Tifdwarf Grass in South Carolina

A popular choice for putting greens, Tifdwarf Bermudagrass is a natural dwarf mutant of Tifgreen. Tifdwarf was officially released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Georgia Coastal Plain Experiment Station in 1965. Like Tifgreen, it is a sterile triploid and has many of the same characteristics. Unlike Tifgreen, Tifdwarf has a darker green color and requires less fertilizer to give a comparable degree of greenness. Tifdwarf also has smaller leaves and stems and shorter internodes.

Tifdwarf’s tolerance to closer mowing makes it a faster putting green than Tifgreen. Its softer leaves and fewer seed heads also contribute to its superior putting qualities. (UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences)