One of the big questions on Bermuda courses that don’t overseed (and very few private clubs in the SE do) is when the Bermuda will come out in the spring. I would assume that in most cases, even in Augusta, the Bermuda would still be dormant the first week of April, and even if it’s out it would be very, very thin as well as different from one fairway to the next. And that’s on current Bermuda hybrids, which are MUCH more uniform; common Bermuda was/is often spotty at best, even in mid-summer.
I have buddies who won’t play senior tournaments before May, and we try not to schedule any interclub matches until May. Even then, some years it’s a bit hit or miss in terms of fairways and mud. First week of April? Forget it…
I found Nicklaus’s comment about the 17 stroke difference between two of his Masters wins to be very telling. I assume that my handicap will go up by quite a bit during the mud season on dormant Bermuda, hitting wedges off muddy dormant Bermuda is not to be taken lightly.