Fall Overseeding Season and Your Eyes:
What Scottsdale Golfers Should Know

Bermuda grass, the turf most Valley courses use in warmer months, naturally goes dormant and turns brown once temperatures drop in the fall. To keep fairways and greens looking lush through the cooler season, courses "overseed" the dormant Bermuda with ryegrass, a cool-season grass that stays green through winter and into spring. In the Scottsdale area, this typically happens sometime between September and November, with each course closing for roughly one to three weeks to complete the process.

Because courses stagger their closures rather than all shutting down at once, there's usually a rotating schedule across the Valley through the fall — one club may close in mid-September while a neighboring course closes several weeks later.

Yes, and it's a fairly common seasonal complaint. Preparing turf for overseeding involves mowing it very short, verticutting (slicing shallow grooves into the soil), aerating, and topdressing with new soil or sand — all of which disturb the ground and release fine dust and organic particulate into the air. On a windy day, which isn't unusual in the Valley's dry climate, that dust can drift well beyond the area actually being worked on.

Airborne dust and particulate are a well-established cause of eye irritation — redness, a gritty or foreign-body sensation, and temporary dryness are the most common symptoms. People who already deal with dry eye tend to notice it more, since their eyes have less natural moisture to help flush irritants out.

Golf courses do apply fungicides and other turf treatments as part of overseeding prep, and it's reasonable to ask about that. The exposure pathway that health authorities and course superintendents generally flag is direct skin contact with turf that was recently treated — not simply playing a round on a course that was treated some time ago. Research looking at golfers' overall pesticide exposure during normal play has generally found the risk to be low when courses follow standard reentry intervals (the waiting period after an application before an area reopens for use).

That said, any pesticide exposure, from any source, can potentially cause eye, skin, or respiratory irritation as a general class effect. That's a reason to avoid playing immediately after an application and to rinse your eyes and hands after a round on freshly treated turf — not a reason to avoid overseeded courses altogether.

You don't need to skip golf, but it's worth being a little more cautious. Contact lenses can trap dust, pollen, and other airborne particulate against the surface of the eye, which can make irritation feel worse and last longer than it would in someone wearing glasses. If it's a particularly windy or dusty day, or you're playing near a course that's actively in the middle of overseeding work, switching to glasses for that round is a simple way to reduce the irritation risk.

If you do stick with contacts, keeping preservative-free artificial tears on hand can help rinse away irritants without waiting until you're home to remove your lenses.

A few simple habits go a long way. Wraparound sunglasses provide a physical barrier against blowing dust and pollen while you play, which helps regardless of whether your eyes are prone to irritation. On especially windy or dusty days, consider swapping contacts for glasses, and keep preservative-free artificial tears in your bag to rinse and soothe your eyes between holes or after the round.

It's also worth rinsing your eyes (and washing your hands) after playing on turf that's freshly overseeded or was recently treated with a fungicide, and checking with the pro shop before you tee off if you're unsure whether an application happened recently. And if irritation lingers well after a round or seems to be getting worse rather than better, that's worth a conversation with your eye doctor rather than waiting it out.