Golfdom, May 2014

PLANT HEALTH Part 1 of 3 Continued from page 21 becoming commonly known as Plant Health Well hopefully we dont have to use a lot of chemicals chuckles Jeff Holmes superintendent at Egypt Valley CC Grand Rapids Mich A good scenario would be if youre eating good meals and getting some reasonable exercise then you dont have to be on a lot of vitamins and extra additives Were trying to do the same thing with the grass plant Were trying to minimize our inputs To Holmes who has been the head superintendent at Egypt Valley since 1993 Plant Health is not just a buzzword or a sticker on a label Its not one item its a whole package he says Defining Plant Health Plant Health can be an elusive concept leading to the question What exactly is Plant Health If you were to define Plant Health its golf course putting greens fairways or rough growing at optimum conditions says Brian Thompson a former superintendent and now strategic account manager for BASF Anytime the plant is producing new leaves quicker than it is losing youve got healthy turf When you equate not just the visual aesthetics of turf but also the playability of turf which is greens speed resiliency to stress thats how we in the turf industry define total turf health In agriculture another major market for Plant Health labels success can be measured by yield But how do you gauge the success of a Plant Health program when working in the golf industry There is no traditional yield Thompson suggests looking elsewhere for results Yield can be measured in our golf industry as happy customers happy members good playing conditions and sustainable turf growth he says Time has a tendency to advance our technology and the same is true for the products used in the industry I think superintendents have long been extremely perceptive on some of the additional benefits these products may bring in terms of performance they are diligent at examining the performance of the product that they use in their programs Thompson says This adoption into embracing Plant Health to achieve better playing conditions and better sustainable turf stands for todays demands I think has been really recognized in the last five to 10 years Thompson says that BASF has been on a multiple year journey to reach their current understanding of Plant Health Apart from identifying ways to measure success they have seen an enhanced ability for the plant to recover after stress and an enhanced growing efficacy This leads to a more robust deeper and stronger root system Thats really where weve accumulated a lot of these success stories and showing that these products are helping build a stronger plant says Thompson A synergistic effect Tommy Hewitt superintendent at Windermere Golf Club in Flowery Branch Ga says his course is 100 percent on board with the Plant Health approach Plant Health is something where you are getting a plant response a positive plant response by spraying something that you typically should not see a positive plant response from its a much healthier plant due to some type of synergistic effects of that product Hewitt says In the true sense of an ecosystem each segment that has a positive response Continued on page 24 Anytime the plant is producing new leaves quicker than it is losing youve got healthy turf 22 Golfdom May 2014 Golfdom com PHOTO CREDIT EGYPT VALLEY CC SETH JONES Brian Thompson Jeffrey Holmes Both of Egypt Valley CCs two courses the Ridge and the Valley utilize the naturally wooded landscape of Michigan to offer a challenge for seasoned golfers and beginners