Hollow-tined greens: ask about course maintenance before you book

Depending on the region, golf courses can be played all year round. This constant use means stress for the grass. To keep fairways and greens in good shape, greenkeepers work on the course all year. You feel some of this work very clearly when you play. Here you learn which work that is and how to find out about it in advance.

Why courses close fully or partly

Heavy rain, thunderstorms or storms can close a course for a while. Then there is damage caused by animals, in Germany for example by wild boar. Common reasons for a closure or partial closure, however, are maintenance and course care.

The terms explained briefly

Aeration (hollow tining): A machine punches holes into the ground. This aerates the soil, improves water absorption and loosens compacted earth.

Scarifying: Vertically rotating blades cut into the turf and pull out moss and thatch. Air, water and nutrients then reach the roots more easily.

Top dressing and sanding: A thin layer of sand or a sand mix is spread evenly over the turf. This makes the surface smoother, water drains better and the roots get more oxygen.

Mowing: Greens, fairways and rough are cut to different heights. This is part of everyday life on a course.

Overseeding: The word means sowing additional seed. A new grass variety, often cold or heat tolerant, is sown into the existing turf. This closes bare patches and keeps the course green through the seasons. In the first weeks the area needs a lot of water and fertiliser. On a golf holiday you often hear the word for any longer maintenance work, even when the course is actually being aerated or sanded.

What maintenance means for your game

You notice freshly aerated greens the most. The ball rolls unevenly, and putting becomes a lottery. During overseeding the fairways are often softer and the greens slower than usual in the changeover period. This changeover usually falls in the months between the summer and the winter season.

For me such news is still rarely a reason to cancel a trip. What matters is that you know about it before you book and not only on the first green.

When maintenance happens

In my experience, courses bundle their maintenance into maintenance weeks or whole maintenance months. A course can then be closed for a longer time, in individual cases for a whole month. A single small job rarely closes the whole course.

Even during a closure, golf facilities think commercially. Mostly I have seen a facility close only 9 of its 18 holes or one of two courses. For your trip this can mean that you play the same course every day although you booked variety.

How to find out before you book

Golf courses are usually open about maintenance dates. You find them in the booking system, on the course website or in the booking confirmation. If nothing is mentioned there, ask directly.

If you book through a travel agent or tour operator, ask there too. From my time in the golf business I advise every travel seller to mention planned work openly. It will be noticed on site anyway, and then there is trouble that could have been avoided.

Template for your question to the course