Rough seeding

The rough grass is a mixture of grasses and can be seen with the slice lines from the seeder.

As we continue to look for ways to improve, one step we are taking is to begin seeding the rough. Bermuda grass is very aggressive and can begin to push outward from the fairways into the surrounding rough. When it goes dormant, the definition of green rough and brown fairways is mottled with brown spots of Bermuda grass that have moved into the rough. This creates an unattractive, undefined edge. So we seed tall fescue into these areas to help redefine the edge and create a crisp look.

Green lines of emerging seedlings can be seen in this picture and the photo below.    

We are in a difficult position because we do not have full irrigation of our rough outside of the fairways. The majority of our rough grass relies on water from the fairway sprinklers. Because Bermuda grass is a heat and drought tolerant turf grass, we are able to conserve water and keep our fairways drier than many. The downside of this fact is that when we hit a dry spell of rainfall and we do not need to water the fairways, our rough suffers. The rough can become thin in areas and the Bermuda grass will take the opportunity to move outward and fill in those areas. With a sharp edge of definition between the green rough and dormant fairways, the visual appeal can be striking. However, the Bermuda grass infiltrating the rough ruins the look and makes the edge look sloppy.

We seeded in mid-November. This is a good time to seed because we usually receive enough rainfall to help the seed germinate and grow. Also, the Bermuda grass is dormant so it is not competing with the new seed. With our new seeder purchased last year, we seeded at least 5 feet around every fairway. In most areas, this covered the extent to which the Bermuda grass had moved into the rough. In addition to redefining the edge, we also seeded in a more drought tolerant variety of turf grass to help with stress in low rainfall stretches. So far, the results have been terrific and we have grass growing everywhere we seeded.

Moving forward, we will continue to focus on the rough immediately outside the fairways first. Continual seeding will help shift the balance of grass back towards cool season rough grass instead of Bermuda grass. We will also expand to include more and more rough areas as we continue. We will seed into green surrounds, deeper rough, and the rough between tees and fairways.

Although many people dislike the look of the dormant Bermuda grass, if we maintain a clean, dormant fairway surface and we maintain clean rough, the contrast between the two will be very visually appealing.

Etiquette Reminder of the Month

Please stay off all grass surfaces during a frost delay.

See you on the course!

Joe

jvillegas@bwrc.org