Golf Course Superintendent Meets Expectations of Green with Endurant
~An interview with Mike Reinecke, Golf Course Superintendent at Eagle Mountain Golf Club, managed by OB Sports, in Fountain Hills, Arizona
Golf Course Superintendent
Mike Reinecke was a bit ahead of his time as one of the first users of Endurant turf grass colorant approximately 10 years ago.
Now, Endurant turf colorant is a tool he utilizes every year. Due to water quality challenges on the course at
Eagle Mountain Golf Club in
Fountain Hills, Arizona, there weren’t many options available to remedy the problems. Endurant turf colorant was described as a God send to overcome the high salts in the water.
About Mike Reinecke
Prior to becoming superintendent, and before joining
OB Sports, Reinecke spent 12 years in the
Tournament Players Club (TPC) Network. He spent most of his time at the
TPC Scottsdale Stadium Course and it was there that Reinecke first began using colorants. He is one of the first users of Endurant in Arizona, beginning in 2010, the first year Endurant hit the market. He continues to use Endurant now, as
Geoponics, the makers of Endurant, celebrates its 10th Anniversary. It remains a favorite among golf course superintendents and professionals because it is the most natural looking and longest lasting colorant on the market.
After leaving TPC, Reinecke went to work for OB sports and was instrumental in remodels and improved playing conditions at
Raven Golf Club and
Cave Creek. When it came to applying Endruant there, he began with target greens that were not overseeded.
Endurant Turf Colorant as an Irreplaceable Tool
[caption id="attachment_1477" align="alignleft" width="600"]
Eagle Mountain Golf Club hole #14. Eagle Mountain overcomes the challenge of high sodium soil with Endurant turf colorants. Source:
Golf Tips Mag[/caption]
“The more I became familiar with the product, I began taking it out to the golf course to overseeded greens to help with their appearance and then during cold months using it more and then to fairways,” said Reinecke.
At Eagle Mountain, Reinecke manages a familiar condition—
high sodium soil—something he faced successfully at TPC Scottsdale as well.
“Here at Eagle Mountain we struggle with water quality. Sodium bicarbonates lead to poor water quality as we use reclaimed water. The salt leads to
rapid blight disease,” said Reinecke.
“There is a tendency after overseeding where everything pops and looks great, but then, two weeks later, we lose the rye grass,” he added.
Last year, Reinecke’s overseed practice at Eagle Mountain didn’t go well. Temperatures were in the low 40s in late October, which is unusually cold for Arizona that time of year. Typically, the overseed would germinate within seven days and he’d be seeing the grass come up.
“Last year we had none. Day nine came and I started to panic. We were about to open the course up and no seed was popping,” said Reinecke. “I thought, we’ve got to heat this up.”
So, Reinecke sprayed the fairways with Endurant right on top of the seed to add the dark green colorant.
“It was crazy. A day or so after we saw a huge improvement even though the weather hadn’t changed much. Endurant heated it up and thank goodness we were able to open on time,” said Reinecke.
Even when overseeding the fairways, he reported a better look with Endurant.
About Endurant Turf Colorants
“Endurant hides blemishes. It feels like cheating it does it so well. But we also get some good growth that we wouldn’t get without Endurant out there,” he said.
Endurant FW (Endurant Fairways) is a favorite shade for Reinecke. [There are several
Endurant options to choose from including Endurant TC, the original; Endurant Premium, a dark shade of green; Endurant PR, a favorite for a perennial rye look; Endurant TE, a pigment for actively growing grass; and now
Endurant Flex, a hybrid pigment and paint preferred for transitions and other uses maximizing the lasting benefits of a paint with the affordability of a pigment.]
“Being a public golf course in Arizona in the winter, people come here expecting to see green no matter what,” said Reinecke.
When it comes to tournaments, golf courses are always going to put their best foot forward, and Endurant helps courses to get TV-Ready in just about any circumstance, but especially when the turf grass is already as well maintained as possible but needs pigment to meet expectations.
Using Endurant can decrease usage of harsh chemicals. It can reduce dependence on fertilizer, which is especially helpful with phosphorus’s scarcity and harmful environmental impacts. Endurant also can reduce water usage. So, adding Endurant while minimizing other products and resources can have benefits that go beyond decreasing expenses. Endurant can increase aesthetics and playability. For some, Endurant satisfies that environmental motivator as well.
“There’s a possibility we need to reduce water usage by 15 to 20 percent starting next year,” said Reinecke. “We may not overseed the fairways again. Endurant will get us through,” he added.
Overseed is oddly popular and unpopular at the same time, he said.
“Every superintendent would rather not have to overseed, but it’s something we’re often forced to do,” said Reinecke.
Endurant is helping many to get away from the heavy seed rates and in some cases use no seed at all, he said.
While many people just expect overseed versus colorant, they often can’t tell the difference. The golfers never notice, he said.
More tips and advantages offered by Reinecke:
- I learned to put irrigation on for a couple minutes before spraying Endurant on fairways. It sticks better to the plant with a little water on the grass blades.
- I add a little iron to Endurant FW to get a darker, richer, individualized shade of natural looking green.
- Other colorants leave tire tracks from the sprayer, but with Endurant, they’re gone, he said.
- Endurant adheres to the grass, but not to the tires. I’m baffled by that.
- Geoponics is quick to respond to questions and to educate about Endurant.
