BLACK SAND® Its No Silver Bullet

…but Boy Does it Pack a Punch!

BLACK SAND® was first developed as an alternative to the labor intensive and sometimes damaging
mechanical methods of removing snow and ice from golf course greens. Superintendents and university
researchers have since found new and innovative uses for this deceptively simple tool.

To keep it simple, BLACK SAND® offers a very effective way to improve growing conditions during the
cooler times of the year. The highly processed quartz sand used to make BLACK SAND® radiates the
suns energy and increases surface temperatures wherever BLACK SAND® is applied. This small increase
in temperature is greatest at mid-day and allows temperatures to drop naturally at night.

By maximizing the effect of the sun during the shorter days of the year, turf managers are able to
provide more favorable conditions for their turf. These conditions are what make it possible to quickly
remove snow and ice, reduce recovery time following aerification and disease, increase germination and
establishment rates, and promote plant health.

CHECK (Atlas Sand)

11/9/07 (6 weeks after planting)

400 lbs black sand/1000 ft2

11/9/07 (6 weeks after planting)

‘T-1’ creeping bentgrass planted 9/28/07 17 Green

Palouse Ridge Golf Club
Pullman, WA

17 Green
‘T-1’ creeping bentgrass planted 9/28/07 Palouse Ridge Golf Club
Pullman, WA
BLACK SAND® for Spring Snow and Ice removal
As superintendents have experienced the ease with which BLACK SAND® can be applied to melt snow
and ice from greens as well as the small rates needed to get significant results, they have started using it
to melt snow from not only greens, but from entire golf courses. This has allowed them the chance to
get out on their courses earlier to take care of vole damage, pick up debris, work on projects, and begin
preparing their courses for the relatively short golf season.

Even for courses where early snow removal is not necessary or desired, BLACK SAND® can be used much
like Milorganite® has been used in the past to deal with snow and ice “emergencies”; only BLACK SAND®
does it in a more effective way without the additional nutrient load (20 lbs of Milorganite® = 1 lb of N
whereas 20 lbs of BLACK SAND® = 0 lbs of N). Most courses have areas where stubborn drifts, Nordic
trails, and ice patches linger on the course each spring. These lingering drifts and ice patches can get in
the way of regular spring clean up and maintenance practices, and frequently creates the ideal
conditions for the growth of snow mold and habitat for voles and rodents that can affect turf quality
well into the summer months.

Depending on the specific site conditions and urgency with which the snow or ice must be removed,
BLACK SAND® is applied between 25 lbs and 100 lbs per 1000 sq ft. In areas where cold morning
temperatures create a crust on the snow applications can be made using typical rotary spreaders or
topdressing equipment depending on the extent of the application. When there is not a crust layer that
will support this equipment, shoulder or chest mount spreaders can be used as well as electric spreaders
mounted on the back of a snow machine.

The picture on the left shows how BLACK SAND® can be used to melt snow off greens. The picture on
the right shows how much BLACK SAND® melted this drift in just one day.
BLACK SAND® Aerification Recovery
When superintendents talk about aerifying greens the reaction they get from golfers is similar to the
one dentists get from their patients when they tell them about a cavity; most people try to rationalize
reasons to postpone the inevitable and suddenly other obligations seem much more important. But like
filing a cavity, if you don’t take care of it quickly the associated problems will only get worse, and
recovery will take longer than necessary. Speeding recovery is where BLACK SAND® can help. A two-
year study at Washington State University has shown a significant decrease in the time needed to
recover from fall aerification when BLACK SAND® is applied as the final step in the aerification process.

As BLACK SAND® requires sunlight to have an effect so there is no need to use it to fill aerification holes.
Simply aerify, remove cores, and fill the holes using your traditional topdressing sand. After that is
complete and the sand has been watered in and leaves “dimples” where the holes were, apply a
topdressing layer of BLACK SAND® to the green to fill the dimples and level the green; generally this
amounts to between 200 lbs and 400 lbs per 1000 sq ft. The BLACK SAND® then radiates the suns
energy providing the turf with improved conditions for recovery allowing you to get your greens back to
optimal playing conditions sooner.

This Washington State study showed that using BLACK SAND® during aerification in the spring didn’t
significantly improve the recovery time, but did improve the overall appearance of aerated greens.

October
Pictures taken in April showing
the difference in recovery
Jackson Hole, Wyoming
from an October aerification
when BLACK SAND® is used
(left)
7 daysand when itan
following is not (right)
October
aerification of a green
difference in the recovery
rate of a green with BLACK
SAND® applied at 400 lbs per
1000 sq ft (right) and one
with only traditional
topdressing sand (left) is
apparent.

By April, the following spring,

not only have the aerification
holes recovered, but the
difference in the overall
health of the turf grass is
dramatic.

April
Jackson Hole, Wyoming
BLACK SAND® Germination
No matter whether it is the construction of an entirely new golf course, the renovation of an existing
green or tee (planned or unplanned), or simply the establishment of a nursery green, the grow-in
process doesn’t ever seem to happen fast enough. We have all heard the saying, “Time is money” and
the truth of this old adage can be readily seen at any facility trying to grow in new playing surfaces.
Whether a club experiences delays in opening for play while waiting for the playing surfaces to mature,
or is left reeling from the costs to recover from the damage created when the opening was rushed,
shareholders miss out on potential profits.

BLACK SAND® offers a safe, efficient, and economical way to get new playing surfaces established
quicker. Washington State University research has shown that when BLACK SAND® is applied to newly
seeded bentgrass greens in the late fall, germination increases by 2 ½ times. The actual development of
the plants improved as well. The plants in the BLACK SAND® plots developed to the 2nd and 3rd leaf
stage while the plants in the check remained at the initial shoot stage. BLACK SAND® has been proven
to be even better at speeding germination and growth of newly established bentgrass than turf covers
and doesn’t require any of the hassle or additional labor expense.

Whether you are simply growing in a new tee or nursery green, or a whole new golf course, why risk
costly delays, expensive repairs, or frustrated members because of poor growing conditions? Maximize
the suns energy and improve the growing conditions for all newly seeded turf with BLACK SAND®.

The researchers at Washington State were so confident in the effects of BLACK SAND® that they used it
to help grow in the green surrounding the research plots as seen in the upper left section of this photo
The results from the 2007 emergence study done by WSU are shown above with a picture of the check
plot on the Left and the plot top dressed with BLACK SAND® at 400 lbs per 1000 sq ft on the right. The
advanced growth of the plants in the BLACK SAND® plot is easy to see.

The effect of BLACK SAND®, Atlas sand, and a Reemay cover on seedling emergence of a late fall planted
‘T-1’ creeping bentgrass green. DAT=days after treatment

11/9/07
Visual seedling emergence* Seedling
Sand 10/15/07 10/19/07 10/26/07 11/2/07 11/9/07 count
2
Treatment (lbs/M) 10 DAT 14 DAT 21 DAT 28 DAT 35 DAT (number/ft )
Black sand 200 lbs/M 200 3.0 b** 4.0 c 4.3 b 4.5 b 4.8 c 706.8 bc
Black sand 400 lbs/M 400 3.8 a 5.8 a 6.8 a 7.0 a 7.5 a 1026.7 a
Atlas sand 200 lbs/M 200 1.3 cd 2.3 d 3.5 bc 3.5 b 3.5 d 540.0 cd
Atlas sand 400 lbs/M 400 1.8 c 2.8 d 3.8 bc 4.0 b 4.0 cd 657.1 bc
Reemay cover (1.5 oz/yd2) 0 4.0 a 4.8 b 6.3 a 6.0 a 6.3 b 769.9 b
CHECK 0 1.0 d 2.8 d 3.3 c 4.0 b 3.5 d 421.9 d
*Visual seedling emergence rated 0-10, with 0 = no emergence.
**Values within a column followed by the same letter are not significantly different LSD P = 0.05.

