Let's interject just a little logic into this discussion:
IF, in years gone by when the summer rainfall was inadequate they skipped over seeding, but over seeded in years with normal rainfall
AND IF we are 7 inches short this year
THEN the logical conclusion is that the decision not to over seed this year is based on the weather not cost savings
Also, a word about over seeding cost. According to the referenced article, over seeding with rye costs $700-900/acre. So how many acres of FAIRWAYS are there on championship courses?? Good question, so I'll attempt to estimate. I'll ignore the par 3's that have little fairway and just overestimate the remaining holes a bit. The par 4's vary considerably---the fairway on 8 of Egret starts about 200 yds. short of the green, but is wide about 100 yd. short. Number 6 of Seminole has a lot less fairway than average. Even though #1 of Destin is shorter than #1 of Egret, it has more fairway. I think if we estimate an average of 300 yds. of fairway at 50 yds. wide we should be in the ballpark. 300 x 50 = 15,000 sq. yds. = 135,000 sq. ft. = approx. 3 acres. This would be (ignoring the par 3's) 21 acres/9 holes x 34 championship 9's =714 acres. At $700/acre this is about 1/2 million, not the many millions cited above. Another way to look at that cost is that with over 1 million championship rounds/year it is less than 50 cents from each greens fee. There are other pros and cons of over seeding listed in this article. I think it best to allow the golf course professionals do their job and not second guess them or decide what their motivation might be.
OVERSEEDING BERMUDAGRASS FAIRWAYS: POSITIVES AND NEGATIVES