The Best Weather for Golf in Wisconsin

As September rolls in, the nights get cooler, daylight hours shorten, leaves start to change color, kids head back to school, and we enter the best golfing weather of the year in Wisconsin!

At this time of year, many golfers are asking: When are we starting the fall agronomic practices, especially Greens Aerification? The good news is we have already begun, starting with our annual slit seeding process. To minimize disruption to the grow-in process of our slit seeding, we will delay Greens aerification until later September.

In golf course management, Superintendents like myself aim to carry out these practices with minimal disruption to play while achieving essential agronomic goals. These practices are tailored to each course’s specific needs, equipment availability, staff, and budget. Using all the tool we have available to shaping my approach at West Bend Country Club (WBCC). We continue to aim for as little disruption as possible but that is quite difficult at times when it comes to aerification.

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Fall Agronomic Practices

Here is an overview of our fall agronomic schedule:

Greens:

• Date: Tentatively scheduled for September 23rd & 24th & October 21st (updates will be provided if the date changes).
• Process:
  • September 23^rd & 24^th
    • We will pull cores on the putting surfaces using a hollow tine of 0.2″ with a depth of approximately 2 inches. This has not been done in many years here at WBCC but after the extremely we summer the need is there to pull a core.
  • On October 21st,
    • we will perform deep-tinning for winter internal drainage using a solid tine, 0.5″ – 0.75″ in diameter, on 3-inch centers to a depth of 8-10 inches.
    • Sand will be incorporated into all holes using a greens brush and blowers. 
• Reason:
  • The sand-capped root zone of WBCC’s greens provides an excellent putting surface.
  • To maintain high performance, it is essential to introduce fresh, clean sand into the soil profile regularly. This aids in internal drainage, air exchange, and root development.
  • Even though cores will be pulled, the recovery time should be fairly quick as we will be using small diameter tines to complete this process- Approximately 7 days, assuming sunny seasonal weather conditions.

Approaches & Tees:

• Tees (Beginning of September):
  • Process: We will pull and pulverize a 0.5-inch core. Soil from core aerification will be brushed in, and tees will be lightly top-dressed to fill in the holes.
  • Reason:
    • Fertilization over the years has led to thatch accumulation, creating a spongy playing surface.
    • Pulling cores and incorporating soil back into the surface profile will help break down organic matter and improve water infiltration.
• Approaches (September – October, weather permitting):
  • Process: We will pull and pulverize a 0.5-inch core, verti-cut, brush in soil from core aerification, and top-dress to fill in holes.
  • Reason:
    • Removing thatch and incorporating soil will help create a firmer playing surface, reduce disease risk, and enhance water infiltration.

Fairways:

• Date: September – October (weather and time permitting)
• Process: We will this year attempt to pull a core as well on fairway. This is simply due to the wet compacted soils of the season. These holes will likely be ¾” on larger spacing. Please note this will be done through play, meaning there will be some disruptions as we work through this process. This will be an ongoing effort all fall as we need perfect weather to accomplish this. During this process we will pulverize cores and drag the soil back into the hole and canopy. There may be cart restrictions to the rough while we work on aerifying fairways.  We will also in late October plan to spike the fairways, creating slits to help with added gas exchange, and water infiltration. After mowing, there should be minimal evidence of this work.

Please note that all dates are weather dependent.

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Staff Appreciation and Transition to Fall

With September comes the end of summer and school beginning. This means that we operate solely with our seasonal staff to maintain the same schedule we have had all summer, along with additional fall aerification tasks and small projects.

Our dedicated team is out early on the course seven days a week, starting at 6 a.m. on weekdays and 5:30 a.m. on weekends (even earlier after storms or before tournaments). Their best work is done in the quiet mornings when they can prepare the course for play. Tasks range from mowing, rolling greens, sodding, seeding, raking bunkers, and more.

A huge thank you to the 2024 Grounds and Greens Staff: Rick, Brad, Dave, Ben, Josh, Greg, Ken, Dan, David, Tim, Mark, Colin, Hunter, Chad, Quinn, Aaron, and Mike. Without each one of these hardworking individuals, maintaining this course to its current standard would be impossible.

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Looking Ahead

As September progresses, our maintenance practices will adapt to cooler nights, the potential for frost, and falling leaves. I encourage you to check the “Course Conditions” section on the West Bend Country Club’s website for updates, weather delays, and other course information. You can also follow me on X/Twitter @WBCCgrounds for real-time updates.

As summer transitions into fall, be sure to come out and enjoy your club—this is one of the best times of the year for golf!