Should you overseed your golf courses?
Golf courses in California's Coachella Valley and Phoenix-Scottsdale are hotbeds of overseeding, but it's a common, and sometimes controversial, practice throughout the southern United States. During peak season, the bunkers on the Norman Course at PGA West have great contrast between the dormant Bermuda and overseed. Mike Bailey/GolfPass
Which Palm Desert golf courses are closed for overseeding this year?
For example, 36-hole Desert Willow Golf Resort in Palm Desert alternates which of its two courses is closed for overseeding. This year, the Firecliff Course will reopen Oct. 31 after closing Sept. 24. Desert Willow's Mountain View Course will close Nov. 12 and be ready for play Dec. 25.
Can golfers tell the difference between turf colorants and regular overseeding?
The majority of golfers could not tell the difference between fairways treated with turf colorants and the conventional overseeding practices. Low-handicap players at the course especially preferred the colorant-treated playing surfaces.
How long does overseeding take in Arizona?
Without being too technical, the overseeding process in the Phoenix area usually starts somewhere between mid-September and late October and lasts from 12-21 days depending on the course (another 7-10 days if you count discontinuing the water prior to starting).
Can you play golf on overseeding?
Various types of grasses might be involved in overseeding, but the process is most commonly used to switch a golf course over from a warm-season grass to a cool-season grass, and back again.) Overseeding thus keeps a growing turfgrass available for golfers to play on.
How do they overseed a golf course?
Overseeding fairways is common in the southern United States. There, golf courses cut down their bermudagrass as low as possible using special equipment like a verticutter or fraze mower, which can cut through the tough bermudagrass to get close to the soil surface.
Why do you overseed a golf course?
Why golf courses overseed The motives are aesthetic and pragmatic. An overlay of ryegrass keeps courses green while providing purer playing conditions throughout the winter. It also helps protect the dormant Bermuda at a time when the grass is vulnerable to damage.
How fast does grass grow back on a golf course?
"Research has shown that a repaired ball mark recovers weeks faster than an unrepaired one," said Cory Adams, the superintendent of Golf Village at The Club at Admirals Cove in Jupiter, which comprises 27 holes. "It takes 48 hours to recover if a ball mark is repaired properly. If not, it takes weeks to recover."
Why do Arizona golf courses overseed?
most golf courses in the west and southeast have to plan when they undertake a major transformation. In Tucson and other warmer climes, the cooler winter weather causes the Bermuda grass to go dormant. It's loses all of it's color, looking more like cut straw, than luxurious turf. Hence, the need to overseed.
How do golf courses keep grass green in winter?
topdress their greens with a heavy layer of sand to insulate the crowns against the frigid cold, then spread a woven fabric over the putting surfaces as an added measure of protection. Though no one's expecting you to sand your lawn ahead of winter, tarps aren't a bad idea in especially harsh climates.
Do you have to overseed every year?
Reseeding, which is also referred to as overseeding, involves sowing seed over existing grass to prevent thinning and bare patches. However, this doesn't have to be done every year. How often you should reseed your lawn depends on several factors, including the amount of traffic it receives and its overall condition.
What kind of grass does golf course use?
Bentgrass is one of the most popular types of grass planted on golf courses. It's available in many varieties, commonly found in cool summer and coastal regions. It's short, even, and flat, making it the perfect match for putting greens and courses.
Should I overseed Bermuda grass?
In order to keep your Bermuda grass looking thick, lush and full year after year, you'll need to overseed to replace grass lost to the elements over time.
Is it better to replace a divot or fill with sand?
Replacing your divot is always the best option for repair, assuming it has some soil attached. If the entire divot explodes into pieces, look around for any other usable divot that can fit in your scar. Take your time fixing or filling divots.
How do you maintain golf course grass?
There are four main factors that go into giving your lawn that lush, golf-course look.Mow your lawn properly. Often, people take shortcuts when it comes to mowing their lawn. ... Apply the right fertilizer (at the right times). ... Use the right amount of water (and consider irrigation). ... Stop the weeds dead in their tracks.
How often do golf courses spray?
To the casual observer, spraying greens every one or two weeks may appear to be overkill. However, short spray intervals allow superintendents to observe putting green performance throughout the season and apply products only at the appropriate time to maximize their efficacy.
What is Overseeding?
This is the annual process when the courses will each close for a couple of weeks in the mid-September to mid-October time frame (exact dates will...
Why do courses overseed?
The summer Bermuda grass in Arizona will go dormant once the cooler temperatures come in during the early fall months of mid-September to mid-Octob...
Is coming out during the overseeding season a good time to golf in the Scottsdale/Phoenix area?
The mid-September to mid-October time frame can be a very good time to come out to the Scottsdale/Phoenix area to golf. This is when the weather is...
