Host of the U.S. Open Is Open About Turf Paint
Pinehurst Chooses Endurant, Year After Year
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Pinehurst, established in 1894, the host of the 2014 and 2024 US Opens, uses Endurant turf colorants to aid in providing its consistent natural look and ideal playing conditions all year long for the past 10 years. Take a look at the 5th Hole on famous Pinehurst No. 2 . Credit: Pinehurst.com[/caption]
The Beginning
The year was 2010 and
John Jeffreys, now Golf Course Superintendent of Pinehurst No. 2, was experimenting with the use of turf colorants.
Pinehurst Resort and Country Club in Pinehurst, North Carolina is one of the top rated golf courses in the world.
Still, they experienced a common problem of some yellowing grass creating an eyesore.
Jeffreys thought he’d cover the yellowing turf with some grass paint to result in the best look with the least disruption in play.
The choice came with guidance from
Pat O’Brien of the USGA, and marked when Pinehurst made the permanent change from overseed to painting.
“We couldn’t continue with overseeding and provide the firm and fast conditions, which is how course No. 2 is supposed to play,” said Jeffreys.
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Pinehurst No. 2 Clubhouse[/caption]
The Top Course Isn’t Top Secret About Endurant as the Best Paint
After experimenting with multiple brands, it was Endurant, which is produced by
Geoponics, that provided the best results, said Jeffreys.
Pinehurst doesn’t keep their methods of golf course management private or secret. Instead,
Pinehurst is known for hosting USGA workshops on best practices.
“We want everybody to succeed, whether it’s cultural practices, painting or whatever it may be,” said Jeffreys.
Also, Pinehurst was immediately open with their members.
“We let everyone know, we don’t have to overseed anymore,” said Jeffreys.
The primary benefit to painting is that it provided better year round playing conditions. Using Endurant allowed all of the Pinehurst golf courses to have color without the disruptive late September overseed, said Jeffreys.
No more overwatering to cause soggy, soft conditions in September. Instead, painting in October and November allows continual play throughout fall with ideal conditions.
Players Respond to Paint
Pinehurst hosts players from throughout the world.
“We had members arrive the first week in December and ask us, ‘when are you going to paint?’ But we’ve already painted,” said Jeffreys.
“We’re not trying to fool them, but it’s really eye opening. They don’t know and that’s the goal,” he said.
The intent is to provide consistent playing experiences and golf course aesthetic from course to course, season to season and year to year.
So the golf course in the summer can hardly be distinguished from the golf course in the winter, he said.
“We don’t want them to ask, ‘when did you paint?’ We do not want them to say, ‘your paint looks good.’ We want them to say, ‘your course conditions are excellent,’” said Jeffreys.
Endurant ensures Pinehurst accomplishes those intentions.
Pinehurst maintains its look while improving playability using Endurant on the courses that have been dubbed
“Perfectly Imperfect” for maintaining their natural look, which is also a testament to what Endurant organic colorants are meant to be able to provide, running the spectrum from the
“see it from the moon, wow factor” aesthetic to the can’t tell the difference between natural green chlorophyll, overseed and the Endurant paint.
That range of possibilities is made possible by the customization options of the several
shades of Endurant turf colorants.
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For the past 10 years, Pinehurst No. 2 Uses Endurant turf colorant on dormant Bermuda grass as Liquid Overseed.[/caption]
Endurant Endures
So, not only does Endurant endure as a best practice through the years, as Pinehurst has been using Endurant for 10 years, but the reason that Pinehurst superintendents chose Endurant after trying several brands, is because the color lasts.
“If you try a different brand, you’ll know you didn’t get the right paint when it looks good the first day and five days later it looks like garbage,” said Jeffreys.
He warns following his own trials: “If you spend less, you can guess you’ll be getting 5 percent of the product.”
“We chose Endurant primarily because of the longevity of the color. It stays green longer. When it fades, it fades green. Otherwise, with other brands, it fades blue, becomes chalky looking or fades quickly,” Jeffreys said.
“Endurant fades on tone. It doesn’t go changing color. So that is a big thing for us,” he added.
Additional Colorant Benefits: Help During Covid 19
In addition to better playability and improved aesthetic, using Endurant turf colorants allowed a savings in water usage and decreased usage of herbicide, reported Jeffreys.
“It’s certainly been a positive for us a long time, but it was really exaggerated this year,” he said.
In 2020, the lack of overseed was a particular blessing.
“I really don’t know what we would have done if we’d have overseeded,” he said.
Due to the risk of spreading Covid-19 coronavirus during the international pandemic, Pinehurst had fewer people to do the work necessary to maintain an overseeded property.
“Endurant provides a really huge business savings to have the flexibility,” said Jeffreys. “This past spring, we didn’t have to deal with rye grass that we had to continually mow when we cut the staff from 40 to five.”
He added, “It was a warm year. We were mowing Bermuda grass early. So, I can’t imagine if it was rye grass.”
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Pinehurst always looks to share golf industry knowledge, here hosting the 2018 USGA colorant seminar[/caption]
The Pinehurst Look and Preparing for the U.S. Open
“We are definitely fortunate we had gotten paint a long time ago. It’s been a game changer for us, extending the fall season without disruption and the spring,” said Jeffreys.
While Endurant can provide different styles and aesthetics from the look of Augusta to the look of Pinehurst, Jeffreys has learned several tips and tricks from what works at Pinehurst, and some that are universal.
“We’re not top secret by any means here,” said Jeffreys.
The nine golf courses of Pinehurst all use paint instead of overseed and strive for consistency from course to course.
The business savings flexibility provided by Endurant is maintained year to year allowing the colorant to be used in various ways.
“You can do the transition aids (learn about the new
Endurant Flex) and pigment (
Endurant TE) and continually maintain color if financially that’s a viable option,” Jeffreys suggested.
Or, he suggested, you can go completely dormant and paint.
The Pinehurst way of doing things entails a modest green color.
“It’s a Bermuda grass color for us. Even in the summer, we’re not really, really green. We’re not irrigating for color. We’re irrigating to keep the grass alive The more we can match that summer look in the winter, the better,” said Jeffreys.
He laughed. “We didn’t want shock and awe. We didn’t want planes getting all distracted.”
“Instead, just a hint of green to differentiate native areas and bunkers is what really works here,” he added.
Because the properties of Pinehurst are adjoining, there is a goal to keep the look among the nine courses cohesive.
Just as Endurant prepared Pinehurst for the
2014 U.S Open, Jeffreys already has his sights on their next year to host the
2024 U.S. Open.
The budget increases with the U.S. Open, so painting can be utilized for TV Ready turf leading up to the big event, Jeffreys forecasts.
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Spraying Endurant turf colorant on Pinehurst No.2[/caption]
How to Paint: A Few Specific Tips from Pinehurst
- Spray early in the morning when either frost or dew is present
- Expect a short window from about 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
- Fill and prepare the night before
- Be flexible and know you might not paint the day you expected. “Instant gratification can lead to instant frustration” if you don’t have patience.
- Ensure the only thing on the ground that morning is the sprayer.
- Allow plenty of time to clean up.
- Consider testing the sprayer on a parking lot to ensure even distribution.
- If it’s your first time, consider applying in a more discreet spot than an elevated tee, off the road, or at the clubhouse.
Want more tips on painting turfgrass? Visit
here.
Endurant turf colorants are available for purchase on Amazon. For larger properties, contact your distributor, sales rep or Geoponics at 1-877-ECO-GROW, info@geoponicscorp.com .
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