The Carolinas GCSA Conference & Show is held at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Dates: Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday, Nov. 17, Nov. 18 & Nov. 19, 2014
This Carolinas GCSA Conference & Show remains the largest regional showcase and gathering of golf course superintendents in the country! The Carolinas GCSA Conference & Show keeps members up to date on technology, innovations, research, education and the most valuable tools that superintendents need to achieve their goals.
As CGSC Brian Powell, President of the Carolinas GCSA recently pointed out, golf course conditions remain the most important factor in whether golfers enjoy their game. Geoponics primary goal is to support superintendents, working together to keep golfers coming back for more.
See you at the Carolinas GCSA Conference & Show! Booth 2317.
About some of Geoponics featured products at Booth 2317:
Endurant Organic Turf Colorants: Learn to paint from the pros at Carolinas GCSA Conference & Show
Learn to paint turf grass at booth 2317 of the Carolinas GCSA Conference & Show.
Preparing for the Schwab Cup with Endurant Organic Turf Colorant gives Desert Mountain TV ready look, clinches Champions Tour season ender for 3 consecutive years
Kieth Hershberger, Shawn Emerson, Nick Lubich
Highest in their field
Geoponics met with two top turfgrass managers in the golf course industry to see how they prepare for an event as renowned as the PGA Champions Tour: Shawn Emerson, director of agronomy at Desert Mountain Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., and Keith Hershberger, agronomist at Desert Mountain, along with a turf colorant advisor, Nick Lubich, of Fertizona.
About Shawn Emerson and Desert Mountain Club
Shawn Emerson surrounds himself with world leaders in turf management. He seeks the ideal balance between water conservation, minimizing chemical usage and providing the green turf and playing conditions that keep his courses ready for the most valuable players in golf and millions of television viewers. That’s how he’s called upon to provide the perfect course for the Champions Tour.
Desert Mountain has six Jack Nicklaus Signature courses on 550 acres of turf, comprised of six turf types. Desert Mountain hosted the Schwab Cup, and due to the ideal conditions provided, clinched the Champions Tour season ender for another two years.
The Schwab Cup season ender of the PGA Champions Tour was played on the Cochise course, with a blend of Bermuda grass and rye grass, overseeded and painted with Endurant PR, organic turf colorant for a hunter green, perennial rye look reminiscent of Augusta.
Q. Why use Endurant to prepare for the Champions Tour?
A. “We used Endurant two years ago on courses that were not overseeded and we liked it,” Emerson said.
Emerson and his team spent years testing other colorants, seeking a darker green looking color that doesn’t fade quickly, doesn’t have a blue tint that looks fake and doesn’t clog sprayers the way some colorant brands do. “Endurant was the clear choice,” Emerson said.
Q. What was your primary goal?
A. The desired look was a uniform color across the golf course in all the fairways. The Endurant greened up the Bermuda grass to match the existing rye grass, so it looked like all rye grass. “Our goal is to look like Augusta and play like the U.S. Open, which was accomplished,” said Emerson.
Q. Why choose the new Endurant PR from Geoponics for the Champions Tour Schwab Cup?
A. The Schwab Cup season ender of the PGA Champions Tour provided a debut of the Endurant PR as the first time the new colorant was used west of the Mississippi, said Nick Lubich, of Fertizona.
The course was overseeded, but the Bermuda grass was competing with the rye grass due to growth rates caused by a warmer than usual fall. A darker rye color pigment was desired to match the Bermuda grass to the darker rye grass.
Lubich knew just what to suggest—Endurant PR, for a rich, deep green and perennial rye grass look.
Normally, Emerson and Hershberger would be hesitant to use a new product days before a tournament, especially the Champions Tour, televised on the Golf Channel for 120 million households to see. “We never saw this new formulation, the Endurant PR. But, from the previous products we’d used, we were comfortable with the manufacturer of Endurant and with our representative, Nick. So we went ahead and pulled the trigger,” said Emerson.
Q. How did Endurant PR look in-person and on TV for the Champions Tour?
A. “It looks like an overwatered lush grass, and, really, it’s not. That’s what we’re trying to accomplish out here, to look like the traditional overseeded, overwatered, over fertilized grass, but we can get that look and found we can cut costs,” said Emerson.
The golf course looked like a completely overseeded golf course using fewer resources with Endurant PR and blended very well, he said. “I thought it looked fantastic,” said Emerson. The Champions Tour leaders clearly agreed, changing initial plans for a different course to host the Schwab Cup next year, instead choosing to return to Desert Mountain for the Schwab Cup for at least three consecutive years. (original article here.)
The world’s top players expect a gorgeous, highly playable green course & they get it with Endurant.
Shawn Emerson gets the over-seeded, over-watered, over-fertilized look but instead uses Endurant organic colorant.
Getting TV ready requires the best looking turf for millions of viewers watching the Champions Tour.
Endurant PR gives deep hunter green look like an overseed perennial rye at Champions Tour event.
