This is your chance to ask the experts to get the greenkeeping information that you really want. Whether you want to learn more about hollow-tining, or whether there is something going on at your course that you just don’t understand, we’ve lined up the experts to put you in the know in our Greenkeeper’s Question Time.
Answering your questions is Scott Reeves, veteran course manager and BIGGA head of membership. This week he’s being asked about fairway mats and course maintenance…
“Does using fairway mats in winter really make much difference come spring and summer?”
Absolutely. If we’re talking about using personal mats through the green, I think they make a huge difference. In fact, most golf clubs I worked for preferred them in the end because, on a heavy clay soil, you can’t cut the rough because it’s too wet.
If you’re able to use a mat it means you’re guaranteed a pretty decent lie wherever your ball lands and they do improve the appearance of the course coming out into spring.
It all comes down to the membership of the individual club. If they’re willing in early spring to put up with lots of divots that aren’t recovering (because of the lack of grass growth and low winter temperatures) and you’ve got good budgets and can spend a lot of time divoting and seeding then that’s fine. Don’t use mats.
