Roping Fairways:

As we get ready to re-open the course from this years over-seeding, I guess this is as good a time as any to discuss why it is so important that we rope the fairways for the first two weeks. In trying to keep this short and sweet, we close the golf course on September 26th and start by over-seeding the greens and green banks. That takes us 3 days. After that is completed, prepping the fairways and roughs takes another 10 days or so and its another 5 days until all the seed is down. It then takes the seed another 7 days to germinate. That only leaves a little over a week for the new grass to get established. That is not nearly enough growth time to withstand all the cart traffic. As you can see from the illustration below, the plant on the left is what our grass looks like at opening. The plant on the right is what it looks like a few weeks later. Notice the huge difference in the root system of each plant. The plant on the left is still in its seedling stage and is very delicate. It has a very limited root system to keep it from being uprooted or crushed from tires skidding, sliding or just turning normally. In fact, just driving over such a delicate plant constantly could crush and kill it. By allowing it those two extra weeks of growth, as you can see in the illustration, it is starting its tillering stage and has become a much stronger plant. It has a much more established root system and has a better chance of surviving all the cart traffic. I hope this simple explanation helps you to better understand the necessity of roping the fairways after over-seeding.