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Article Tags: Golf Courses, Stewardship
Posted on Monday, October 1, 2018

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Enhanced efficiency fertilizers help superintendents support industry BMPs while optimizing labor and other resources.

As the world becomes increasingly urbanized, golf courses provide people with valuable opportunities to enjoy nature close to home. Even so, golf course owners and superintendents have long been scrutinized for their use of water, inputs and other resources to maintain pristine golfing conditions. However, golf’s reputation is changing as courses take tremendous steps toward becoming more environmentally responsible.

The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) has been working with affiliated state chapters to develop Best Management Practices (BMPs) – standard practices and procedures that provide for healthy turfgrass and quality playing surfaces while still protecting the environment. BMPs can be a feature or engineered structure on a golf course, such as a retention pond, stream channel or wetland. Or, they can be an agronomic or cultural practice that benefits turfgrass, like aeration, soil testing and soil moisture monitoring.

“Our goal is to help establish golf course BMPs for all 50 states by 2020,” says Rhett Evans, GCSAA CEO. “Through this platform, superintendents nationwide can demonstrate that they truly are responsible environmental stewards. That’s not just good for their courses and the environment, but also for the entire golf industry.”

This ambitious BMP program can’t happen without financial support from industry partners. In April 2018, Koch Turf & Ornamental (Koch) donated $20,000 to the Environmental Institute for Golf (EIFG), the philanthropic organization of the GCSAA, specifically to support BMP initiatives.

“GCSAA is providing the golf industry with broad-based information and tools that promote sustainability and encourage continuous improvement,” says Marshall Bird, Koch’s vice president. “We’re proud to support the BMP program, which aligns with our vision of providing solutions that maximize plant performance and minimize environmental impact.”

GREATER EFFICIENCY, LESS ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT POTENTIAL

As a global leader in the production of enhanced efficiency fertilizers (EEFs), Koch’s support of BMP development isn’t just financial. Their products deliver nutrients efficiently, making them environmentally responsible with low potential for nutrient loss through leaching, denitrification, runoff or volatilization. This fertilizer technology also provides an ideal solution in areas where fertilizer use is strictly regulated. Because EEFs possess characteristics that allow increased plant uptake, golf course turf gets the most from each fertilizer application.

“Enhanced efficiency fertilizers just make sense, from both an environmental and an economic perspective,” says Dr. