Grass roots issue: Kikuyu, we hardly know you

SAN DIEGO -- The 108th U.S. Open will be beamed around the world, seen in dozens of countries and millions of living rooms.

Kikuyu grows in unpredictable directions.

But outside Southern California, whenever a certain unfamiliar word is uttered, everybody in the far-flung corners of the world, no matter what tongue they speak, will have the same reaction.

Huh?

An obscure variety of grass, common on golf courses only in the southwestern-most corner of the country, is going to get a lot of attention this week for both its novelty and tenacity.

The grass is called kikuyu, a strain that was imported from Africa decades ago and is common mostly on courses in the coastal Southern California area, including famed Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles.

It's all over the place at Torrey Pines Golf Course, in the fairways and rough, and in the spirit of public service, we offer this primer on what makes it so unpredictably tough.

First, it's pronounced kuh-KOO-yuh.

"Kikuyu can 'ki-screw ya,'" NBC analyst Johnny Miller said. "Kikuyu looks pretty easy but it's just really tough stuff."

Miller's wit aside, most pros call it ki-kill-ya, because it will do that, too.

Kikuyu is present in all the fairways at Torrey, as opposed to the winter overseeded rye prevalent during the Buick Invitational in January. That creates some interesting scenarios. It's a stickier type of grass, so the ball doesn't roll quite as far as on rye or common Bermuda. Tee balls aren't going to roll quite as far.

But it's the rough where kikuyu wreaks havoc. The thick stuff this week features a pot-luck mix of three grasses, including kikuyu, which doesn't grow in any predictable direction. Most grass grows upward. Kikuyu just as often grows sideways. In the fairway and tightly mown areas, though, the ball usually sits up nicely.

"We call it sponge grass," said Pat Perez, who grew up playing Torrey. "But it's really thick. If they shave it down tight you can spin the hell out of the ball. It's awesome. You always get a good lie in it, you could drive trucks on it."

In the rough, though, anything goes, because the grass can wrap around the ball. Balls can get buried, or sit on top of the thick thatches of it. Tiger Woods said playing partner Bubba Watson had such a good lie atop some kikuyu rough in a practice round that he hit a driver out of it.

Jim Vernon, the new U.S. Golf Association president, is a Southern California resident and very familiar with the stuff, unlike the rest of us.

"Pat Gross, our agronomist, has described kikuyu as Bermuda on steroids," Vernon laughed Wednesday. "It sends out very aggressive runners. It's a fairly broad leaf and a very tough leaf. It is a very thick, wiry grass.

"For those of us who play golf here in Southern California, we know all about it, and I certainly have a very good patch of it in my backyard, as a matter of fact. It's just very heavy, thick, wiry grass that, to get your club through it takes a very aggressive swing."

In other words, the rough this week is a quadruple wildcard. There are three types of grass -- plus kikuku is a hit-or-miss proposition with the lie players can expect to get.

Said Jim Hyler, USGA vice president: "That adds a little bit to the spice of the whole thing, given the inconsistent lies the players will experience."