Overseeding Time

Every year in the fall we overseed the driving range and par three tee boxes with perennial rye grass. The reason for only seeding these tees is once the Tif-Sport goes dormant, there will not be anymore recovery from divots until the spring. The rye grass will provide a great playing surface during the winter months and will transition out in the spring with the warm temperatures.

There are a few steps that have to be taken to ensure a good germination:
1) Verticut two directions
2) Mow at a lower height of cut (almost at the scalping point)
3) Seed using drop spreaders in 3 directions
4) Water and keep moist during the germination period (7 to 10 days)

Testing Civitas on Tees

We are testing a new product on the market called Civitas on all of our tees. It is basically a plant protect-ant with a green pigment. Depending on results, this could be another tool to add to our arsenal in improving Spanish Oaks. Since we are using a pigment, we needed to come up with a way to protect out yardage plates form being stained and this was the result.

Yardage plate cover

Spraying Civitas on tees

Verticutting the Overseed

With the arrival of spring and warmer temperatures, it's time to start thinning out the perennial rye grass that was seeded on the driving range tee and par 3's back in the fall. The vertical mower works by removing some of the rye grass and allowing the Bermuda to fill in those areas. We will do this a several more times in the next month, which will provide a smooth transition back to our warm season turf.

Driving Range being verticut

#14 after verticut and mow