Dormant Fairways

[Jason Topp]

I have seen numerous people recommend that leaving fairways dormant in winter makes for better playing conditions than overseeding.  


One question; once someone takes a divot on dormant grass, does that divot last until the active growing season?  Doesn't this fact almost require overseeding on courses that get a lot of play?

[A_Clay_Man]

Doesn't this fact almost require overseeding on courses that get a lot of play?

Only if you're all about the Augusta Syndrome.

I golf on alot of dormant turf. Rarely is it soft enough to take a significant divot.

Overseeding expense seems hardly worth it, but then again, I do like the challenge of a difficult lie.

[Don_Mahaffey]

Jason,
I debated this exact topic with Brad Klein a few years back. Here's my take as a supt who overseeded for many years.
For the all-around health of the bermuda turf, not overseeding is best. However, when your course is in AZ or Palm Springs, areas where most play and revenue is in the winter months, not overseeding results in a pretty beat up golf course by Feb/March which just happen to be the months with the most play. Tees really get torn up. The bermuda will not begin to fill back in until May, even June in areas like Tucson. At certain private clubs not overseeding works. But, at a public course doing 4-5K rounds a month in the winter, I don't think you have a choice but to overseed.

[SB]

There are two good reasons for not overseeding.  First, during spring, the dormant bermuda or zoysia will not have to compete with rye, making the transition period much shorter and look much better.  Second, without rye, you can get much more aggressive on weeds during the winter, resulting in a much cleaner surface year round.

To answer your question, the divot will be there until spring.  It only requires overseeding if the players do not like seeing divots.  I personally prefer high quality grass for most of the year and seeing a few divots for a few.

[A.G._Crockett]

The two problems with playing off dormant grass are divots and excess moisture, since the grass isn't using much water.  Wedge play and short game become very tough.  The divot problem is not crucial; filling with sand works fine.

I'm not a big fan of playing on overseeded fairways anyway, and the problems for the bermuda the next spring make it an easy decision for most clubs in the south.

[Don_Mahaffey]

SBusch,
15,000 divots on a tee can be a problem at some courses. I think when debating overseeding it's important not to group all courses in the south together. I'm not a big fan of overseeding in the south where there is more summer play then winter. But, like I wrote before, in areas where the vast majority of revenues and rounds are in the winter, I don't think you have a choice at public courses. Believe me, I know it's better for the bermuda if you don't overseed and I lived through a lot of frustrating spring transitions.

[Brent Hutto]

And let's not forget those weeks in the fall when the fairways have to be watered like hell to get a good crop of rye grass established.

[Tony Petersen]

  I happen to play Outlaw at Desert Moutnain quite a bit during the winters. First, S-O-L-I-D design, great green complexes, and second because the membership does not like both the course and the fact that it is dormant during the winter... It gets a little beat up in the collection areas, and the par 3 tee boxes. The bermuda rough is soooooooo light and fluffy, tough to find a ball, but great to hit out of... All and all, I like playing from the dormant, and have a feeling that it helps with the summer conditions...

[SB]

No question that overseeding is the way to go in AZ, FL, and Palm Springs for exactly the reasons listed.  It's a tougher call in areas like GA and TX that get a more moderate amount of play in the winter.  Here in Atlanta, most daily fee courses overseed, and many private clubs do not.  The theory being that people shelling out cash will not play unless it is overseeded, and private club members would rather have the better turf come spring.

[Mike Nuzzo]

I looked forward to winter golf at one particular club here in Houston, as they had dormant fairways.  It was when I thought the course was at it's best.  It sure was firm and fast.  They didn't get much play however.

[Jason Topp]

In the 80's for at least one year, one public course in Tucson did not overseed, but painted the fairways in winter.  I couldn't figure out what was going on.  I had green paint all over my clubs and ball.

[Daryl "Turboe" Boe]

SBusch,
15,000 divots on a tee can be a problem at some courses.

That is why tees are a whole different issue than fairways.  My home club does not overseed the fairways, but they  do overseed the tee box that gets most of the play (opting to not overseed the two forward tee boxes in most instances since like our fairways they dont see much traffic.)  That policy is quite common down here.  Leave the fairways undone, but overseed any teeing areas that see lots of divots.

[David_Madison]

Another advantage of not overseeding is that you can keep the golf course a lot drier and firmer, especially around the greens. Here in the middle of North Carolina we get to play a bunch of greenside pitches, Texas wedges, and bumps and runs now that we rarely get to use during much of the rest of the year when the ground and turf tends to be a bit softer and lusher. We do overseed par 3 tees as well as our practice area; otherwise there'd be no grass left by now.

[cary lichtenstein]

Florida:

Best not to overseed, but keep the fairways dry, so the divots are not too big.

[Anthony_Nysse]

This is the first year in a long time that we have not overseeded fairways. I think that dormant fairways actually offer a very good lie for the ball. If you can keep the fairway clean from divots, mow once a week, (Just to clean up sand, divots and debris) I think it's a great surface. Plus, It's very important to have a membership that understands the benefit of not overseed-Yes, it's nice to look out a see green, but it's not fun with the transition in the summer.

Tony Nysse
Asst. Supt
Long Cove Club