Key Takeaways

• A survey conducted with 96 golf course superintendents in the northern United States and Canada identified ice encasement, crown hydration, desiccation and snow mold as the main causes of winter injury.
• Winter injury was reported to occur roughly one out of every three seasons over the tenure of participating superintendents, and golf course openings were delayed by two to three weeks following winter injury.
• When winter injury damage occurred in a typical year, it affected about 10% of the total area on greens and fairways. In years with more severe damage, up to 20% of the total area on greens and 15% on fairways was affected.
• The average annual cost per course was estimated at $12,000 to $18,000 for winter injury prevention, $6,000 to $9,000 for recovery from winter injury, and $3,000 to $9,000 in lost revenue due to delayed opening.
• The total costs from winter injury were about $404 to $506 per acre or 7.5%-9.0% of the operating budget for a typical 18-hole facility.
   

What are the most prevalent types of winter injury?

The predominant cause of winter injury in our survey was ice encasement, reported by 70% of respondents (Figure 1). For about 60% of the sample, crown hydration was thought to be a significant contributor to winter injury, followed by snow mold at 54% and desiccation at 46%. The least reported causes were low temperature (26%) and de-hardening (15%). While some injuries, such as snow mold, are relatively easy to confirm, the reason for some cases of winter injury reported by the superintendent might not be as definitive. For instance, it may be difficult to distinguish between damage caused by ice encasement or crown hydration, especially when the damage incurred is under ice. In cases like these, the reported causes reflect the superintendents’ best judgment based on their field experiences. The total of all the individual percentages in Figure 1 also indicates that many superintendents are facing multiple winter injury mechanisms simultaneously. 

Among the different grass species, annual bluegrass (Poa annua) was reported as the most susceptible to almost every type of winter injury, followed by perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne). Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) and fine fescue (Festuca spp.) were identified as the least affected grass types but were also the least commonly used species.

How much turfgrass is lost due to winter injury?

We were also interested in which parts of the golf course received the most winter damage (Figure 2). Superintendents reported that during winters with low to moderate winter injury, 10.4% of total surface area on greens and 11.1% on fairways was damaged due to winter injury and these numbers increased to 19.0% and 15.1%, respectively, in years with considerable winter injury. Winter injury was reported to affect, on average, about 6.5% to 7.2% of tee and rough surface area, and the damage can go up to 8.8% and 8.2% respectively, during severe winter injury years. For a typical 18-hole facility, these numbers represent a significant amount of turfgrass that needs to recover or be reestablished – often in the most visible and heavily played areas of the course. 

How does winter injury affect golf courses opening on time?

Over the average career length of the superintendents in our study (18 years), with 12 of those years being at their current facility, a typical golf course experienced winter-related injury in four of those years. In years marked by low to moderate winter injury, golf courses encountered delays in opening averaging up to 2.3 weeks, which increased to 3 weeks in years with considerable winter injury. In severe years, 22%-25% of courses reported delays of 4-5 weeks and about 4% reported delays of 6-7 weeks.

To deal with delayed openings, about 31% of courses have used temporary greens while recovery efforts took place on the regular greens. In years with considerable winter injury, temporary greens had to be used for an average of 3-4 weeks. In some cases of extreme winter injury, superintendents reported using temporary greens for 8 weeks or more. Temporary greens can allow golf courses to open earlier than otherwise possible when the primary greens are affected by winter injury, though this solution provides substandard playing quality and, in most cases, will result in reduced revenue from discounted green fees and/or golfers choosing to play elsewhere.

What does winter injury cost a golf course?

There are three primary sources of financial costs related to winter injury: expenses related to preventing winter injury, costs of inputs to recover from winter injury, and revenue losses due to delays in opening. The survey results showed that, on average, the costs of preventing winter injury amounted to $12,000 to $18,000 per year per golf course, while additional costs of inputs to recover from winter injury were between $6,000 and $9,000 per year per golf course. Costs included labor, equipment, fertilizers, seed and weed control. We asked golf course superintendents to report two types of revenue loss due to delayed openings: The annual revenue loss due to delays in golf course openings in years with low to moderate winter injury and the revenue loss in years with considerable winter injury. The average annual revenue loss in years with low to moderate winter injury ranged from $3,000 to $6,000 while in those years with considerable winter injury the loss was higher and ranged from $6,000 to $9,000. About 50% of the superintendents reported no revenue loss due to delayed openings and 26% reported revenue losses of less than $6,000. Only 3% of the golf courses reported revenue losses exceeding $75,000.

On average, the cost of preventing winter injury was approximately $200 per acre, with a median of $121 per acre, although some golf courses spent over $3,000 per acre (Figure 3). The average cost to recover in years with low to moderate winter injury was about $89 per acre. The costs went up to $147 per acre in years with considerable winter injury. 

How do superintendents attempt to reduce the risk of winter injury?

The three most prevalent management practices used by the superintendents of public golf courses in this survey to safeguard against winter injury were applying preventive snow mold fungicides, aerifying in late fall and applying plant protectants other than snow mold fungicides (Figure 4). These three management practices were also ranked among the top ones used by the superintendents of private golf courses, though a heavy sand topdressing on greens was the second most common practice on private courses (Figure 4). Unsurprisingly, almost all participants in the survey, irrespective of what type of facility they worked at, applied snow mold fungicides. The superintendents at private courses exhibited a greater inclination toward practices that were thought to build carbohydrate reserves and they were more likely to reduce irrigation in the fall. The superintendents of private courses also demonstrated higher adoption of protective measures such as the use of covers for greens (46%) and directing the flow of water with sandbags (10%) and other practices that were used less on public courses. Possible reasons for the differences between preventive practices used at public and private courses include cost and labor considerations, or different opening and closing schedules that influence the use of putting green covers. 

Practical considerations for superintendents

This study identified economic costs of winter injury on golf courses in North America – highlighting the value of preventive management strategies. The cost of repairs and lost revenue associated with winter injury can be sizable, which helps justify investments like installing drainage and improving growing environments, and encourages courses to take preventive turf health measures prior to winter that give key playing surfaces the best chance of survival. The potential costs of winter injury may also help justify converting high-value playing surfaces to grasses that are less susceptible to common forms of winter damage. As is almost always the case, an ounce of prevention is likely to be much better than a pound of cure.

References

Kvalbein, A., Waalen, W.M., Bjørnstad, L., Aamlid, T.S., & Espevig, T. (2017). Winter injuries on golf greens in the Nordic countries: Survey of causes and economic consequences. International Turfgrass Society Research Journal, 13(1):604-609. https://doi.org/10.2134/itsrj2016.09.0826

Yue, C., Parasuram, U., Watkins, E., Soldat, D., Koch, P., Frank, K., & DaCosta, M. (2025). The economic cost of winter injuries on golf courses in North America. HortScience, 60(8), 1389-1397. https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI18673-25