# True Putt seed for putting green



## Steely (Sep 24, 2017)

I am getting ready to start my adventure of a backyard putting green using True Putt creeping bluegrass. My plan was to kill off the existing KBG with Glyphosate, but I'm wondering if I can just scalp it down to the ground before planting my new seed. Thoughts?


----------



## spurius18 (Jun 22, 2020)

I started a True Putt green back in the fall, it's about 1,000 sq. ft. in size. The best thing to do is to kill the existing grass using glyphosate, and till and remove as much dead matter as possible. I am also on a putting green forum, and there is a great deal of information there on the process of building a green. You need to have a seedbed that allows water to runoff in three directions, and is sandy. From what I've read from others, Kentucky Bluegrass makes a great apron surrounding a backyard putting green.


----------



## cleohioturf (Jul 20, 2020)

007 bent is really good. I havent heard of true putt.

definitely kill or remove the area, why not use a sod cutter and strip the area and reuse elsewhere? You do not want to just scalp the bluegrass and try to overseed bent. The sub base is important as well, good drainage, sandy base, if you sod cut, its also great because you lower your base which would allow you to add base material prior to seeding.


----------



## DbShep (Aug 10, 2020)

I built a green last year that is about 1300 sq ft using Selectus Tournament Bent from Plant Products which is a blend of 50% Flagstick Bent and 50% MacDonald Bent. It's a rewarding process and a lot of work but I enjoy it. I removed the sod, then brought in 14 tons of sand and tilled it in with my native soil in order to keep some organic material to retain moisture, (this was advised by a golf course super intendent as a way to theoretically ease my water usage). I seeded May 20th last year. I have kept a pretty detailed thread on golfwrx that outlines my process from construction to current, it's a bit of a long read but might be worth it to learn from some of my mistakes / successes.

https://forums.golfwrx.com/topic/1714676-covid-practice-plans-green-building-please-tell-me-im-not-nuts/

Here are a few recent pictures

April 7th


Masters Week


This week after mowing


First cut of the season, (Late March)


----------



## DbShep (Aug 10, 2020)

spurius18 said:


> I started a True Putt green back in the fall, it's about 1,000 sq. ft. in size. The best thing to do is to kill the existing grass using glyphosate, and till and remove as much dead matter as possible. I am also on a putting green forum, and there is a great deal of information there on the process of building a green. You need to have a seedbed that allows water to runoff in three directions, and is sandy. From what I've read from others, Kentucky Bluegrass makes a great apron surrounding a backyard putting green.


Which putting green forum are you part of? I built a green last year and would like to check it out as I'm learning as I go. I do have plenty of help with regards to advice from the golf super intendent at my home course.


----------



## DbShep (Aug 10, 2020)

cleohioturf said:


> 007 bent is really good. I havent heard of true putt.
> 
> definitely kill or remove the area, why not use a sod cutter and strip the area and reuse elsewhere? You do not want to just scalp the bluegrass and try to overseed bent. The sub base is important as well, good drainage, sandy base, if you sod cut, its also great because you lower your base which would allow you to add base material prior to seeding.


777 bent is even better but I understand it's a bit like finding hen's teeth!


----------



## Dwreck (Feb 24, 2021)

I recently purchased 777 and Flagstick from United Seeds for my greens project; 1200sqft green (777/Flag), 6x8' sand bunker, 50x6' arced elevated tee box chipping area (5iron rye), 14x14 hitting box into a net that'll also serve as test putting plot of chewings and creeping red, and a 2nd smaller green of chewings/creeping red. Everything is ready for seeding and im having anxiety waiting on soil temps.&#128523; My original intent was strictly a british type all fescue green for low maint but i got talked into bent. If the maint becomes too much i'll transition it to fescue. I should probably start a new thread topic to hold progress pics.


----------



## Steely (Sep 24, 2017)

Thanks for all the great input. I hadn't considered using a sod cutter which I may do. The grass that is there (100% KBG) is probably the nicest grass in my backyard because I just planted it last spring.

I have great drainage in the spot picked out. I also picked up 1/2 ton of mason sand that I can mix in with the sub-soil.

I'll post back again as I progress.


