Winterkill Resource Center

Superintendents, especially those who work in the northern parts of the United States, often have to battle the effects of winter weather. Under certain conditions, this can result in significant damage to golf course turf, especially putting surfaces, known as "winterkill."

When winterkill occurs, it is important for superintendents to communicate to golfers what has happened, why it happened, and what is being done to address the problems.

In the news

• "Golf Courses Cope With Winterkill" (Wisconsin State Journal, May 2005)
• "Supersized wake-up call" (Golf Course Management, March 2005 )
• "Winterkill studied in Northeast" (Golf Course News Magazine, February 2005)
• "Winter Injury Causes Problems on Annual Bluegrass Greens" (TurfGrass Trends, January 2004)
• "Winter Damage" (USGA Green Section Record, November 2004)
• "Darned if you don't" (Golf Course Management, August 2003)
• "Is Recovery Just a Spray Away?" (USGA Green Section Record, May 2003)
• "Winter: Just a Memory???" (USGA Green Section Record, March 2003)
• "Too Hot to Handle" (Golf Journal, October 1999)
• "A superintendent's checklist: Winter prep" (Golf Course Management, August 1996)
• "Drawing The Line on Winter Play" (USGA Green Section Record, May 1996)
• "Politics, Religion and Winter Play on Greens" (USGA Green Section Record, November 1987)
• "Playing Par with Jack Frost" (USGA Green Section Record, September 1984)

Winterkill information on the Web

• Winterkill of Turfgrass - The Michigan State University Turfgrass Science Web site discusses the combination of factors that can cause winterkill and explains how winterkill can vary greatly between golf courses and even across the same golf course.

Winterkill information resources

• Michigan State University Turfgrass Faculty Letter (April 2005)
  
  
• Wisconsin Golf Course Superintendents Association Letter (Spring 2005)
  
  
• GCSAA Winterkill and Snow Mold Information Packets - GCSAA has available comprehensive information packets full of snow mold and winterkill-related articles from Golf Course Management magazine, the USGA Green Section Record, university research and extension reports, and a variety of other sources.

For help addressing winterkill or other public policy issues, contact the GCSAA Information and Public Policy department at (800) 472-7878.