Painting Dormant Bermuda Greens with Turf Paint

Painting dormant greens with Endurant Turf Colorant Rodney Lingle CGCS explains why he chose Endurant as opposed to other products. 

Meeting expectations for green golf

Golf course members expect golf courses to be green.  As golf course superintendent, Rodney Lingle plans to give golfers what they want. Each winter, for approximately 30 years, he continues painting the dormant Bermuda greens of his Tennessee golf course with turf paint.

Brown grass, overseed or paint: Turf paint is best choice

When the warm season grass that is adapted for hot summers and mild winters goes dormant in the cool winters of Memphis Tennessee, Lingle can either paint, overseed or let the grass stay brown. The latter won't keep him employed long. So he's painting dormant greens with Endurant turf paint. Painting dormant turf becomes the most logical management strategy.

Overseeding dormant grass is costly economically and environmentally

Overseed comes with a host of other problems, said Lingle. Overseeding is a waste of money and time, causing more environmental harm due to excess water, chemical and fertilizer use and leads to challenging transitions out of the dormancy into spring.  Painting vs. overseeding becomes an easy choice after one season with Endurant turf colorant. Once Lingle began painting turf, he never went back to overseed. Once he began to use Endurant turf paint, he never went back to the other brands that had unnatural colors and fewer benefits environmentally, agronomically and economically when compared with Endurant liquid overseed.

Why superintendents continue painting dormant turf with Endurant turf colorant

It's an easy choice, said Lingle. Since 1985, he has chosen to paint turfgrass versus overseed. His preferred paint due to its natural green color as well as agronomic, economic and environmental benefits is Endurant. "It's not hard to do. Once you paint, most people that paint with Endurant never go back because it's environmentally so good. In spring time you come out of dormancy and you're just off to the races," said Lingle.

Tips learned from 30 years of painting dormant Bermuda grass with turf paint

Lingle shared how he generally uses just one dark application to keep the  golf course looking lively and green throughout the entire winter. This one-time application works for him particularly because he chooses the highly concentrated shades of Endurant. He also applies the Endurant once dormancy has already caused the grass to brown, so Lingle won't be mowing off the paint once it's applied to the Bermuda grass. Others may enjoy lower concentrations, earlier applications or multiple applications. However, Lingle chose to go with one application a bit later in December using the rate of 5 gallons of Endurant mixed with 100 gallons of water. Selecting the best lawn painting equipment for his desired look was also important. Using the large tip on the spray gun allowed for a faster application and the handgun allowed for consistent coverage, he's experienced. Some superintendents find applications with a boom sprayer useful and apply colorant in more than one direction for even coverage, sometimes spraying the edges with a handgun, depending upon their experience and desired results.

More words on why superintendents are painting dormant Bermuda grass greens with turf paint from Endurant

Endurant paint is easy on pumps and easy to mix. Endurant has a nice dark color, gathering more heat for agronomic benefits and early spring green-up, said Lingle. "The main thing is you don't want a paint that turns blue on you and this Endurant won't do that to you," said Lingle. He's been painting turf since 1985 and still vows by Endurant. Painting turf with Endurant versus overseed and using Endurant versus any other brand-- it's simply the only way to go!