----------



## DbShep (Aug 10, 2020)

Steely said:


> Thanks for all the great input. I hadn't considered using a sod cutter which I may do. The grass that is there (100% KBG) is probably the nicest grass in my backyard because I just planted it last spring.
> 
> I have great drainage in the spot picked out. I also picked up 1/2 ton of mason sand that I can mix in with the sub-soil.
> 
> I'll post back again as I progress.


how big is your green? Depending on size, you will want more sand than 1/2 ton. Soil that is heavily sand based will be easier to create a smooth surface with that will also accept water after it is rolled and compacted and is a better growing medium. Ideally you would use sand and peat moss mixed in an 80/20 ratio as a root zone that is 12" deep. 12" deep sand and peat mix would be pretty costly, but bulk sand is rather cheap if you can find it locally to minimize the trucking costs. My sand layer is about 4"-5" deep and I tilled in about 2" of my native soil. After cutting holes, I really wish I had used twice as much sand. Over time through core aeration and topdressing, my base will change.


----------



## john5246 (Jul 21, 2019)

looks amazing! can you give an idea of the costs. Seed was probably the cheapest part of this right? What was the biggest expense? Sand?


----------



## DbShep (Aug 10, 2020)

john5246 said:


> looks amazing! can you give an idea of the costs. Seed was probably the cheapest part of this right? What was the biggest expense? Sand?


Are you asking me? If so, seed was one of my biggest single expenses because I could only find it in a full 25lb bucket which was $400CAD. My first mower, the Toro 1000 with an 11 blade reel, I purchased used from a golf supply company my friend works at for $250 CAD. The Jacobsen Eclipse 2, (15 blade reel), that I now cut the green with was given to me for free by a retired pro who saw my post on a Facebook group and liked what I was doing, (so so lucky)! I already had all of the equipment I needed to build the green since I own a Kubota loader tractor with backhoe, a box blade, and roller and a rear tine rototiller. I did buy a 3' aluminum landscaping rake and I completed all of the construction myself. Below is a breakdown of material costs off the top of my head for my green that is about 1300 sq ft (prices in CAD).

Seed $400
Sand for rootzone (14 ton) - $150 (I live 5 minutes from an active pit)
Triple Mix / Peat Moss - for seed bed - $200
Landscape Rake - $50
Gravel for bunker drain - $15
Bunker / Topdressing sand - $80
Sod for rear collar and bunker surround - $250
Sprinklers / fittings - $100
Mowers - $250 (extremely lucky here)
Fertilizer - $100
Ballwasher / Bunker Rake/ Hole Setter - $225
Cups / Pins / Hole puller - $140

A quick tally and I'm sure I may have forgotten some small things, and certainly haven't factored the tall cans of craft beer that are necessary when watering at dusk, but I'm into it for $1960 so far. I live in the country and have a well, so water doesn't cost me anything and the mowers aren't very hard on fuel.


----------



## spurius18 (Jun 22, 2020)

DbShep said:


> spurius18 said:
> 
> 
> > I started a True Putt green back in the fall, it's about 1,000 sq. ft. in size. The best thing to do is to kill the existing grass using glyphosate, and till and remove as much dead matter as possible. I am also on a putting green forum, and there is a great deal of information there on the process of building a green. You need to have a seedbed that allows water to runoff in three directions, and is sandy. From what I've read from others, Kentucky Bluegrass makes a great apron surrounding a backyard putting green.
> ...


https://puttinggreens.proboards.com/ You can register here, it will likely take a week or so to get response from admin and gain entry to the forum. Unlike the Lawn Forum, which has a lot of activity and excellent content, this putting green forum does not have a lot of activity. However, the content is great, and specifically geared towards putting greens. Your green looks great, you have put a tremendous amount of work into it, and it really shows.


----------



## spurius18 (Jun 22, 2020)

cleohioturf said:


> 007 bent is really good. I havent heard of true putt.
> 
> definitely kill or remove the area, why not use a sod cutter and strip the area and reuse elsewhere? You do not want to just scalp the bluegrass and try to overseed bent. The sub base is important as well, good drainage, sandy base, if you sod cut, its also great because you lower your base which would allow you to add base material prior to seeding.