1200
Black sand 200 lbs/M
Black sand 400 lbs/M
1000 Atlas sand 200 lbs/M
Seedling count (Number/1 ft2)

Atlas sand 400 lbs/M

Reemay cover (1.5 oz/yd2)
CHECK
800

600

400

200

The effect of BLACK SAND®, Atlas sand, and a Reemay cover on seedling count of a late fall planted ‘T-1’
creeping bentgrass green.
BLACK SAND® Cultural
As BLACK SAND® has been used over the past few years superintendents have begun using it as an
integral part of their overall cultural strategy in managing their greens. Just as practices like rolling,
verticutting, and the light and frequent topdressing of greens have made their way into the industry as
standard practices, we believe BLACK SAND® will do the same as some of the benefits shown in the
examples below are seen and experienced by more and more superintendents.

Removal of light snows:

Early or late season skiffs of snow are easily melted away with a quick 25 lbs per 1000 sq ft application
of BLACK SAND® after the storm, or by preemptively applying BLACK SAND® at 75 lbs per 1000 sq ft.
One superintendent did that very thing when he saw a forecast for a storm that was moving in late on
Friday night. That superintendent made an application of BLACK SAND® before he left on Friday and
was able to safely open his course for play by 10:00 that next morning. The course up the road received
the same amount of snow was closed all day as the snow lingered on his greens through the day.

Winter topdressing

Another use of BLACK SAND® that seems to be growing is the practice of a winter topdressing program.
A heavier application of BLACK SAND® is made just before the irrigation system is blown out (towards
the end of November) at a rate of 200 lbs per 1000 sq ft and then BLACK SAND® is used to topdress
greens once a month or so at 25 lbs per 1000 sq ft.

The results have been improved playing surfaces throughout the winter months with strong healthy
greens in the spring. With BLACK SAND® applications greens maintain better ball roll, stay smooth, and
retain their firmness even later in the day when they typically get a little soft. BLACK SAND® also melts
frost from these greens about an hour earlier than normal allowing them to get a head start before play
is allowed.

BLACK SAND® at 600 lbs

NO BLACK SAND® /M
BLACK SAND® at 400 lbs
NO BLACK SAND® /M

BLACK SAND® at 200 lbs

/M

Spring BLACK SAND® treatment

Summary
BLACK SAND® offers turf managers a way to improve a range of cultural and environmental conditions
that have traditionally been out of their control. While the effect BLACK SAND® has seems relatively
minor the implications that can come as it is implemented as part of a complete cultural program can be
dramatic. Like any other process or application, it is important to remember that there are certain
conditions in which BLACK SAND® works best; bright sunny days.

BLACK SAND® No sun = no temperature increase, so sunny days produce the best effect
BLACK SAND® consistency in uniformity and particle size distribution meets USGA recommendations
BLACK SAND® safely and efficiently removes snow and ice from your playing surfaces
BLACK SAND® quickly and efficiently melts away Nordic trails, snow drifts and other persistent areas of
snow and ice
BLACK SAND® extends favorable growing conditions in the early spring and late fall resulting in healthier
turf and increased disease resistance
BLACK SAND® drastically improves spring green up without the use of fertilizer
BLACK SAND® speeds turf recovery following fall aerification and other damage during cooler times of
the year
BLACK SAND® can be used for mid winter topdressing of greens to maintain smooth, firm playing
conditions
BLACK SAND® reduces frost delays
BLACK SAND® quickly melts away skiffs of snow that would otherwise keep a course closed to play
BLACK SAND® is available damp by the truckload for larger applications, or dry in 50lb bags for
application using push spreaders

PARTICLE SIZE ANALYSIS AND PROPERTIES

Mean Values. These DO NOT represent a specification
Mesh ASTM E-11 BLS-320 BLS-400
10 2.0 mm Gravel --- ---
18 1.0 mm Very Coarse --- ---
35 .50 mm Coarse 33.6 35.9
60 .25 mm Medium 52.6 62.3
100 .15 mm Fine 11.1 1.8
140 .10 mm Very Fine 2.5 Trace
270 .05 mm Very Fine 0.2 ---
Typical mean % retained on sieves
pH: 7.0 Grain Shape: Sub-Angular to Angular Soluble Salts (mmhos/cm): <0.1