During the member/guest matches, the staff stays off of the golf course. We focus on other work we can't normally do on a day to day basis. The driving range tee was the priority this afternoon. All of the areas with heavy divot patterns were aerified, seeded again and fertilized with a starter fertilizer.
Divots are filled daily with a mix of creeping bentgrass and perennial ryegrass. Ryegrass is important because it germinates faster than any other grass. I have heard in the past by several members that as long as we are using ryegrass, we should always have a great stand of grass on the tee. It is like overseeding bermudagrass, right? Absolutely not. Here are the differences:
1. When bermudagrass is overseeded, superintendents will water multiple times a day. The surfaces stay very wet. We can't have sprinkler heads coming on multiple times per day on the range tee for obvious reasons. Water imbibition is the key to seed germination. If the seed doesn't stay wet, it will not germinate. The longer the seed lays without germinating, birds will feast on it.
2. The seed is protected by a dormant stand of Bermudagrass. Mowers are kept off the areas until the ryegrass is beyond the single tiller stage allowing the roots to stabilize the turf in the ground.
3. In the case of cool season divots, we immediately sand and seed all divots. The next day, tractors and mowers are running over these areas. Most seedlings barely stand a chance as they are pulled from the sand by the mower. Of course, we simply can't stay off of the area or the surrounding good quality turf would become too tall.
The use of a good starter fertilizer (high in Phosphorous) is crucial to good root growth. By aerifying and seeding, my hope is to allow seed germination and have the crown of the plant protected by being slightly lower than the surrounding area. Also, allowing good gaseous exchange in the root system will always positively impact a stand of turf.