True Putt is a perennial bio type poa annua. It has some increased hardiness over annual type poa annua, and puts up seedheads in the spring. However, I am finding it puts up a tremendous amount of seedheads at once, which can be diminished or eliminated under growth regulation.


----------



## spurius18 (Jun 22, 2020)

john5246 said:


> looks amazing! can you give an idea of the costs. Seed was probably the cheapest part of this right? What was the biggest expense? Sand?


The most important and likely costliest thing in starting a green is a greens mower. There are some deals out there, as many in this forum can attest. For a green to start to 'feel' like a putting green, you will need to be cutting no higher than .25 inches. The green will eventually be maintained at a height of cut from .125-.20 inches. Having the right kind of mower, with a rear drum, front roller, and enough reel blades for proper cut of fine turf is critical.


----------



## spurius18 (Jun 22, 2020)

DbShep said:


> Steely said:
> 
> 
> > Thanks for all the great input. I hadn't considered using a sod cutter which I may do. The grass that is there (100% KBG) is probably the nicest grass in my backyard because I just planted it last spring.
> ...


This is excellent advice. When you are mowing at such a low height, any imperfections in the surface will result in scalping, which damages and stunts the growth of grass in an area. The only solutions are topdressing over time to level the area, or raising the height of cut in order to avoid the scalping issue. I originally started my green as a chipping green, with the option of going lower. I am still working on growing in some pesky areas, but because I did not put as much effort into having an ideal rootzone, my green surface area is not as level and smooth and it needs to be.


----------



## Steely (Sep 24, 2017)

My green will be very small, probably 25' x 25'. I have 16 5-gallon buckets that I get sand in. It's easy to transport and weighs in at just under 0.5 ton. I can easily go get more sand.

My "green" will have to start as a chipping green as I only have a Cal Trimmer for now, but keep watching for deals on FM.


----------



## DbShep (Aug 10, 2020)

Steely said:


> My green will be very small, probably 25' x 25'. I have 16 5-gallon buckets that I get sand in. It's easy to transport and weighs in at just under 0.5 ton. I can easily go get more sand.
> 
> My "green" will have to start as a chipping green as I only have a Cal Trimmer for now, but keep watching for deals on FM.


You will find a deal on a mower, I think there are a lot of Toro GM1000s around. Is there a golf course near you? If so, get friendly with the Greens Keeper...they know where the deals are. Also, the Greens Keeper will tell you that you are crazy....and you are because keeping grass alive at 0.125" is hard BUT....you can do it!

Another piece of advice is that if you want to use it as a green that you can hit pitches into, go bigger if you can. That will give you some room to land a ball and have it roll out. You won't be able to get very far away from a 25x25 before it becomes too small to accept a shot. I say this not knowing how big your area is, but I have about 1.5acres of property and built my green 1300 sq ft and wish I had made it bigger, (easy to say when the experiment worked). My 1300 sq ft only takes me about 15 minutes to mow.


----------



## Steely (Sep 24, 2017)

Another option I may take instead of renting a sod stripper is to just harvest as many plugs as I can using my ProPlugger and filling in bare spots around my lawn with the good KBG turf from the soon-to-be putting green. I don't have large areas that need replacing so plugs may be easier.

Then I can Glyphosate the area and go nuts from there.


----------



## spurius18 (Jun 22, 2020)

Steely said:


> My green will be very small, probably 25' x 25'. I have 16 5-gallon buckets that I get sand in. It's easy to transport and weighs in at just under 0.5 ton. I can easily go get more sand.
> 
> My "green" will have to start as a chipping green as I only have a Cal Trimmer for now, but keep watching for deals on FM.


