Painting the Driving Range

We have already had more days below freezing this year than we had all of last year. Last year we experimented with turf pigments and had great success with them. This year has been a different story for us and all golf courses that have used pigments. Here at the country club we have already had three days at 25 degrees, last year we barely got below 30 a few times. With a pigment the leaf blade absorbs the chemical which in turn raises the turf canopy temperature upwards of five degrees. This allows the turf to stay greener longer due to the extended life of the chlorophyll in the leaf blade. We learned that with colder temperatures pigments are not the Country Club's best option. Now after all that I have said we have chosen to go in another direction. We painted the driving range Friday morning with a turf paint. Turf paints are not absorbed into the leave blade like the pigments they coat the leaf blade instead. This process is not harmful to the plant at all. Painting is a one time spray and must be applied to dormant grass in order to get the best look. Why does it need to be sprayed on dormant turf you ask? If sprayed on green turf or even semi-dormant turf the paint will fade away like a pigment does, once all the chlorophyll is taken out of the leaf blade due to winter dormancy.