A winter blast that swept through the South in January might be the gift that keeps giving throughout the playing season for some golf courses throughout the transition zone.
That cold snap that lasted for much of January likely will result in at least some degree of winter-induced damage on golf courses from Oklahoma to North Carolina.
Wendell Hutchens, Ph.D., assistant professor of turfgrass pathology at the University of Arkansas, spoke in January at a conference in Idaho. The weather he encountered when he returned to Fayetteville was not quite what he was expecting.
"It's been a tough winter for us," said Wendell Hutchens, Ph.D., assistant professor of turfgrass pathology at the University of Arkansas.
"When I flew back, it was 38 degrees in Idaho and 8 in Arkansas when I got back. It should have been the other way around."
Superintendents should consider prepping membership for a worst-case scenario. It's always best to under-promise and over-deliver.
Hutchens said about 75 percent of the golf courses throughout Arkansas are growing Bermudagrass somewhere on the property.
The overnight low temperature in Little Rock was below freezing on 18 of 31 days in January. The deviation from the average temperature was more than 10 degrees below the historic norm on eight occasions, including a brutal stretch from Jan. 19-22 when overnight lows were 18, 13, 16 and 13 degrees, respectively.
"We'll see what happens, but I think there will be some damage, especially to Bermudagrass," Hutchens said. "The severity is yet to be determined."
Superintendents growing Bermuda should find out in the next few weeks if they have damage and how much.
Areas that are especially susceptible to damage include high-traffic zones, north-facing slopes and areas with poor drainage.
The winter of 2022-23 has become the barometer by which other winters are measured. That was when temperatures in Knoxville, Tennessee dropped to 1 degree on Christmas Eve. That following spring revealed widespread damage on transition zone golf courses growing Bermudagrass.
Two months ago in January, temps in Knoxville were below normal on 24 of 31 days and overnight lows dropped below freezing on 29 days, with lows of 8 and 4 degrees on Jan. 21 and 22, respectively.
"I don't get the sense that this will be as bad as other years, but there are some people who are concerned going into spring," said Brandon Horvath, Ph.D., professor of turfgrass pathology at the University of Tennessee.
"The areas that historically get whacked are going to be the slowest to recover."
We'll see what happens, but I think there will be some damage, especially to Bermudagrass. The severity is yet to be determined.
Horvath and Hutchens offered tips on next steps for superintendents worried about winter damage on Bermudagrass:
- Take samples with a cup cutter and store in a warm place to promote green-up and get a glimpse into whether winter damage is pending. For comparison, samples should be taken from areas that routinely have issues and areas that never do. "If a sample doesn't green-up in a couple weeks," Hutchens said, "it could be dead."
- Communicate with golfers, members and owners now about potential damage.
- If damage is likely, consider ordering sod now to avoid delays or being shut out.
- Fix or repair areas that result in conditions that regularly promote winter damage.
- Do nothing. "The definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing and expect a different result," Horvath said. "Just keep beating your head against a wall."
Some superintendents in Tennessee are interseeding Kentucky bluegrass into a Bermudagrass stand, for a hybrid program that gives them the best of both worlds — green turf in early spring and a healthy warm-season surface in summer.
"It's a hybrid solution," Horvath said. "The superintendents I know who are doing that are very happy with how it works out."
Hutchens emphasized the importance of preparing stakeholders for the worst, while hoping for the best. A key part of that messaging should include establishing member thresholds for damage.
"You have to determine what the landscape looks like, and is the damage enough that they want to replant with sod or sprigs, or grow-in from existing turf," Hutchens said. "If the plan is to grow-in from existing turf, you have to get nitrogen out there quickly, and when you're clear of the last frost you'll want to aerify, verticut and topdress after finding out how bad the damage is going to be.
"Superintendents should consider prepping membership for a worst-case scenario. It's always best to under-promise and over-deliver."