(Grass 101) Filling divots in the winter??

[Brian_Gracely]

This is less an architecture question as it is an agriculture question, but I'm wondering if anyone can provide some insight.  

My home course has bermuda fairways which go dormant in the winter.   The other thing that happens in the winter is an even larger majority of the club walks (carts on path-only), so less people carry any sort of fill-mixture.  The result is we see more divots in the fairways as bermuda divots don't revive themselves (even in summer).

I played a course recently were the walking members all carried a small container full of fill that clipped to their bag.  These weren't that heavy, so it seemed like a good way to get walkers to fill their divots.  When I was at Prestwick in January, they allowed three options from the fairway:
a) move the ball to the closest place in the rough
b) play the ball off a tee
c) have the caddy fill in your divots (if they had brought anything...this was not used that day)

So the idea of a small container seems useful (and feasible), but would it do us any good?  Does bermuda spread at all in the winter, or wouldn't that fill usually be washed away during winter rains?  Should we be adopting rules like Prestwick, or just live with divots in the fairways for 3 months a year?

[Scott_Burroughs]

Bermuda does not spread in winter, as it's dormant.  Not even Round-Up affects it (best time to kill other weeds!).

Divots on dormant Bermuda are just a fact of life (also is FOL on thriving Bermuda, but it fills in sideways), that the sand fill helps with hitting out of deep holes, just as Payne stewart loved in the '98 U.S. Open (though not Bermuda, the reasoning was the same).

I think the small sand-filled containers is a good idea, just realize that the walkers who carry might still not use it (for weight reasons) and also that a number of them might get accidentally carried home, forgetting they're in your bag....I'm not hanging it on the outside of my carry bag.

[Craig Disher]

A lot of golfers north of the bermuda belt grab onto the idea of not replacing their divots. Some are lazy and wouldn't replace divots anyway, but many are just following what they were told on their last trip south.

I believe divots should always be replaced on poa/rye fairways. What about different types of bent?

[W.H. Cosgrove]

Two comments

1) I hail from a Poa/Bent course in the PNW.  We have a number of private carts whose owners fill a lot of divots.  Unfortunately replaced divots are removed by birds or pulled from their hole when the fairways are dragged in the morning.  As a result the Superintendent prefers that we throw the divot into the rough to save the reels on the fairway mowers.  The divots are then also easier to find for those filling from a sand or sand/seed bottle.   Each spring we gather a group to walk the entire course with sand and seed, and then offer a complimentary box lunch and beverage.  This makes a HUGE difference coming out of the dormant season and gives the course a big boost.  This also promotes 'ownership' of the course by members.

2)  With the advent of the three wheeled carts that are so popular and a great boon to the game, what smart entrepeneur is going to design an easily installed holder for a sand/seed bottle.  This would allow walkers to do their part in maintaining great fairways!  I talked to Sun Mountain a couple of years ago and they pretty much blew me off.  Now that Bag Boy is competing maybe someone will come up with an answer!

[Bob_Huntley]

Here at MPCC most walkers use Sun Mountain push carts or battery operated PowaKaddies. The club provides seed and sand mix and they are easily attached to the carts. Replacing divots is a bit of a dead loss, as the crows dislodge them to get at the insects beneath.

Another answer is that members with initials from A to C, will take it upon themselves to fill in any divot that they see on the first fairway and subsequent names will take care of the rest.

[Scott_Burroughs]

Bob,

Does your plan also include repairing ball marks on those same greens?  I know I usually take it upon myself to fix one or two on each green.  Of course, my club is open to the public, with more play from people who often don't know any better/don't care.

[A_Clay_Man]

I've been under the impression that unless you get roots and all(one of those big hair pieces) the divot will likely not grow back. Desert courses actually tell you NOT to replace but fill.

My thoughts are, the firmer the turf the less divots, no?
 Certainly showing some modicum of respect for those that follow is essential to any golfer. The rest of the market just plays golf.

[Bob_Huntley]

Bill,

As soon as I punched 'send' I knew that I would receive a ration of grief for the numerical error.

[DPL11]

As Scott said, Bermuda doesn't do anything in the winter, so its either deep divots all winter or top them off with sand. On bent/poa fairways up here in the Northeast, during the season a big flounder will probably re-root, but a thin filet will fry in the afternoon sun.
The easiest for everyone on all surfaces, is to just fill with the appropriate mix. Otherwise a debate may break out after every shot as to wheather or not a divot is thick enough to heal.

Doug