Spray Caddie

For Heath Wisdom, Golf Course Superintendent at the Nicklaus Signature Course at The Club at Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, Texas, keeping the golf cup clean during foliar spray applications has always been a challenge.  

The Old Way of Covering Golf Cups Before Spray Caddie

Over the 6 years he was an assistant superintendent at River Oaks Country Club in Houston, he and the crew used a towel rolled up into the shape of the golf cup to plug the hole during foliar spray applications. But using a towel was messy and he’d have to touch the chemical-covered towel post-application to move it from cup to cup.

When Wisdom arrived at Nicklaus Signature Course at The Club at Carlton Woods in the fall of 2021 to assume his first position as superintendent, the situation wasn’t much better. His spray tech was using a homemade cutout to cover the cup each time he sprayed the 18-hole course’s TifEagle Bermudagrass greens.

“It was actually just a piece of cardboard that was cut almost to a circle, but not quite a circle. The spray tech would make a couple of them each time he sprayed,” Wisdom said. “You could tell that the cutout was oblong and just not a perfect circumference over the cup, and we could actually see where you missed, or where the grass wasn’t getting sprayed.”

Considering that Heath or his spray tech spray some form of foliar spray application one to two times each week, the inconsistency of coverage was becoming a real issue. There had to be a better way.

The New Way to Keep Golf Cups Clean With Spray Caddie

Wisdom said he first saw Spray Caddie Golf Cup Cover on Twitter, then read about it in Golf Course Industry magazine. 

Wisdom went to SprayCaddie.com and purchased the Spray Caddie Starter Kit that includes:

• 3 Spray Caddie Golf Cup Covers
• 1 telescoping  magnetic wand that lifts the Golf Cup Cover 
• 2 magnets to attach the wand to your spray rig

“At first, it caught my eye because it was a perfect circle that barely covered the whole cup, which was just right. Plus, it has the magnetic wand so you wouldn’t have to touch it every time,” he said.

Wisdom has been using Spray Caddie since January of 2022.

“It’s working great, just like I expected. I love the aspect of not physically touching the cover every time and plus not bending over to pick it up is also a help. You just scoop it right up with the magnet,” Wisdom said.

Avoiding the repetitive motion of bending over to pick up the Cup Cover was an unexpected benefit of using Spray Caddie.

“It’s a safety precaution,” Wisdom said. “You just don’t wear out your back as often. Working out here on a golf course, we pick up, and push, and pull, walk, and bend over. We already do enough of that, so that’s one aspect of it to save your body.”

Since January, Wisdom says he and his staff have used Spray Caddie for every type of foliar spray application. “Whether it be fertilizer, pesticide, fungicides, all of it. Any time we spray the greens we use Spray Caddie,” Wisdom said.

What Fellow Superintendents Should Know About Spray Caddie

“Before, with the cardboard cutout, you could tell that the cutout was just oblong and not a perfect circumference over the cup. And we could actually see where you missed, where it wasn’t getting sprayed. With the Spray Caddie cover, it covers the cup almost exactly perfect to where you don’t miss anything. It’s great,” Wisdom said.

“The main benefit for me is the perfect circumference covering the cup is 100% consistent. And then also the magnetic feature. We just pop it up, so to speak. You just grab it up, walk right by it and tap it, and it comes with you.”

Wisdom said the fact that Spray Caddie was developed by a fellow superintendent matters to him.

“It’s kind of like some other products that current or former superintendents produce, it just comes with a different sense of mind, you know? Like they definitely experienced the issue and the benefit of it, and they thought it through, and it obviously worked for them. So it should work for other superintendents as well,” he said. “It’s definitely worked for us, and I’m glad we purchased it. I would recommend anybody at least give it a try. And then if they like it, they can purchase the extra covers, but at least try the Starter Kit with the three.”

Ready to try Spray Caddie at your golf course? Check out videos, product information and more at SprayCaddie.com.

Spray Caddie™ Golf Cup Cover keeps the golf cup clean during light topdressing and liquid spray applications. Developed by Rob Roberts, an assistant golf course superintendent and licensed spray tech in Washington State with more than 25 years of experience, Spray Caddie shields staff and golfers from touching chemicals and other liquid spray applications that could discolor the inside of the cup. Prevents the accumulation of sand in the golf hole during topdressing on golf greens. Use on standard golf greens and multi-hole practice facilities. Works for any type of sand or liquid spray app such as colorant, fertilizer, herbicide, PGRs, & more. Spray Caddie is manufactured in the U.S.A. by Back Nine Boys, LLC. SprayCaddie.com, on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook @spraycaddie. 

Buy it today at SprayCaddie.com