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Question:
Where can I find out about the best way to care for Rye Grass on putting greens? I belong to a golf club in the Bexar County area and every year it seems that we don't get much out of planting Rye for the winter. Specifically, how should the grass be cut? We seem to have a high density of rye in the holes that were put in the green for aeration. However, where there is no hole, our Rye is not there.
Answer:
Outlined below are the keys to achieving a successful overseeding with ryegrass on golf greens.
First, aerify the greens a month prior to overseeding. The reason yousee the ryegrass coming up in the holes is because you are probably overseeding too soon after aerifying and the holes have not filled in yet.
Second, the ideal time to overseed in the San Antonio area will be around mid-October to early November. Overseeding too soon will increase the chance of disease problems and overseeding too late will increase the chance of the young ryegrass seedlings being killed by an early freeze.
The greens should be vertically mowed right before you overseed to insure good seed-to-soil contact.
Apply the perennial ryegrass on the greens at 12 to 15 pounds of seed per 1,000 sq.ft. I would also apply a starter fertilizer at the time of overseeding such as a 10-10-10 or 10-20-10. Topdressing lightly with a good quality sand at 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch will also be beneficial. Then drag the sand and seed into the green with a screen drag mat.
Once you start watering the greens after overseeding, continue to maintain moisture around the seed until they have started to germinate and grow. Improper watering following overseeding is one of the major reasons for poor establishment.
Once the seed reach the desired mowing height, start mowing the greens. The perennial ryegrass should be mowed around 3/16 to 1/4 of an inch initially. Once fully established, you can slightly lower the cutting height if you want to increase ball roll speed. It is very important to sharpen the mower blades before you start mowing the overseeded greens. A dull reel mower blade will pull the young ryegrass seedlings out of the ground. This is also a very common problem.
If you follow these steps, your overseeding should be successful.
James McAfee
Extension Turfgrass Specialist
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