Dead turf?

 During extremely dry periods, people often refer to off-color turf as dead.  In reality, more often than not, turf suffering from environmental stress (such as heat or lack of moisture) is not dead, but dormant.  For example, the straw colored grass shown below will bounce back as soon as it receives adequate rainfall.

One thing that should be kept in mind, however, is that dormant turf can be severely injured or even killed if additional stress factors are added.  That would include mowing or golf cart traffic.  This is one reason why walking only courses are often able to maintain dryer, firmer conditions, than those that see significant cart traffic.