When autumn arrives and the mornings start to feel cooler, the course at Club de Golf Costa Brava enters a phase of transformation that is as discreet as it is essential. Every year, our maintenance team carries out overseeding, a technical process that ensures the course looks uniform, playable and in optimal condition throughout the colder months. For many players, overseeding is a familiar concept, but not always a fully understood one. Even so, it is one of the invisible pillars that allows golfers to enjoy the course in winter without losing playing quality.
In this article we explain what overseeding is, why it is necessary on our course, which grass varieties we use, how long it takes for the course to recover and what special care the turf needs during these weeks. All of this is backed by the experience and direct voice of our head greenkeeper, Benjamí Ferrer, who has spent more than 25 years working on the maintenance of Club de Golf Costa Brava.
What overseeding is and why we carry it out every year
Overseeding is a process in which cool-season grass seed is introduced into a course made up of warm-season varieties. Its aim is to maintain playability, colour and turf density during the winter. In regions such as the Costa Brava, where temperatures drop significantly between November and March, warm-season grasses reduce their activity and naturally turn yellow.
At Club de Golf Costa Brava we work with bermuda and paspalum, two resistant, dense species that perform excellently in spring and summer. However, when the cold arrives, as Benjamí explains, “they need overseeding with cool-season varieties to avoid contrasts in colour and keep the course active”.
The result is a course that continues to offer homogeneous surfaces, a more predictable ball flight and a carefully maintained visual appearance, even in the months with less vegetative growth.
The seeds we use: Greenland and Renovo, high-quality perennial ryegrass
Not all winter varieties perform in the same way. In our case, we use perennial ryegrass, a cool-season grass highly valued in greenkeeping for its quick germination, intense colour and excellent behaviour during the transition into spring.
Benjamí explains that the club uses “the Greenland and Renovo varieties, which ensure a very good establishment at this time of year, exceptional colour and a smooth transition when temperatures rise again”.
These qualities allow for:
- Rapid germination: essential for the course to regain its playability within a few weeks.
- Uniform winter colour: avoiding dull or patchy areas.
- Optimal density for play: which favours clean strikes, firm fairways and predictable receptions.
- Controlled transition: in spring, the ryegrass naturally hands back the leading role to bermuda and paspalum.
How overseeding is carried out: a highly technical, very meticulous process
Although players may perceive overseeding simply as a fine layer of freshly spread seed, the full process involves meticulous work from the maintenance team. Each phase is designed to ensure that the seed germinates quickly and uniformly, avoiding bare patches or establishment problems.
The procedure at Club de Golf Costa Brava includes:
- Surface preparation: The cutting height is reduced slightly to help the seed reach the soil and prevent it from being trapped in the existing vegetation.
- Even distribution of the seed: The Greenland + Renovo mix is applied evenly across fairways, approaches and other key areas.
- Sand topdressing: Once spread, the seed is covered with a fine layer of sand. This protects the seed and improves soil contact, which is essential for germination.
- Continuous, controlled irrigation: As Benjamí stresses, “once we have the seed spread and covered with sand, the key is to maintain a constant level of moisture to ensure quick, even establishment”.
- Fertilisation after germination: When the seed “starts to show”, the team applies a light fertiliser to provide nutrients and encourage a dense, even cover of turf. Benjamí sums it up like this: “once the seed has germinated, we need to give it nutrients so that it really takes off and finishes closing properly”.
How long it takes the course to recover after overseeding
This is one of the most common questions among members and players. The answer depends on several factors: weather, rainfall, hours of sunlight and the exact timing of the overseeding. In general, though, as Benjamí explains, if it is carried out in October or November, the course is back to 100% after roughly one month to a month and a half.
During this period, it is normal to see more frequent irrigation, slightly softer surfaces or temporary adjustments to cutting heights. These are short phases that allow us to guarantee an excellent course throughout the winter.
How overseeding affects the playing experience
Although it may seem like a purely technical process, overseeding has a direct impact on the playing experience. Thanks to it, players enjoy:
- Firmer, more homogeneous surfaces, even in the coldest months.
- Better visibility and course aesthetics, with an intense, uniform winter green.
- Smooth transitions between seasons, without abrupt changes in texture or colour.
- Greater durability of the course, reducing stress on warm-season grasses.
The value of the maintenance team
Overseeding is not an isolated gesture; it is part of Club de Golf Costa Brava’s commitment to maintaining a course that is rigorous, sustainable and designed for players to truly enjoy. Behind every round played in December or January, there is a team of professionals working to keep the course in the best possible condition.
With more than two decades of experience, Benjamí sums it up humbly: “we try to do the job as well as we possibly can”.
Would you like to see the result for yourself?
The course is already well into its recovery phase and every day reveals new nuances of that characteristic winter green at Club de Golf Costa Brava. We invite you to come, play and feel how overseeding transforms the experience at this time of year. Book your tee time and enjoy the course at its very best in winter.
