In the past, David Yanez overseeded his Bermudagrass with ryegrass between seasons at The Grand Del Mar in San Diego, Calif. He likes the transition between the warm and cool season grasses on the course.
“It’s a phenomenal look, completely striped out,” he says. “I love it.”
But just liking the look wasn’t enough to justify the price tag of overseeding every season. The transition between the grasses in a coastal climate made it tough to make the shift back to Bermuda. But the problem was less about playable turf – and more about color.
“I was trying to keep as much color as I could,” says Yanez.
He tried foliars to help the Bermudagrass along, but started working with pigment products to keep the turf green even as it went dormant.
“It offered a great alternative to overseeding,” he says. “It’s much more economical. It gives great contrast from our roughs to our fairways, it’s green and a typical person won’t know it’s dyed.”
The pigment offers coverage for the turf as it enters dormancy, and keeps it looking healthy without interfering with playing conditions, he says. Beyond saving money by avoiding overseeding, using the pigment cuts back on the amount of mowing his crew has to do.
“With fuel being as high as it is, instead of having to mow three to four times a week, we’re only mowing twice a week,” says Yanez.
His club members don’t always realize when the turf has even been treated, though they like having the green shade extending out of its regular season.
“It’s been a hit with our membership. Some of them will even ask if we’ve painted yet,” he says. “They don’t know what we’re doing to the turf, but they like the green contrast.”
Yanez starts applying pigment before the cold season gets underway to keep the turf’s color strong, and depending on the weather’s intensity, will do three to five applications throughout the season. He keeps to the regular application rate, and tries to only apply it to dry turf – he’ll drag a hose through the turf to knock the dew off the grass. After putting it down, he keeps people off the turf long enough for it to dry again. But once it does, it’s a big change, he says.
“It’s got a natural feel to it. It works great on shorter-cut grasses,” he says. “As long as the product has time to dry before you get anyone walking on it, you can rub your hands onto it and your hands won’t come up green.”