I came across this in my own personal searches, and thought of your search. This seems like it may be worth getting more info about: https://www.turfnet.com/classifieds/item/40514-jacobson-522/


----------



## JahMez (May 18, 2021)

I've been seeding with True Putt for a couple of years now, and I've found it's very slow to grow in, but it forms a pretty good job of filling in, if you have the patience to wait. 
I have about a 1200sqft putting/chipping area, and it's been pretty tolerant to heat, but seems really susceptible to fungus. 
I have about 3-4" sand layer and mowing about 1/8" HOC. I'm using a Swardman Electra which isn't the greatest for greens mowing because both sides of the roller height can't be fine-tuned, but it's been good enough for my kids  . It's stimping at 6.5-7 currrently after 2 seasons, so I'm hoping the grass density will improve by winter to get to stimping above 8 with a truer roll.
Here's an image of the cross-section of the plug when I cut the cups:



And the putting/chipping area:


----------



## Steely (Sep 24, 2017)

@JahMez wow that looks great.
I just overseeded with another pound of True Putt since I'm at week 4 and things are coming in pretty slow. I used Scott's starter fertilizer with Mesotrione the first time around, but don't know if I can put down another app of the Scott's with weed control in fear it might harm the 4 week old grass. Should I just put down regular starter fert this time around?


----------



## Steely (Sep 24, 2017)

Here are some pics from about 3 1/2 weeks after seeding. I lost some seed because of heavy rains on day 7, but some of it had germinated and held on.


----------



## Steely (Sep 24, 2017)

I did find a Greensmaster 1000 with an 11 blade reel on FB Marketplace for $500. I have been going through the machine performing some much needed maintenance. The biggest thing it will need is the reel sharpened as it's still not cutting paper after back lapping it twice.


----------



## JahMez (May 18, 2021)

That's looking good @Steely and that GM1000 should be ideal for getting the cut uniform. A tough part is avoiding any sandy spots that might dull your blades after you sharpen them.

For the washout, in my case, I did a max depth verticut with the Sunjoe dethatcher (-10mm is what the plastic side panel shows) in diamond patterns then overseeded. Then I went over it with a lawn leveler and those tiny True Putt seeds nestled nicely into the tracks and germinated well.

I did this over the course of a couple of years in both spring and fall and that really helped increase the density. I also lightly seeded after aerations.

2019 (still patchy and scraggly)


2020 (getting denser & more uniform growth)


----------



## Steely (Sep 24, 2017)

@JahMez that is a great tip using the scarifier in a diamond pattern. Thanks for sharing those pictures. I will try that this fall when it is overseed time again. I have the Greenworks dethatcher and it worked great to mix the sand in with the subsoil.


----------



## Rule11 (May 5, 2018)

spurius18 said:


> cleohioturf said:
> 
> 
> > 007 bent is really good. I havent heard of true putt.
> ...


Hey, just from some recent years of experience, I have been testing True Putt for 3 years now. It's a great cultivar but as stated you HAVE TO have a great seed head suppression program for spring!

This turf is vigorous in seed head production. I have found Embark to work the best. Problem is it's discontinued. T-Nex does the job fairly well but you have to stay on top of it do about 6-8 weeks.

With that said I started a backyard Reno and also was convinced to go with 777 Bent for other reasons besides Seed Head suppression. Also depending on your location fungus pressure in damp soil is also something to manage. My bent project is loaded with sub base drainage and 24 tons of sand over 1200 sqft. 6" root zone. Like someone else said more sand depth is better especially if you are cutting cups.

Just make sure you drainage is top notch!


----------



## Rule11 (May 5, 2018)

JahMez said:


> I've been seeding with True Putt for a couple of years now, and I've found it's very slow to grow in, but it forms a pretty good job of filling in, if you have the patience to wait.
> I have about a 1200sqft putting/chipping area, and it's been pretty tolerant to heat, but seems really susceptible to fungus.
> I have about 3-4" sand layer and mowing about 1/8" HOC. I'm using a Swardman Electra which isn't the greatest for greens mowing because both sides of the roller height can't be fine-tuned, but it's been good enough for my kids  . It's stimping at 6.5-7 currrently after 2 seasons, so I'm hoping the grass density will improve by winter to get to stimping above 8 with a truer roll.
> Here's an image of the cross-section of the plug when I cut the cups:
> ...


