Study leader Matthew Mechenes said a naturalized landscape that incorporates native grasses benefits biodiversity, saves costs on pesticides and labor for the golf course -- and could create a course which is just as challenging for golfers.

"One benefit of using native plants is that they are perennial. Because they return year to year, there's no need for reseeding or replanting," Mechenes said in a statement. "They have fewer insects or disease problems than some exotics and they are more heat and drought resistant."

Many golf courses don't have any natural areas as roughs, but they are being encouraged to consider incorporating them into the course landscape to make the course more challenging -- but also to improve the setting by providing a more natural look rather than a highly manicured non-native setting, Mechenes said.

Mechenes cited a couple of disadvantages.

"Slow play is an issue as sometimes these grasses grow very tall, making it difficult to find your ball," Mechenes said. "Native grasses sometimes attract deer and rabbits that get in the way as well as bees, flies and mosquitoes."