Winter Condition of Golf Courses
Here in Spain we are blessed with a host of excellent golf courses which are generally in good condition all year around with exception for the periods of hollow tining work which are a necessity.
They do all however have one feature which shows itself in the winter months,namely they wear a yellow/brown winter overcoat which give the appearance of the courses being dry and in need of watering but this is far from the truth.
In climates such as our here in Spain we have long summer months with extremly high temperatures and limited rain fall and the grass used for fairways and rough need to handle these conditions which is why Bermuda grass is used.
The grass used on the greens is different and needs constant watering as it can’t handle these extreme weather conditions.
Bermauda grass does however turn a yellow/brown colour when the average night time temperatures fall below 7 degrees which is what golfers see in the winter months.
I once had a group of Danish golfers at Lo Romero in winter months who complained that I had taken them to a course that was dead and dry so I had to explain the above to them.
One week later I stood in the same spot with a different group from Denmark and the course was perfetcly green and we had no rain but temperatures had increased.
I hope that the above will help you understand your winter golf experience here in Spain and perhaps give the green keeper a break from ill informed complaints.