Q. How was Endurant PR applied?
A. Endurant PR was used at a rate of 1 ½ gallons per acre. The Desert Mountain course, consisting of about half Bermuda grass and half rye grass, was sprayed with Endurant PR about six days prior to the Champions Tour event and again the day before the Champions Tour event. Mowing was frequent, with about 20 cuts, twice a day, over the course of the tournament.
A centrifugal pump and flat nozzle sprayer were selected and the turf was sprayed in multiple directions to increase blending and decrease any streaking.
Q. Environmentally, what are your thoughts about overseeding and Endurant organic colorants?
A. “In today’s golf course management, people are using less fertilizer, less seed and less water. Endurant has allowed us to do that and maintain the color they want,” said Emerson.
Emerson has left some of his golf courses without overseed and without paint in the past. “People don’t like it because it’s not green. Green is an absolute important color in golf. Endurant allows us to cut back on fertilizer, seed and water and still get the thicker look of rye grass,” said Emerson.
Q. With years of experience in turf painting and overseed, what other tips can you share with superintendents and landscape managers?
All paints work better when you’re not mowing a lot.
The less you mow, the longer the colorant lasts.
If preparing for an event or tournament, paint as close to the start of the tournament as you can.
Experiment with the rate of Endurant colorants to get the color you want. You can use less and just take off some of the whiteness or balding of Bermuda grass or go with the full rate (1 ½ gallons per acre) and get the liquid overseed look.
Be careful experimenting with brands as some will cause a blueish turf.
We found centrifugal pumps work better than diaphragm pumps for pigments.
The direction you paint is important. We painted in more than one direction to help provide uniformity of color.
Clean nozzle and pumps to prevent streaking and clogging.
Experiment with different nozzles to fit the typography.
Geoponics manufactures Endurant organic turf colorants and other earth friendly turf, garden and landscape solutions. www.TurfPaint.net
Q. What are your thoughts on the varieties of Endurant organic turf colorants?
Emerson and his agronomy team, including Hershberger and Lubich, have used the full line of Endurant colorants at one time or another, including Endurant TC, the orginal; Endurant TE with turf enhancers for actively growing grass; Endurant FW for fairways, Endurant Premium for a deeper green variation of Endurant TC, and Endurant PR for the perennial rye deepest hunter green that is reminiscent of Augusta.
A. “We thought the original Endurant we’d used was great. We loved it. But the current product we’re using is better for rye grass, for that darker, deeper hunter green,” said Emerson.
The original is more geared toward Bermuda grass. “We call it our liquid fertilizer. We didn’t tell anyone we were using it. (UNITL NOW) We just said ‘it’s our liquid fertilizer application.'”
Choose which Endurant turf colorant variety based on the shade of green desired. Check out www.TurfPaint.net and buy now!
Lawn Picasso provides eco-friendly green lawns in California drought with Endurant organic colorants
A business is painting the town—and beyond—to combat drought and brown grass in the most ecofriendly way possible as California faces the worst drought in history.
Grass painting business launched to provide organic green lawn & water savings as California faces historic drought
The Lawn Picasso grass painting company provides the most eco-friendly solution to brown grass during California drought using Endurant organic turf colorant.
Lawn Picasso opened in Livermore, California, a city located in Alameda County on the eastern edge of the San Francisco Bay area. Lawn Picasso is expanding to a larger canvass as the business is growing quickly to serve residential, commercial and municipal properties.
Environmental solutions
Humphreys is a longtime environmental steward in the eastern San Francisco Bay area. She is working diligently to share her values and the ideal solution provided by Endurant organic turf paint, a product offered by Naples, Fla.-based Geoponics.
“Education is paramount with this new concept. So, we really spend a lot of our time at community events, with city officials and with realtors; area marketing meetings with different groups, and allowing them to see and feel the end result with the Endurant product,” said Humphreys.
Curb appeal is restored with Lawn Picasso, providing Endurant organic turf colorant and water savings during California drought.
Award winning practices for water conservation
Husband Nathan Humphreys first found eco-friendly solutions to the brown grass, drought and water restrictions faced by California property owners and managers several years ago as director of facilities at The Athenian School, a school founded on environmental stewardship in 1965.
Many of the practices at the private school were proactive. When the drought continued, the practices became even more crucial to the property and region.
Endurant organic turf paint provided solutions for the 75-acre campus located in Danville, California, at the base of Mount Diablo. The school is a green school, water smart school and has used Endurant organic turf colorants to maintain that status while also maintaining optimal visual appeal.
Before: Grass doesn’t have to stay brown even in California drought.
Before: Multi-million dollar homes were losing curb appeal due to water restrictions.
After: Brown grass goes green using Endurant turf colorant. Lawn Picasso, a California-based lawncare company, uses Endurant turf colorant to provide natural, gorgeous green grass while saving clients’ money and water.
Painting the town, expanding the canvas
As the drought worsened and lengthened, Humphreys realized more people needed help in understanding how to protect valuable natural resources—and that they could do so while still maintaining high standards for the looks of their landscapes.
She knew she could get the job done well and had the experience.
