Summer overseeding with ForeFront Greens at Little Aston GC

In our latest case study, Germinal Amenity expert Alex Beesley travels to Little Aston Golf Club in Sutton Coldfield to find out why our ForeFront Greens bentgrass blend is so effective.

Throughout 2022, our experts have been visiting golf courses across the UK to share success stories and help make greenkeepers aware of the power of proactive seeding. This time, it was Little Aston GC course manager Dave Gibbons who generously gave his time in an interview with Alex.

Encouraging bentgrass greens to out-compete Poa annua

Explaining why they overseed at Little Aston, Dave said: “We want to encourage more bentgrass to grow in our ForeFront Greens. This is to help us out-compete Poa annua, increase shoot density and increase disease resistance in our swards across the golf course.” As for the frequency, Dave revealed that the team overseeds the greens at least twice a year, covering August and late September. They also aim to overseed in springtime if the temperatures aren’t too cold. As explained previously, overseeding in colder soil temperatures can produce seedlings that are even more effective at withstanding disease.

How often do you overseed your golf greens?

In the past, the team only overseeded once a year due to the standard of the available machinery at the time. A further reason for overseeding golf course greens more frequently, Dave explains, is “to increase the proportion of creeping bentgrass seed in the sward as a stronger cultivar on the greens.” Asked why they overseed the golf course in summer, Dave said: “For good recovery – soil temperatures are higher. Also, the daylight hours are longer, which lets the club allocate more time for maintenance.”

The team’s preferred overseeding method is to now use GreenTek® Dyna-Seeders. In the past, he would tine and then follow up with verti-cutting before broadcasting the seed and brushing it in.

Favourite bentgrass mixture for overseeding golf greens

“We use Germinal’s ForeFront Greens because it gives a strong green colour and high shoot density while offering wear tolerance and disease resistance.”

Alongside 007 creeping bentgrass seed, the mixture also includes three Browntop bentgrass varieties in the form of AberRegal, AberRoyal and Musket. ForeFront Greens is suitable for soil or sand-based greens and offers enhanced resistance to Red thread and Fusarium. For now, Dave and the team are sticking with Forefront Greens after previously using Germinal’s AberMajesty Browntop Bent. This Browntop bentgrass seed mixture combines AberRegal, AberRoyal and Musket to achieve faster establishment at lower temperatures compared to standard Browntop bents.

Why is proactive seeding important for greenkeepers in the long term?

“If you can increase the level of bentgrass in the sward, you can decrease disease hits on your greens in autumn and winter. This will also maintain higher sward coverage for wear tolerance and to out-compete Poa annua.”

Click here to learn more about the benefits of proactive seeding by undertaking seasonal overseeding on your golf course.