Bowden Golf Course Gets Major Face-lift, First Of Its Kind In Georgia

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Bowden Golf Course in Macon is getting a major face-lift, one that you will notice as soon as you step up to the first tee box.

The fairways and greens are being painted green to help make the grass grow sooner, and to help save money. Not to mention the stark contrast in the newly painted green grass and the dead brown grass on the rough is like night and day and makes playing the game much more pleasant. 

A company called Geoponics supplied the paint to Bowden Golf Course free of charge to help spruce it up before next weekend’s Cherry Blossom Tournament. If this was purchased, it would have cost about $14,000 to apply.

The paint is a natural product that helps stimulate growth in the grass by absorbing more sunlight and heating the ground up quicker than where paint is not applied.

Bowden Golf Course Manager Nathan Caffarelli said the difference between the painted fairways and greens and the unpainted areas is about 10 degrees.

And the product is safer than traditional fertilizers. There are no harsh chemicals in it that make it unsafe for animals or people to be on. Additionally, it looks really good right now actually seeing green grass once again!

“The first thing they’ll (players) notice is the green,” Caffarelli said. “That will lead us into the spring with our new irrigation system, and we’ll be able to have better irrigation coverage. And it’s just going to have the look that the golfers are going for, especially during the winter season when the grass is brown.”

Bowden is the first course within the state of Georgia to get this treatment. Geoponics treats several other courses and facilities around the country, and is now breaking into Georgia. It’s something USGA Senior Agronomist Pat O’Brien fought for, especially with the Cherry Blossom Tournament approaching next weekend.

O’Brien was all smiles as he looked over the freshly painted fairways, noting it was a beautiful thing to see green once again.

But what good is a great looking course, if you don’t play on it? The Men’s and Senior Men’s Cherry Blossom Tournament is being held at Bowden Golf Course on March 16th and 17th, and all fairways and greens will be in tip-top shape and ready for play by then. To get more information about signing up, go to the Bowden Golf Course website.