Temperatures in the Southeast this winter are not only colder than the past few years, cold weather has also persisted for a longer duration of time. In most areas where frosts and freezes occur, warm-season grasses went dormant and have stayed dormant. While the cold weather may not be great for golf, there are some benefits to prolonged periods of dormancy throughout the winter, including:

• Turf doesn’t consume its carbohydrate reserves on the false spring greenups that occur during warm spells, which leads to a stronger spring transition.
• There is less time and money spent on mowing.
• Some nonselective herbicides can be used for weed issues with less fear of damage to the dormant grass.
• Pigment or turf colorant applications will not need to be made as frequently.
  
  

However, along with the benefits of cooler weather come challenges. In Florida, I have been on several Course Consulting Service visits over the last six weeks that have focused on issues with the rough. Concerned general managers and green committee members have called and emailed me inquiring about areas of the rough on their course that are off-color, yellow, or just generally “looking rough” – pun intended. On the priority list of turfgrass areas, roughs often receive less inputs of fertilizer, irrigation, growth regulator applications, fungicides, nematicides, and mowing. Yet, they can incur some of the most stress from issues like shade and traffic. Rough turfgrass also tends to grow on the least optimal soil and climatic environments on the golf course.

Beyond the less-than-ideal stress levels and growing environments that roughs must endure, they are mowed and maintained at a taller height of cut than fairways. For bermudagrasses, the higher height of cut means less support strength and canopy density to withstand compaction and wear from golf rounds. There is simply less turfgrass density. However, different varieties of bermudagrass can provide a denser canopy at higher cutting heights than others. While ‘Celebration’ has many positive attributes, at heights above 1.25 inches traffic can result in an irregular, puffy or flattened growth habit. Common bermudagrass, which has very little winter tolerance to wear, can be an especially problematic contaminant in hybrid bermudagrass roughs. As such, areas of common bermudagrass invasion will be most visible during the winter.

Bermudagrass growth is best when daytime temperatures average above 75 degrees F. When soil temperatures drop below 65 degrees, most growth stops. Comparing temperature data from December and January of last year to this year in a representative area of south Florida (Figure 1), average daytime temperatures have been almost 10% colder this year, averaging 59.7 degrees compared to 65.8 degrees last year. Any stress or damage caused by shade, compaction, pests and wear is going to be more noticeable when colder temperatures limit the turf’s capability to recover or grow.