Bermudagrass recovery from overseeding in 2026 has been variable from course to course throughout southern Arizona, the Coachella Valley and the greater Las Vegas area. Courses that implemented a proactive transition program – beginning early in the season with cultural practices and products to gradually regulate overseed growth – fared much better than those that waited until late April or May to encourage bermudagrass recovery. However, regardless of the transition program used, it is clear that some bermudagrass cultivars transition better than others.
For decades, we have known that common bermudagrass recovers much more slowly after overseeding than the longtime gold standard ‘Tifway 419’. Some superintendents believe that ‘Tifgreen 328’ or ‘Tifway II’ recover as well or better than ‘Tifway 419’. However, newer cultivars that are now commercially available recover far better than any of these older varieties.
While several improved cultivars are available, a few stand out for their ability to recover in late spring. Based on observations from Course Consulting Service visits throughout the Southwest over the past few years, cultivars such as ‘Latitude 36’, ‘Tahoma 31’, ‘NorthBridge’ and ‘TifTuf’ have consistently demonstrated superior greenup and recovery compared to older varieties. Although all these cultivars have performed well, ‘Tahoma 31’ has anecdotally stood out as the top performer in my travels.
Courses that have been growing ‘Tifway 419’ for years are likely very satisfied with its overall performance. However, if your transition continues to underperform, upgrading to one of these newer cultivars will likely improve bermudagrass recovery. A proactive transition program remains paramount, but courses are clearly seeing better results after converting to newer cultivars.
The image accompanying this regional update illustrates this point well. At first glance, it appears that the strip of green turf was recently sodded. In reality, it was installed the previous year within and adjacent to an existing stand of ‘Tifway 419’. One year later, following a poor transition in this area, the ‘Tahoma 31’ in that strip recovered far better than the surrounding turf. This golf course is just one of many examples where courses that have upgraded to newer cultivars have experienced significantly better bermudagrass recovery, even at elevations above 2,500 feet where cooler temperatures are generally less favorable for bermudagrass growth.
For courses considering a bermudagrass upgrade, conducting small-scale trials in several strategic locations is a good way to evaluate the performance of different cultivars before committing to larger areas. As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to your regional USGA agronomist for assistance.
West Region Agronomists:
Brian Whitlark, regional director, West Region – bwhitlark@usga.org
Ross Niewola, agronomist – rniewola@usga.org
Heather Schapals, agronomist – hschapals@usga.org