What's going on in this picture?
Well, the darker green color grass that you can see off the green has not yet been treated to remove the rye grass. The reason we remove the rye grass is to help the Bermuda that is trying to grow back. We like to coincide the transitioning of the rye grass during the aerification process so when the greens have healed, the Bermuda has time to fill in better. We also aerify the fairways to help get water in to the soil so the Bermuda will grow faster which helps speed up the transition into lush grass.
The transitioning from rye to bermuda is sometimes unpredictable, because some Bermuda grasses transition a lot better than others. Pine Needles has mostly hybrid Bermuda grass that's much thicker with a lot more plants per square inch and transitions very well. Mid Pines has a lot of common Bermuda, which is a more open type grass and has a tougher time in transitioning. This set back will only be temporary, because we will start to fertilize. Studies have shown that you need at least 100 days of good growing to help the Bermuda be healthy enough to withstand the overseeding each year.
David Fruchte CGCS
Director of Golf Course and Grounds