Looks Awesome!! Nice work


----------



## Steely (Sep 24, 2017)

JahMez said:


> I've been seeding with True Putt for a couple of years now, and I've found it's very slow to grow in, but it forms a pretty good job of filling in, if you have the patience to wait.
> I have about a 1200sqft putting/chipping area, and it's been pretty tolerant to heat, but seems really susceptible to fungus.
> I have about 3-4" sand layer and mowing about 1/8" HOC. I'm using a Swardman Electra which isn't the greatest for greens mowing because both sides of the roller height can't be fine-tuned, but it's been good enough for my kids  . It's stimping at 6.5-7 currrently after 2 seasons, so I'm hoping the grass density will improve by winter to get to stimping above 8 with a truer roll.
> Here's an image of the cross-section of the plug when I cut the cups:
> ...


This does look really nice. Awesome job!


----------



## Steely (Sep 24, 2017)

Here is a pic from today, 1 month after seed down.


----------



## JahMez (May 18, 2021)

@Steely Nice progress, I'm sure you're itching to mow soon!

@Rule11 That's a good point about the seed heads this time of year for True Putt (and poa annua in general), as it can look almost like white turf at certain angles. A positive takeaway is that the seed heads are popping at very low heights, so it feels like the grass is getting used to a low HOC. I haven't tried a suppressant yet, just daily mows for now, but I'm thinking it's worth looking into in advance for next spring. 
I talked at length with the Superintendent at my golf club and he suggested spraying PGR+N in concert in ~3 week apps during growing seasons to encourage lateral growth/density, so that's on my to-do list today :thumbup:


----------



## Rule11 (May 5, 2018)

@JahMez Yeah it's not to bad but some folks are not aware of that aspect of this perennial blue grass.

Absolutely listen to you local pro, as they know best. But that is what I do as well. Spoon feed throughout the growing season along with PGR. Good plan.


----------



## Steely (Sep 24, 2017)

Update from today (6/3). Have started mowing it daily.


----------



## Tlox (Aug 13, 2020)

Looking good!


----------



## Steely (Sep 24, 2017)

Update from today (6/9). Still waiting to get the Greensmaster reel sharpened, but I think I found someone to do it.


----------



## Steely (Sep 24, 2017)

Tlox said:


> Looking good!


Thanks @Tlox


----------



## jnarlock_19 (Feb 17, 2021)

Its been almost 5 days with my True Putt no sign of germination, and i set the seed bed up well. Starting to get nervous


----------



## Steely (Sep 24, 2017)

@jnarlock_19 i would definitely be patient. I'm still having my fair share of issues with the drought and then fungus pressure I'm battling the elements right now. I just overseeded some bare spots yesterday and then of course we got lots of rain last night. Not sure if I lost most of that seed.

I finally got my Greensmaster 1000 reel sharpened and set to 1/2". I'll slowly take the HOC down over time. Going to stay off it a bit to let the new seed try to come in.

Here is a recent picture…


----------



## Steely (Sep 24, 2017)

Update from July 10, a couple weeks after overseeding some bare spots. It's filling in slowly, but haven't taken the HOC below 1/2" yet. Maybe I will this week as the temps have come down and the grass is recovering nicely from the June drought we had.


----------



## Mark102 (Oct 6, 2018)

This is looking great!


----------



## Steely (Sep 24, 2017)

Update from 7/23. Finally starting to looks like a putting green. Took the HOC down to 5/16".


----------



## Steely (Sep 24, 2017)

Mark102 said:


> This is looking great!


 Thanks @Mark102


----------



## Steely (Sep 24, 2017)

Going to have to rename this thread as my experiment with True Putt did not work out. So I decided to plant some Outside pride creeping bent grass. My question is how long should I wait to put the weight of the Greensmaster 1000 on this newly seeded grass of about 4-5 weeks.


----------



## DbShep (Aug 10, 2020)

Looks like you can cut now. Take a 3rd of the blade and lower it by another 3rd every couple weeks as it fills in.


----------



## Dlmartin1984 (Jun 7, 2021)

It looks pretty long from the picture. If you have a roller, roll it a few times and pack it. I would definitely not wait any longer to mow. It's looking really thick and great growth.


----------



## Steely (Sep 24, 2017)

I have mowed it twice now and will continue to bring the HOC down every week.


----------



## frostyshake (Jan 3, 2021)

What type of bentgrass seed did you get from Outside Pride?


----------



## cleohioturf (Jul 20, 2020)

Have you been putting light sand top dressing at all? Very light applications but more often can really help with bent.


