Can someone tell me what overseeding in the winter is and why it’s perceived to be bad?
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Green bad. Brown good.
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Youve GOT to watch the film. You won’t regret it.
It’s unnecessary and costs too much money. Golf courses struggle to break even as it is and overseed is an unnecessary expense.
Bermuda goes dormant and turns brown. Some people don’t like the look. There was a recent EAL video where he seemed surprised the course was so brown.
Others may point towards the need to water it, preventing firm and fast. In the Carolinas it seems like it rains all winter anyway so it will never get firm and fast. My yard hasn’t been dry since September it seems like.
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That’s what I was going to say. Because some people don’t like the look of dormant bermuda, everyone has to front the cost in greens fees
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So what will that matter to, me the paying customer, who is going to Mid Pines next month? It doesn’t sound like it affects me.
Wow that is the least surprising thing I’ve ever read. My buddy stumbled across that doc close to when it was released, and we loosely checked in on the high score rivalry for a few years after. Billy Mitchell is THE quintessential villain. The look, the attitude, the pettiness and paranoia. The best part is that his role was clearly 0% scripted, and he actually was genuinely that much of a dick. And on the flipside, Steve Wiebie was the genuine, humble, no-named good guy that had to fight through the adversity of taking on the establishment. Man, that is seriously great news haha. Shoutout Robert Mruczek!
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it also makes it more challenging for the bermuda to come back in the spring than it would if they rye wasnt overseeded
a lot of places are going to painting the fairways or greens instead of overseeding them, to give the aesthetic of green grass at a lower cost and lesser maintenace issue
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Or on the flip side, because people like the look of overseeded fairways, your greens fees are kept lower because of the increase in winter play. I’m not sure what the actual financial answer would be, but I think it could go either way.
Saw Pinehurst does it now so hopefully others continue to follow. Ideally you wouldn’t have to do this at all but much better than overseeding.
yup, the dormant look is cool IMO, but a lot of people expect every golf course to be green every time they play and will have a negative reaction when its not
esp people up north or in cool season grass locations that dont realize warm season grasses die when its cold/winter out
when zach blair was down here playing OTC a month or two ago, there were a bunch of people on his IG talking about how the course was dry and how they should water it, etc…
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However, they have their reasons for avoiding overseeding:
• Water conservation – Dormant bermudagrass uses far less water than overseeded perennial ryegrass.
• Uninterrupted play in the fall – Courses avoid the disruption and course closure often required for overseeding.
• No spring transition problems – Without competition from overseeded ryegrass, bermudagrass can green up earlier in the spring.
• Ease of weed control – It is easier to control annual bluegrass and weeds in dormant bermudagrass with selective and non-selective herbicides.
• Sustain a stronger strand of warm season grasses – Many courses experience a gradual decline of bermudagrass density after years of renovation and overseeding. Without overseeding, courses can build a strong strand of bermudagrass throughout the fall that will provide better density and playing quality the following spring and summer.
• Lower maintenance costs – Courses that do not overseed may save $750 to $1,000 per acre by not purchasing seed. Overall costs are lower for water, fertilizer and mowing; plus there is less wear on equipment.
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That could be the case at a couple places, but if capitalism has taught us anything it’s
“We have to pay for this new feature because some people aren’t happy with the current product”
“Okay. Let’s do it.”
“How will we pay for it?”
“Well, we aren’t going to pay for it. Raise the cost.”
Business is much better cause more people are happy
“Should we lower rates back down?”
“Hell no. Do you see the money we’re making? Let’s take advantage of this while we can.”
There’s just something about painting grass green that I cannot get behind. I know it’s the 'Murican way to have green grass everywhere, but we all know the brown stuff can play great still (or at least we’re hopefully all learning that after seeing Royal Melbourne, most Opens, and tourist sauce scotland)
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I’d be curious to know why Pine Needles and Mid Pines overseed…is there a possibility that their Bermuda is just not playable in winter? After someone like Franz gets his hands on it, I would THINK that his guidance is to not overseed in the winter…but idk…
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The members and Ownership like the visual aspect of them being overseeded. I am a rare member who is admittedly against it, but i am also about 20 years junior to our average members age. So that, on top of resort guests coming down south during the winter who want to play on green grass. PN/MP has the cash and crew to ensure nothing is lost during growing transitions. Well, except some angry guests who have to deal with cart path only (they should be walking anyways)
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Was this one of the courses they played? Myrtle gonna Myrtle.
Let me just say, a membership there is amazing … do you experience any pace of play issues with guests?
for sure…sometimes its nice to have a visual of whats fairway and whats rough, but def not necessary
as much as i agree with you, painting does provide some benefits for us. Nov-Jan are very rainy months. The paint mixture also includes some chemicals to ensure water is evenly dispersed throughout the soil (standing/stagnant moisture= mold on greens). Also has some pesticides to keep early spring weeds from getting out of control.
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