Carbohydrate metabolism is an important factor that regulates the availability of energy for plant tolerance to environmental stress. How whole-plant carbon balance and carbohydrate accumulation and availability are involved in acclimation to water deficit in cool-season grasses is not well understood. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to examine carbon allocation and carbohydrate accumulation in roots and shoots of three bentgrass species in response to drought and recovery from drought; and also to determine whether species variation in drought tolerance is related to differences in carbon allocation and expenditure. Sods of creeping, colonial, and velvet bentgrasses were transplanted into polyvinyl chloride tubes filled with a sterilized mixture of soil and sand. The experiment consisted of three treatments: (i) well-watered control; (ii) drought-irrigation completely stopped; (iii) drought recovery-group of drought stressed plants re-watered at the end of the drought treatment. Plants were labeled with ¹⁴CO₂ to determine allocation of photosynthates to roots, leaves, and stems (including crowns, stolons, and rhizomes). In general, percent allocation decreased to leaves and increased in roots during the initial stages of dry-down for all three species. Upon recovery from drought, there was greater allocation of carbon to leaves and stems rather than roots. Percent total nonstructural carbohydrates (TNC) decreased in leaves and roots of colonial and creeping bentgrass during drought, but increased in stem tissues. Leaf TNC levels did not change in velvet bentgrass during dry-down; however, greater TNC levels were present in stem tissue at the end of the drought period similar to what was observed in colonial and creeping bentgrasses. During recovery, there was a general decrease in stem TNC and increase in leaf and root TNC levels. How these changes in carbon allocation patterns and TNC status are related to differences in bentgrass drought survival and recovery from drought will be discussed.