----------



## VictorMatos3 (Oct 19, 2021)

I am in the planning process of doing a small putting green out back as well. As i am reading this thread i am discovering there is no such thing as a low maintenance backyard green. I cant just level out a spot, plant some true putt from outside pride and mow it short...you guys have some spectacular greens by the way.


----------



## Kallgren (Nov 10, 2018)

VictorMatos3 said:


> I am in the planning process of doing a small putting green out back as well. As i am reading this thread i am discovering there is no such thing as a low maintenance backyard green. I cant just level out a spot, plant some true putt from outside pride and mow it short...you guys have some spectacular greens by the way.


You can put some seeds down and cut it low, but don't expect it to put like the greens at your local MUNI. A greens mower with a grass catcher is essential and expect to mow at a minimum every other day - maybe every third day pushing it.

Pick a spot with lots of sunlight and good natural drainage. Don't over water it and keep on the lookout for fungus, grubs and algea/black crust that might form where it is wettest.

Research your seed choices, the OP seems to have changed the True Putt to a creeping bentgrass. I have a mix of Penncross, 007 and Crystal Bluelinks.

Make it big enough to be fun. One poster has 1300 sq-ft and wished it were bigger. Mine is ~1000 sq-ft and definitely I should have made it larger. Put in a bunker to practice your sand saves.

In summary, it is fun, but set your expectation accordingly.


----------



## Steely (Sep 24, 2017)

I have mowed my green a few times since my last post but it seems like every time I put the Greensmaster on it it really sets me back. I am only mowing it at 1/4" and it seems to go downhill after I mow. So I'm thinking it needs to establish roots better before I can mow it frequently. I wish I had a lighter weight manual greens mower like a Hudson Star to put less stress on the green.

I'm pretty sure my biggest challenge has been the lack of sunlight due to my trees and the sun being so low in the southern sky these days.

Hoping next spring it will bounce back better.

Here is a current pic…


----------



## VictorMatos3 (Oct 19, 2021)

Yeah OP seed is a bent creeping bluegrass.

@Steely hudson stars are very expensive. McLane has a manual reel that you might find on Fb marketplace for considerably less. Thats what ive been trying to find for my soon to be green. Right now i have to orange american reel mower that cuts down to a half inch for the time being.


----------



## Kallgren (Nov 10, 2018)

@VictorMatos3 Looks like the OP originally started with Creeping Bluegrass as you mention, but in September referenced moving to a creeping bentgrass but didn't mention the specifics or why.



Steely said:


> Going to have to rename this thread as my experiment with True Putt did not work out. So I decided to plant some Outside pride creeping bent grass. My question is how long should I wait to put the weight of the Greensmaster 1000 on this newly seeded grass of about 4-5 weeks.


OutsidePride offers a number of varieties of bentgrass and also offer the creeping bluegrass. . I have a few pounds of "Pure Select" sitting on the dining table as part of my efforts to fix some grub damage in September - you could roll the grass up like a carpet.

Anyway, always exciting to see a putting green. They are a bit of work, but very enjoyable when the results are good.


----------



## Kallgren (Nov 10, 2018)

@Steely I read a book over the summer titled "The Seventh at St. Andrews" about building a seventh course in that fabled birthplace of golf. The architects planned a couple of years for the grow in of the greens. Also, recall when the 2016 Olympics were planned for Brazil, that was a brandy new course and there was a lot of dialog if the greens would be ready in time - Golf Channel showed a special and they were pressing (as I recall) having the greens ready in only twelve to eighteen months.

I summary, looks like you are in good shape, maybe let it grow a bit longer as it gets established - particularly if you switched from creeping bluegrass to a bentgrass just a few months ago.


----------



## jnarlock_19 (Feb 17, 2021)

Kallgren said:


> @VictorMatos3 Looks like the OP originally started with Creeping Bluegrass as you mention, but in September referenced moving to a creeping bentgrass but didn't mention the specifics or why.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I agree. Outside Pride has some good choices for bent grass. My findings are that Crystal Bluelinks is the most forgiving and easiest to work with for the at home guy.The fungus doesn't hit it as bad, and it's very shade tolerant, fills in well, and fast establishment. I bought a lot this summer. I have a feeling we are headed to a huge seed shortage and prices are going to skyrocket. I think I got enough for my 1k square feet green project for 2022


----------



## Steely (Sep 24, 2017)

@Kallgren thanks for the encouragement. I might have to check out that book.

