Overseeding browntop bentgrass seed at Royal Ashdown Forest GC

For Dominic, overseeding with Browntop bentgrass seed is needed when he suspects “Poa annua may be increasing its foothold through central sections of the greens and peripheral areas where the turf iron is changing direction.”

Dominic aims to outcompete Poa annua by sowing bentgrass seed and fescue. “Overseeding is about creating an environment for the bent and fescue to thrive.”

This proactive mindset is in keeping with Germinal’s 2022 campaign that highlights the benefits of proactive seeding.

Overseeding golf greens by season

In terms of seasonal strategies, Dominic is less keen on cold-seeding because Royal Ashdown Forest can get quite wet. Thus, there’s a risk of fescue and bentgrass seed rotting in the ground.

Instead, Dominic is more focused on spring overseeding. “We do a late spring overseed on greens with bentgrass seed and continue that through the season as it grows well when it’s warm and dry.”

When it comes to fescue seed, this is sown a couple of months later. “We wait until September to do our fescue overseed on greens as we bring the height of cut up slightly when it starts to germinate and it’s a little more intrusive with the disc seeder.”

If Dominic starts the fescue overseed any earlier than September, then additional challenges emerge. “If we go early with the fescue overseed, we have to make sure these areas are watered enough to let the new seed germinate and establish. This is quite hard to do as we have to use travelling sprinklers and lots of hosepipe.”

2022 overseeding strategy

Speaking to Sandy, Dominic revealed that he has planned to protect the botanical composition of the golf course greens at Royal Ashdown Forest. This plan has been devised after Dominic started to implement a proactive seeding strategy in 2021.

“This year, I have plans for three to four overseeds of browntop bentgrass through the Dynaseed units. And a September fescue overseed with a double-disc pass with the Vredo unit ideally supplemented with shallow pot seeding of fescue with blunt solid tines on the Procore unit.”

When it comes to golf course fairway grass seed, overseeding happens once a year or sometimes more in weaker areas where leatherjacket damage has been caused.

“The damage on fairways from leatherjackets has left us with no choice but to overseed to repair the loss of sward,” Dominic adds.

As for tees, these are overseeded twice a year with rye or fescue through a disc seeder. The disc seeder is also used to overseed fairways, walkways and any thin areas when there is moisture to get the seed growing well.

Having said that, Dominic does notice growth when golf grass seed is overseeded during drier weather. “We do find that the seed we get in when it’s dry, does eventually grow when we get some rain.”

An innovative approach to golf overseeding

“Demand from golfers as well as increased foot traffic and taking a slightly more aggressive stance on how we brush and verticut the greens can sometimes be less favourable for the fescue,” Dominic explains.

During the first lockdown, when foot traffic was non-existent, Dominic undertook a spring overseed with fescue seed and the results were striking.

“We did a spring overseed with fescue during the first lockdown and had fantastic results when the golfers were absent. Which goes to show you the effect foot traffic has on the course.”

This ability to innovate was also on display when Dominic undertook pot seeding with fescue seed on a weak green and achieved good results. As a result, Dominic plans to utilise pot seeding on all greens this autumn.

Browntop bentgrass seed is the go-to

As for his preferred grass seed for overseeding golf greens, Dominic revealed that AberMajesty browntop bentgrass seed is his go-to mixture. “AberMajesty sits in well with regard to colour and has a lovely fine leaf.”

The other golf course grass seed mixtures used by Dominic are A27 Golf All Fescue and A28 Ultrafine Ryegolf. These are helpful for overseeding fairways and areas hit by leatherjacket damage.

While Dominic generally uses the same mixtures, he is open to alternatives. “I am happy to change as new variants and blends become available.”

“Although we are very lucky here and have lots of natural fescue and native colonial bentgrass, we also get some Poa ingress that we are keen to eradicate.

“The native bents also get leggy in spring. So, the more fine-leaf bent and fescue we can get in there the better the greens look and perform.”

To learn more about how to make proactive seeding work for your golf course, please visit our landing page and explore the resources.