that on the seven pitches. We don't lose nearly as much turf as before."

The ultimate test was 3Com Park, home of the Giants and the 49ers. When poor weather and post-season wear and tear by the Championship- bound 49ers severely damaged the Kentucky bluegrass field in the winter of 1993, Delfino decided to make his move. He installed 73,000 square feet of overseeded Tifway II. When the Giants started their 1994 season, they liked what they saw and the way the surface played.

The 49ers already knew they liked Tifway II. Rich Genoff, turf manager at the team's training facility in Santa Clara, had installed straight Tifway II in 1993. "We don't overseed with ryegrass and our fields stand up well from minicamps through the post-season," he remarks. He covers the fields with ventilated growing blankets when not in use from May to September to keep soil temperatures up at night. Genoff recently replaced an artificial turf field with overseeded Tifway II sod, primarily to give players practice time on ryegrass. "We have a separate irrigation clock for that one field to help us manage the ryegrass without disrupting management of the other fields."

Genoff was the person who recommended Tifway II to Stanford when the Cardinal decided to rebuild its stadium field in 1994. "Part of the problem in the Bay Area is that Poa annua can take over in worn spots of Kentucky bluegrass fields," Genoff states. "The bermuda competes much better with the poa. You can cut back on water and stress the poa, something you can't do with Kentucky bluegrass."

Consistent Maintenance All the Bay Area turf managers commented that maintenance levels must be maintained year-round. "You can't stop mowing for a couple of weeks and pick up where you left off," remarks Delfino. "You need to mow at least three times a week with a good reel mower. Verticutting and topdressing are important too. There's nothing wrong with borrowing equipment from a golf course or another school. Just make sure you clean it well before and after using it. Contamination is always a concern."

"You won't be resodding nearly as much with Tifway II and bermuda requires less water," adds Wood. "You can pay for a reel mower and a topdresser with the money you save on sod over two or three years. If you want a quality field that stands up to heavy use, you have to make the commitment to maintenance."

West Coast Turf is so convinced that top sports turf managers and golf course superintendents in the Bay Area will want Tifway II, that it is now growing sod of straight Tifway II and Tifway II overseeded with perennial ryegrass at its production facility in Stevinson, south of Sacramento. Wade Alexander at the Stevinson farm encourages sports turf managers and golf course superintendents to order in advance to make sure the sod will be ready when you need it. Tifway II can also be shipped in refrigerated trucks from West Coast Turf's southern California farms.

"If you have concerns about switching to Tifway II, give me a call," says Alexander. "We offer all removal and installation services and have sod in thick-cut, wide, and washed rolls. We are also familiar with all types of field construction methods. We have a great deal experience in this area."