Question for you all… when does everyone stop top dressing in the fall? I have not put any sand on the green in over a month.


----------



## The Anti-Rebel (Feb 16, 2019)

jnarlock_19 said:


> Kallgren said:
> 
> 
> > @VictorMatos3 Looks like the OP originally started with Creeping Bluegrass as you mention, but in September referenced moving to a creeping bentgrass but didn't mention the specifics or why.
> ...


 50lbs? You definitely could do 1000 square feet with 2 lbs of seed.


----------



## jnarlock_19 (Feb 17, 2021)

@The Anti-Rebel I totally agree. But with seed becoming harder to get I wanted to make sure. And the potential for moving over winter is high. The goal, is a bigger yard and much larger projects; I wanted to be prepared


----------



## DbShep (Aug 10, 2020)

jnarlock_19 said:


> Kallgren said:
> 
> 
> > @VictorMatos3 Looks like the OP originally started with Creeping Bluegrass as you mention, but in September referenced moving to a creeping bentgrass but didn't mention the specifics or why.
> ...


You will need about 1.5lbs in your initial seeding of 1K. You may need a few more pounds to fill in spots over time. I have a 1200 sq ft green and still have most of my 25lb bucket of seed left. If you over apply the seed, the grass will be weak as the plants will be too crowded and compete with each other. I seeded my green in May of 2020 and by October of 2020 it was puttable but only barely, early in 2021 I had it filled in and cut at 0.125". (here is a photo from earlier this month). I used Selectus Tournament Bent from Plant Products which is a 50/50 blend of Flagstick Bent and MacDonald Bent. Here are a Couple photos from earlier this month.


----------



## jnarlock_19 (Feb 17, 2021)

DbShep said:


> jnarlock_19 said:
> 
> 
> > Kallgren said:
> ...


You tear out any dirt to put sand in, or minimal ground prep?


----------



## DbShep (Aug 10, 2020)

jnarlock_19 said:


> DbShep said:
> 
> 
> > jnarlock_19 said:
> ...


It's a long read, but I kept a thread on Golfwrx to document my process, (short answer, yes, I stripped the sod and added 14 tonnes of sand that I tilled in with the top couple inches of native soil). The thread is here if you are interested in reading it. The good and bad is all in there.

https://forums.golfwrx.com/topic/1714676-covid-practice-plans-green-building-please-tell-me-im-not-nuts/


----------



## Steely (Sep 24, 2017)

@DbShep your green looks awesome!


----------



## Kallgren (Nov 10, 2018)

DbShep said:


> It's a long read, but I kept a thread on Golfwrx to document my process, (short answer, yes, I stripped the sod and added 14 tonnes of sand that I tilled in with the top couple inches of native soil). The thread is here if you are interested in reading it. The good and bad is all in there.
> 
> https://forums.golfwrx.com/topic/1714676-covid-practice-plans-green-building-please-tell-me-im-not-nuts/


@DbShep That is a good read. Access to aerator must be a game changer. I wander around with spiking shoes strapped to my boots.


----------



## DbShep (Aug 10, 2020)

Kallgren said:


> DbShep said:
> 
> 
> > It's a long read, but I kept a thread on Golfwrx to document my process, (short answer, yes, I stripped the sod and added 14 tonnes of sand that I tilled in with the top couple inches of native soil). The thread is here if you are interested in reading it. The good and bad is all in there.
> ...


Periodically I walk around in spiking shoes as well. I made friends with the superintendent at the course I'm a member at. He aerated for me in the fall to test his set up. He also let's me pick his brain about growing issues, mower set up etc. In about a month, I'll take both my mowers to him to have the reels ground and bedknives faced before I put them away for winter.


----------



## DbShep (Aug 10, 2020)

Steely said:


> @DbShep your green looks awesome!


Thanks. Your green will get there, just be patient.


----------

