Later this month, an informal convoy of Sandhills golf course superintendents will be one of many from across the Carolinas heading to the mountains of western North Carolina for a breath of cool air.

By then, everyone hopes this summer will have lost much of its sizzle and that their bentgrass greens will at last be on the road to recovery.

The trip away - this year to Mountain Air Golf Club in Burnsville - is an annual tradition for members of the Carolinas Golf Course Superintendents Association.

Historically, the two-day mix of education and golf is a farewell to the toughest months for those charged with maintaining cool season grass varieties on their greens.

This year it will be tantamount to a wake.

Superintendents from across the Carolinas will trade horror stories of greens beaten to a pasty submission by record heat and humidity.

Most lost some grass, some lost entire greens, and the worst hit even had to close down while new grass went in.

As one veteran superintendent said recently, "You either had to be a magician, extremely lucky, or both, to get through this summer."

The good news for golfers is that most bentgrass greens will recover relatively swiftly as temperatures back off.

Cooler nights in Moore County during the last week of August offered some respite.

With a few dropping as low as the mid-60s, greens weren't subject to broiling heat and humidity as soon as the sun came up.

"That break of cooler, dryer air in the mornings helps a lot," said Morgan Stephenson from Tobacco Road Golf Club.

Stephenson, current president of the Sandhills Golf Course Superintendents Association, said some superintendents likely would apply seed to their greens in the next few weeks to help speed a return to healthy, uniform surfaces.

Stephenson and fellow superintendent Perry Payne will use a machine fitted with special tines to slice the putting greens at Tobacco Road.

The openings created by the tines will help the tiny bentgrass seeds find a hold.

"Depending on the weather, germination probably takes seven to 10 days," Stephenson said. "Obviously it takes longer than that to achieve a mature plant, and we will lose some of the new seed to mowing and foot traffic during play.

"So it's always difficult to know exactly how strong the response will be but anything helps right now, that's for sure."

Some superintendents whose greens have been harder hit will use sod or plugs to repair the worst damage.

Like everything with golf course maintenance, the ultimate outcome depends on the moods of Mother Nature, but Stephenson said golfers could reasonably expect a return to excellent putting conditions in time for the fall season.

Apart bidding a not-so-fond farewell to this summer, some superintendents at Mountain Air are certain to raise the prospect of bidding adieu to their bentgrass as well.

To date, Hyland Golf Club is a rare exception in the Sandhills with bermudagrass on their recently renovated greens.

Their Champion bermudagrass is one of a number of the newer ultradwarf varieties that a growing number of courses have switched to across the Southeast in recent years.

The ultradwarfs retain all the hardiness and heat tolerance that help bermudagrass thrive in summer but come without many of the characteristics that made some of their predecessors problematic as a putting surface.

Still, that doesn't mean the ultradwarfs are the better option for everyone by any stretch. A particularly cold winter, like the one earlier this year, can make bermudagrass slow to come out of dormancy in spring, a time when many Moore County courses look to do significant business.

Back and forth over the pros and cons of bentgrass and bermudagrass has consumed countless hours of discussion and research for many superintendents looking to produce the best product possible when it counts the most.

For those public and semi-private courses in the Sandhills, that need is greatest in spring and fall, traditionally prime growing times for bentgrass.

"I think you will certainly find some people looking at the ultradwarfs again because this summer has been so brutal," Stephenson said.

"But each grass has it challenges and as bad as this summer has been, I don't think you'll see anybody making knee-jerk decisions.

"Any superintendent is going to make a very thorough examination of what is best for their facility because no two courses are the same."

Contact Trent Bouts at (864) 414-3123 or e-mail trentb@charter.net.