Columnist Peter Benton: Course closures necessary

Peter Benton

Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2005 | 9:34 a.m.

Peter Benton's golf column appears Wednesday.

Well, it is that time of year when many local courses will be closed for overseeding, aerification and what-all.

Believe me, I know how annoying course closures can be, particularly as our weather is downright gorgeous during the months of September and October. But the work being done is necessary for the betterment of our layouts -- and ultimately we golfers will be rewarded with wonderful course conditions.

Aerification, one of many preventative maintenance programs necessary to the health of golf courses, takes place in late summer and approximately six weeks before overseeding begins.

Three very important objectives are achieved: Soil compaction is relieved, thatch is reduced and/or prevented, and the soil mixture around the highest part of the grass roots improves. If this process is not attended to, the root structure declines and the turf weakens and becomessusceptible to disease.

Because Bermuda grass becomes dormant in cooler weather, overseeding with rye -- which thrives in colder conditions -- must be completed by late October as that is when Las Vegas usually experiences its first frost of the season.

Here in town, 90 percent of our layouts begin their greens aerification and overseeding process following Labor Day.

Overseeding consists of three steps: (a) watering is cut back; (b) a special machine renovates the turf to loosen the mat and thatch to enable the new seed to make contact with the soil; and (c) the fairways are chemically treated with growth retardants. This prevents the Bermuda grass from growing, which in turn means that it does not compete with the fresh rye seed.

The reason so many of our courses close for this mandatory program is because after seeding, the soil must be kept moist for 5-10 days to germinate. Later, mowers will cut the new fairways and shortly after the courses will re-open.

In the New Year, once the soil temperature reaches a consistent 55 degrees, the Bermuda grass begins to grow back.

The moral is this: Call ahead to confirm whether your chosen layout is open for play.