What does cart path only mean?
After the completion of the overseeding process the courses will typically put the cart path only rule in place on every hole to allow the freshly...
How long do courses keep the cart path only rule in place?
Courses will keep the cart path only rule in place for typically 4-8 weeks after the completion of the overseeding process (this will vary from cou...
Are there exceptions to the cart path only rule?
Yes, on occasion certain courses may allow guests to have a "medical flag" that may allow golfers to drive to the golf ball at a 90 degree angle pr...
What is the 90 degree cart rule?
The 90-degree rule means that a golfer is supposed to drive their cart along the cart path until the cart has reached a point where a 90-degree tur...
Golf course overseeding: What you need to know
The maintenance staff sprays out chemicals to slow the growth of the Bermuda grass during the fall overseeding at Wigwam. Courtesy photo
Should golf courses overseed their turf?
The overseeding process has become somewhat controversial over the past decade or so.
The future of overseeding
Apart from tee boxes, the Grande Dunes Members Club in Myrtle Beach, S.C., opts not to overseed in the winter, instead opting to apply a grass-friendly paint to fairways and greens in order to provide visual definition. Tim Gavrich/GolfPass
What is overseeding in golf?
In golf, "overseeding" refers to a maintenance process on golf courses in which grass seed is spread on top of the existing grass to promote new growth or to swap out seasonal turfs, replacing one type of grass with another . Overseeding is most commonly done by courses that use bermudagrass, ...
How long does it take for grass to grow without cutting?
Overseeding often involves putting the seed down along with a thin layer of sand, then allowing the new grass to grow in for many days without being cut. So overseeding (which is sometimes done in conjunction with aeration) can, for a period of a week or 10 days or so, result in very "hairy" greens, fairways and tee boxes.
Do putting greens turn brown?
Those dormant grasses turn brown or tan in color, however—they look dead, in other words, even though they aren't—and many golfers and golf course staffs don't like the cosmetics of brown putting greens.
What grass is overseeding?
For those who aren't familiar with the practice, overseeding is typically done on courses with Bermuda grass, which goes dormant in winter. The top layer is scalped off and seeded with ryegrass, which grows in, allowing the course to keep its fairways, tees and greens looking nice and green for sun-starved Northerners.
When is golf season in the desert?
All these courses are gearing up for their high season, which generally runs from January through April.
Why does Guilfoil oversee the yard?
The calculus can get complicated. At his own home, Guilfoil overseeds the yard, but not because he wants to. It’s because he lost an argument with his wife. “Personally, I’d rather save the water, the money and the hassle, and just let the grass go dormant for the winter,” Guilfoil says.
What is ryegrass overlay?
An overlay of ryegrass keeps courses green while providing purer playing conditions throughout the winter. It also helps protect the dormant Bermuda at a time when the grass is vulnerable to damage. “Divots and cart traffic are the big problems,” Guilfoil says.
Do Bermuda lawns need more maintenance than dormant lawns?
Overseeded lawns also require more maintenance than dormant lawns. And Guilfoil says that many homeowners fail to stay on top of that work, letting their lawns grow too long. That creates a problem in the spring when the Bermuda tries to reassert itself, only to be overshadowed by the shaggy ryegrass.
How long does Kistler keep golfers off the fairways?
He doesn’t have to inconvenience golfers by keeping them off the fairways for seven to 10 days, like when the ryegrass was germinating, or when he watered the cool-season grass during the day.
Do golf clubs oversee their courses?
To provide colorful aesthetics, some clubs choose to overseed their courses. However, for some superintendents that annual chore is becoming smaller in scope, if not vanishing altogether.
Aesthetics of Overseeding
Overseeding's Effect on Play
- Overseeding often involves putting the seed down along with a thin layer of sand, then allowing the new grass to grow in for many days without being cut. So overseeding (which is sometimes done in conjunction with aeration) can, for a period of a week or 10 days or so, result in very "hairy" greens, fairways and tee boxes. Because greens with uncut...
Emerging Alternative to Overseeding
- Overseeding a golf course requires time, labor and money, and inconveniences golfers during the grow-in times. Is there a better alternative? There might be one emerging. Some golf courses have experimented over the years with coloring, or painting, their dormant turfgrass, rather than overseeding it. It sounds kind of silly, but as the quality of the "turf colorants" has improved, and …
The Seed Mixture Put Down Is called 'Topdressing'
- "Topdressing" is a golf course maintenance term that describes a layer of material put down on a green for fairway following either aerationor overseeding. If the green in question is aerated, the topdressing consists of a mixture of sand, soil, and fertilizer. If the green is overseeded, the topdressing consists of a mixture of sand, fertilizer, and seed.