Humphreys spent months researching the best product and equipment to offer. ProEdge developer and designer Bill Johnson, of North Carolina, advised Humphreys that he and professional lawn care customers have long found Endurant Turf Colorant to be a superior product for the life of sprayers, eco-friendly aspects, ease of use and finished product.
“This is a brand new concept for many people in California, even though it’s been around for years. We used several products and found Endurant was our best option, primarily for its eco-friendly ingredients and longevity of the colorant,” Humphreys said.
Saving water & avoiding fines
Months into the drought, residents and government officials in affluent areas weren’t pleased with all the brown lawns. While many also seek environmental solutions, some homeowners (and even government officials as reported by TV investigative reporters here) were sneaking in extra watering at night to maintain their quality standards despite the water challenges & hefty fines for violating water restrictions.
Humphreys decided Endurant organic turf colorants could provide homeowners, municipalities, recreation centers, athletic fields, schools and parks a green lawn solution to their brown grass problem.
Using Endurant organic turf colorants and a zero-emissions sprayer from ProEdge, Humphreys is able to provide the natural looking, environmentally friendly and lush green lawns people long to maintain.
Regaining curb appeal means business is booming
There’s high visibility when you’re the one green lawn in the middle of a drought, Humphreys said.
As people become interested, they then learn it’s eco-friendly, is safe for pets and students and has a reasonable dry time to avoid tracking into buildings.
Lawns might average about 500 square feet in size with the starting costs to go from brown grass to green grass at about $200, depending upon the size of the lawn, she said.
With no rain in California, the grass isn’t growing and the Endurant organic turf colorant is lasting about 16 weeks with no discoloration, she said.
As for business, it’s growing fast.
“It’s been fantastic,” said Humphreys.
Interested in offering a green solution in your area? Contact Geoponics: info@GeoponicsCorp.com
While there’s a wedding tradition: Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue– blue turf was not the “something blue” that the bride had in mind. An old turf paint nearly ruined her wedding. Until an application of natural grass-colored green Endurant organic turf colorant repaired the blueish turf just before wedding day at a North Carolina golf course.
No more blue turf: Other grass paint brands fade to a fake-looking blueish colored turf
Blue turf at a N.C. golf course is not the look a bride is going for at her wedding ceremony. Endurant organic turf colorant was applied to repair the blue turf after another colorant created a fake-looking grass.
Endurant organic turf colorant applied on the blue-colored turf repaired the grass just in time for a wedding at Ridges Golf Club, located in the Smoky Mountains of Hayesville, NC this October.
Attempting to green up the property for eye appeal, golf course superintendent Daryck Beetham, who just recently began improving the course and property as part of the Ridges Golf Club’s new management from Sequoia Golf, found a bottle of turf colorant in the chemical closet.
“I built a little green in front of the club house. I went into the chemical room and found a bottle that said it was green pigment. It didn’t come out the way I wanted. It turned out very blue,” said Beetham.
I panicked, he said.
Endurant Organic Turf Colorant provides natural looking green
“The staff at Geoponics called me back in minutes and came over and sprayed with their colorant,” said Beetham.
The woman getting married asked what we did about the blue turf just before the wedding day.
“‘We painted it for you,'” Beetham recalls telling her.
Endurant PR organic turf colorant prepares Desert Mountain course for 120 million household viewers during Schwab Cup Championship
Watch the Golf Channel coverage of the Schwab Cup through Sunday and check out Endurant on the course, providing lush colored fairways as Desert Mountain Cochise becomes the first course west of the Mississippi to apply the brand new Geoponics Endurant PR!
The Charles Schwab Cup Championship will return to Desert Mountain through 2016 as executives cite the premium quality of the golf course and facility as reason for the high profile event returning to the Scottsdales, Ariz. course, Cochise.
Endurant PR organic turf colorant gets Cochise course at Desert Mountain ready for millions of viewers and world class players at Schwab Cup.
“The Schwab Cup will be the first time Endurant PR was applied west of the Mississippi,” said Nick Lubich, of Fertizona-Fennemore.
Lubich worked with Shawn Emerson, director of agronomy at the largest private golf community in the country, who has been diligently preparing for the event. The Schwab Cup airs on the Golf Channel each day through Sunday, Nov. 2. View the tournament and TV airing schedule for the Schwab Cup here.
“We were looking for a color that would look great on television,” said Lubich.
The Cochise course, mostly a perennial three-way rye grass, is overseeded, but needed an extra wow factor, made possible by Endurant PR, said Lubich.
Following the recent decision for the Schwab Cup to return to Desert Mountain through 2016, Desert Mountain’s Chief Operating Officer and General Manager Robert Jones told Champions Tour Staff that the decision will bring consistent exposure to the award-winning private club and to the city of Scottsdale.
“When you have a high-profile event that attracts 35,000 onsite spectators and another 120 million households worldwide watching on TV, that’s a golden opportunity to showcase Desert Mountain golf, our new amenities and our stunning location,” Jones said.
The complete PGA Tour article on the decision to remain at Desert Mountain through 2016 can be read here.
Emerson plans to return to Geoponics to share his choice in using Endurant PR in an interview following the event. Return here for an update.
