Tips for Backyard Putting Green Winter Maintenance.

by Nikki Fetingas, president of AT HOME PUTTING GREENS. Nikki is a contributing writer to Residential Putting Green Magazine.

Preparation: Winter Is Amongst Us

As the weather turns frightful don’t forget about putting green winter maintenance. Your list of things to do varies depending on where you live and what type of turf you have. However, there are a couple of maintenance practices that should be used across the board.

Removal of Debris
As the leaves and other debris fall on to your green it is very important to keep them off. Depending on where you live the leaves can gather moisture that sits on the turf until it is removed. More importantly, keep any large nuts, sticks, tree sap (which should be avoided at all cost) away from the green. The best way to remove leaves is with a leaf blower.

If you have a nylon putting surface a vacuum may also be used. Make sure to keep your green free from all animal droppings. If need to remove animal droppings its best done with warm water (a hose will also work) and any type of enzyme cleaner. A carpet cleaning will suffice. If you have a polypropylene green remove animal droppings immediately before it sinks into the sand. Unless you have a heated green snow and sleet can’t be avoided.

UV Protection
Depending on where you live it may be a good idea to chemically UV treat your green once a year. In some instances (ultra sunny climates), your green might require this procedure every 6 months. I suggest that you contact the business that installed your putting green, as they are trained in this maintenance procedure. The company should either come out and treat the green or provide you with the chemicals to do it yourself.

Mold Protection
In my experience mold and algae will grow anywhere the conditions are right. You’ll want to consider cleaning the green if it is in an area that does not get a lot of sun or is damp and moist. Prevention is the key to fighting mold and algae. Your installer should be able to tell you the frequency of washing.

You can often hire a local carpet cleaning company to do the cleaning or do it yourself. Most installers recommend a water and bleach combination. Before doing it yourself test a small portion of the green so that there is no adverse affect on the turf. You can also use most types of mold disinfectant just check with your installer.

Sand In-fill and Rolling
Depending on your handicap and what stimp your greens roll this is a good time to add sand and roll out your green. This will flatten fibers during the winter so there is less resistance in the spring. If you are a scratch golfer you may be doing this on a weekly or monthly basis anyways. You want to make sure the green is filled with enough rounded sand to achieve your desired roll. Roll the green with a heavy weighted roller so that fibers bend over.

While it’s sad to think about hibernating your green for the winter. However, just like a car preventative maintenance will make it that much more enjoyable for years to come.

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