Spray Painting Course

[Layton]

There's a small 9 hole course near me which I play on a somewhat frequent basis. It's nice for a little golf after work or playing with friends that aren't quite "ready" for a more serious course.

While I like the course and its accessibility, recently they've taken to "spray painting" the entire course green. I asked the groundskeeper what they were doing and he said it was fertilizer, but I've never seen anything like it at other courses.

I wouldn't be complaining if it wasn't effecting anybody, but it turns EVERYTHING green. My shoes, clubs, balls, clothes, etc. have all turned green after playing there.

Has anybody seen this done on other courses or am I being unreasonable for complaining to the management?

[iacas]

  Layton said:

Has anybody seen this done on other courses or am I being unreasonable for complaining to the management?

I've seen it.

It's a clear fertilizer and they add colorant (green works because it's a golf course) so that the applicator (the person, I mean) can see where they've sprayed.

Paging @wils5150 and @MS256 .

[SavvySwede]

They add the green dye to the spray to see the spray pattern, this helps prevent missed passes or overlaps with the sprayer. We typically wash it in with the hose afterwards but it is able to dry as well. If it is staining your gear they probably added too much dye to the mix.

[wils5150]

  SavvySwede said:

They add the green dye to the spray to see the spray pattern, this helps prevent missed passes or overlaps with the sprayer. We typically wash it in with the hose afterwards but it is able to dry as well. If it is staining your gear they probably added too much dye to the mix.

yeah it could be this. also many new chemicals civitas is one that has a pigment dye that is a activator. there are also turf sunsceens that are colored as well. I have used the above in the past and they work great.

[Layton]

  iacas said:

I've seen it. It's a clear fertilizer and they add colorant (green works because it's a golf course) so that the applicator (the person, I mean) can see where they've sprayed. Paging @wils5150 and @MS256 .

Ah alright that makes a little more sense. I've worked at a few courses and played plenty and haven't had any kind of stains like this before. @SavvySwede you must be right. If it's somewhat common there has to be a way to do it right without staining everything

[wils5150]

If the person is using it as a spray indicator the chemical being sprayed dictates what you do with it. say your were spraying a fungicide that has to dry on the plant like daconile. you wouldnt be able to "hose it off". usually the dye dries pretty quick unless there is a heavy dew or the alike

[Layton]

  wils5150 said:

usually the dye dries pretty quick unless there is a heavy dew or the alike

Actually, I just played this particular course Sunday afternoon and everything was completely dry with no evidence of the spray whatsoever... until I looked at the underside of my versa putter that is haha.

My guess based off what everybody is saying would be that they're just messing something up along the way and thats whats doing this.

[wils5150]

maybe the syringed the greens earlier who knows

[MS256]

  Layton said:

Actually, I just played this particular course Sunday afternoon and everything was completely dry with no evidence of the spray whatsoever... until I looked at the underside of my versa putter that is haha.

My guess based off what everybody is saying would be that they're just messing something up along the way and thats whats doing this.

Like others said it's dye put in the sprayer so they can keep track of where the last pass was. Without it they would get uneven coverage of whatever they are spraying.

The dye is actually fairly expensive so many times we spray early in the morning when there is dew on the grass and keep track of the previous passes that way (to save a few bucks).