It is hard to believe we are already in the middle of September and preparing for another overseed season at Westbrook. Although there is still plenty of summer left in the desert, the changing conditions on the golf courses are one of the first signs that our fall season is quickly approaching.

We have had extremely favorable growing conditions over the past month and a half. The combination of high temperatures and unusually high humidity has kept our Bermudagrass growing aggressively and the golf courses in excellent condition. More recently, temperatures have begun to drop, and the current forecast is calling for temperatures to remain below 100 degrees through the beginning of October. If that continues, those cooler temperatures should provide us with very favorable conditions as we begin overseeding.

Vistas Overseed Preparation Is Underway

The Grounds Team has already begun preparing the Vistas Course for overseed. Over the next several days, members will notice the appearance of the course begin to change, and that is completely intentional.

Mowing heights are being gradually lowered in the areas that will be overseeded, irrigation is being reduced, and the Grounds Team has applied its pre-overseed treatment to help encourage the Bermudagrass to slow its growth and begin transitioning toward dormancy. All of these steps make the eventual scalping and seeding process more successful.

To give the Grounds Team additional uninterrupted time to prepare the course, we have adjusted next week's closure schedule. The Vistas Course will be closed both Tuesday, September 22 and Wednesday, September 23. The Lakes Course will remain open all week.

A Quick Crash Course: What Exactly Is Overseeding?

Most Arizona golfers are familiar with overseed season, but you may not know everything that is happening behind the scenes.

Bermudagrass loves heat and humidity. When temperatures are high and moisture is in the air, it grows rapidly and creates the excellent playing surfaces we enjoy throughout the warmer months. As nighttime and soil temperatures begin to fall, however, Bermuda naturally slows its growth and eventually becomes dormant for the winter. Dormancy is essentially the plant’s protective state, growth stops and the grass loses its green color, allowing it to conserve its resources through the cooler months when conditions are no longer favorable for active growth. Once warmer temperatures return in the spring, the Bermuda wakes back up and begins actively growing again.

That is where overseeding comes in.

Before winter ryegrass can be planted, the summer Bermudagrass must first be prepared. The Grounds Team gradually reduces water and lowers mowing heights before scalping the turf (cutting it extremely short and removing much of the green Bermuda leaf material). If you've ever wondered why an Arizona golf course suddenly looks brown and a little rough just before overseed, that's the reason!

Once the Bermuda has been prepared, ryegrass seed is spread throughout the areas being overseeded. The next step is one of the most important: water, water and more water. The new seed must remain moist while it germinates, requiring frequent, short irrigation cycles throughout the day. It is also very important that temperature stay down during the night as we need to keep the bermudagrass in a dormant state and give the winter rye a chance to grow.

Within several days, millions of tiny ryegrass plants begin to emerge. The Grounds Team then carefully manages irrigation, fertilizer and mowing as the new turf develops. During the closure, the goal is not simply to grow grass, it is to establish a strong enough plant to withstand months of golf-cart and foot traffic during our busiest season.

That is also why the course may still be wetter and softer than normal immediately after reopening. Irrigation is gradually reduced as the ryegrass matures and develops a stronger root system. During these first few weeks, the young turf is particularly susceptible to damage from cart traffic. This is why cart path restrictions remain in place for the first two weeks after reopening, giving the new ryegrass additional time to establish before introducing regular cart traffic. While we know these restrictions can be inconvenient, those first couple of weeks make a significant difference in protecting the turf and providing the best possible playing conditions throughout the winter season.

It is a tremendous amount of work in a relatively short period of time, and weather plays a major role in how quickly and successfully the ryegrass establishes. That makes the cooler temperatures currently in the forecast particularly welcome this year.

2026 Overseed Schedule

Please keep the following dates in mind when planning your golf:

Vistas Course
Closed Monday, September 28 through Friday, October 16
Reopens Saturday, October 17

Lakes Course
Closed Monday, October 12 through Friday, October 30
Reopens Saturday, October 31 — Halloween!

There will be a five-day period from October 12–16 when both golf courses are closed while the Vistas finishes its grow-in and overseeding begins at the Lakes.

Please refer to the above Overseed Closure Calendar for the complete September and October schedule, including our regular weekly course closures.

Vistas Well Project & New Tahoma 31 Tees

We are also happy to report that the Vistas well drilling project has been a great success, and after months of work, the construction walls have finally come down!

The Grounds Team took advantage of the construction period to make another improvement to the surrounding teeing area. The Black and Blue tee boxes were converted into island-style tees and sprigged with Tahoma 31 Bermudagrass.

Unlike laying sod, sprigging involves planting small pieces of living Bermudagrass throughout prepared soil and allowing the grass to spread and establish a new turf surface. Our Grounds Team completed this work entirely in-house, harvesting and transplanting Tahoma 31 from our own range tee to establish the new tee boxes. Tahoma 31 is a newer Bermudagrass variety known for its dense growth, excellent turf quality and strong overall performance. Both of our driving range tees are Tahoma 31, along with several other areas throughout the courses that our team has renovated over the past few seasons. Based on the results we have seen, the Golf Club plans to continue expanding its use, including incorporating Tahoma 31 into upcoming fairway improvement projects in the seasons ahead.

With the drilling equipment and construction walls now removed, work will begin on the White tee box next week. Our goal is to have the entire area completed and ready when the Vistas reopens following overseed.

It will be exciting to finally see this area come together after all of the activity surrounding the new well.

End of Season Sale — Now Through September 27

Before the new season arrives, we need to make some room in the Golf Shops!

Our End of Season Sale is underway now through Sunday, September 27, with savings throughout both shops.

The featured offer is:

Buy Two, Get One FREE on all apparel of equal or lesser value.

We also have special pricing on shoes, hats, outerwear, golf clubs, golf balls and gloves, along with increased discounts on our colored-dot merchandise, including savings of up to 70% off.

Please see the End of Season Sale flyer above for all of the offers and details.

This is a great opportunity to pick up something new for the upcoming season while helping us make room for the new merchandise arriving this fall.

Another Great Year!

As we bring another season at Westbrook to a close and prepare to begin a new one, I want to thank each of you for being a part of Westbrook Golf Club. We have a lot to look forward to in the months ahead, and our entire team is excited to welcome everyone back for another great season of golf. Whether you have been with us for many years or are joining us for your first season, we truly appreciate your membership, your support, and the community that makes Westbrook such a special place. Here’s to a great finish to this season and an even better one ahead!