Painting sports fields using Endurant turf colorants is preferred at the university and pro sports levels. Agronomic expert Jason Smith, Director of Sports Turf at the University of Florida, shares his turf tips to assist peers and other professionals. Further, Smith shares his main reasons for preferring Endurant turf colorant, specifically. In short: it’s for Endurant’s natural appearance and staying power on turf.
“Endurant looks awesome. The colors are just unbelievably natural looking and it doesn't come off on the uniforms. That’s what sums it up for me."
Jason Smith, Director of Sports Turf, University of Florida, Gators
Painting sports fields is also becoming an increasingly viable solution for high school and municipal sports field managers, as well as landscapers. The more multipurpose the field, the more opportunities and challenges in sports, track and field maintenance.
Use this customizable Endurant program for painting sports fields and maintaining year round green.
Smith has used turf paints, including several brands, over the past 15 or more years. Prior to Endurant, they were for emergency use and there were challenges in appearance and staying power. Now, with Endurant by Geoponics, he has a product he can use in his turf care program as hybrid overseed.
Endurant has been available for approximately 10 years. But, the word has really gotten out it in recent years.
“I discovered Endurant about four years ago on social media,” says Smith.
He likes to keep his supply contacts small, but he wanted the product, so he found a supplier.
“I was tickled to death just to get your product here. Then, I realized you were here in Florida. I take pride in that."
Jason Smith, Director of Sports Turf, University of Florida, Florida Gators
Sports field managers and golf course superintendents often use bermuda grass that goes dormant when the weather cools, turning brown. So, in order to green up the surface in fall and winter, turfgrass managers overseed with perennial rye grass.
However, in areas where weather fluctuates, the challenges between the two species are often accentuated. This also happens in the transitions between seasons, when the two species may compete with each other for resources and may lead to patchy grass.
So, to mitigate these challenges, turf grass managers will use Endurant turf colorants by painting the bermuda grass and the rye grass. (Another option is a complete liquid overseed, instead of using rye grass seed.)
It’s also common to use Endurant as a savings by not having to use as much rye grass seed. Therefor getting optimal results, fewer transition challenges and saving money.
In Florida, temperatures are relatively moderate. So the browning of the Bermuda comes later and doesn’t last as long as in northern, colder climates. Still, Smith describes why hybrid overseed helps.
“We go on a Christmas break. The rye grass fields look lush first of January, when we come back,” he says.
“By mid to late January and February, when we start having cold spells, our overseeded fields don’t look that great,” he adds.
The problems is that with a frost, the Bermuda goes brown. Or, with a cold snap, it goes semi brown.
“You feel really good about your field. Then, you get on into February and you’re brought back to reality when you see it wasn’t as thick as you thought it was,” says Smith.
For Smith, choosing Endurant comes down to two factors: the natural look of the color and the staying power.
“I was hearing about Endurant and seeing it on the other fields,” says Smith. “Other brands looked fake and whatnot,” he adds.
When using colorant, after finding the most natural appearance, his next questions were about uniforms and baseballs.
“I’m looking at uniforms and baseballs because baseballs are white. I don’t want to be using something like a blue tracker, they’re hitting grounders and turning all the balls blue,” says Smith.
He was immediately pleased when first trying Endurant about four years ago. He continues to use the product more each year.
“I don’t see anything come off on the jerseys. I’m highly pleased. Even when I’m going with that high green, heavy paint. That’s when I get really tickled about it,” says Smith.
For extra staying power, Smith could even add Endurant Spray n Stay to the paint mix.
Overcoming the challenges of bermuda coming and going from within the perennial rye grass overseed, Smith takes a different approach now using hybrid paint and seed.
“The strategy now is once we come back from that break, we have it all mowed down nice and low. Then, we paint that Bermuda base,” says Smith.
He keeps the base low with a growth regulator.
As he paints the rye and the bermuda grass, the intention is to enhance the color of the bermuda.
“It’s like insurance down there,” says Smith.
Also, it looks like it’s been overseeded more heavily and lushly.
Out west or up north when turf goes completely dormant, they might use 800 to 1,000 pounds of overseed.
“Here, we use 200 to 300 pounds, but give it that 1,000 pound of seed look with Endurant,” says Smith.
Smith says he uses three levels of colorant. These include a tracker dye, pigment and then paint.
First, a tracker dye isn’t meant for enhancing turfgrass color. Nonetheless, on occasion, Smith uses a green tracker dye to add a touch of color. This may be for the practice fields, but not for the playing field, as it the least effective.
Endurant has one full pigment and pigment and paint combo. The pigment is Endurant TE. The combo, pigment and paint, is Endurant Flex.
For the playing field, Smith will use Endurant Turf Enhancer (Endurant TE). This pigment is ideal for getting a vibrant look on actively growing grass. Some sports field operators use TE as their indicator dye or tracker dye as well as for adding color.
Then, Smith goes for the gusto with Endurant paints. Specifically, he chooses Endurant Premium for “The Swamp,” as Ben Hill Griffin Stadium is called. The nickname is meant to instill some fear in the visiting competitors. Endurant Premium is a cooler shade of green. The other Endurant paint concentrates include Perennial Rye (Endurant PR) and Fairway (Endurant FW). PR is the lightest and is a warm shade of green. FW is the darkest and boldest look. And Premium is in the middle with its cool shade of green.
Transitioning from Endurant TE to Endurant Premium, Smith goes with a heavy paint application.
“When I have a later football game, after Thanksgiving, that's when I go to the paint,” says Smith.
When it’s a game where a lot of eyes will be seeing it, that’s when he’s trying to really doll it up, he adds.
“If we get 3/4 into a season and get cold spells, we need that really good colorant,” he says.
He applies the colorant a week to 10 days before a game and applies it heavily. He notices the Premium adds some heat to the field for additional greening.
Painting 3/4 inch grass that includes bermuda designed to hold its color, the Premium gives wow factor.
“It’s dark. We get it down deep into the canopy,” says Smith.
First, he applies Endurant Premium at a rate of 2.5 gallons per acre. Then, he lets it dry. Next, he follows it up with another application of 2.5 gallons of Premium in the perpendicular direction. In sum, that’s 5 gallons per acre. With two buckets of 5 gal. paint, he’s painted the 2 acre field with 10 gallons total.
“I’m only partially dormant, but I’m doing it like it’s fully dormant. I’m going above and beyond what I need to be doing to make it look really good and really natural on game day,” says Smith.
See the Endurant Sports Program for more application information.
“You could definitely do a football field with one 5 gallon bucket. You might have another bucket right there,” says Smith.
If you want it darker, let that first application dry. Then, put the second coat on in the opposite direction, perpendicular for best coverage.
The rate will depend on whether the grass is completely dormant or just off color. Also, the general condition of the turf will allow for better final results.
If the field is a lot of dirt, it’s just going to be green dirt.
In general though, for a municipal or high school sports field that may not have the budget, you can still benefit even from using much less of the product.
“It’s not that you have to do this every week. It stays on there,” says Smith.
Endurant is named for its staying power. And when even more binder is needed, such as when there is high friction on the surface, Endurant Spray n Stay will add even more durability.
Smith hasn’t experienced any rub off on uniform or balls with Endurant. Still though, he has those end zones and that’s where the paint comes off.
So, he’s applying Endurant Spray n Stay in the end zones to get that extra staying power there. Some sports field managers use Spray n Stay on the entire field. By simply adding 5 ounces per gallon of mix, it’s not a lot of cost for a whole lot more durability. Buy Spray n Stay here.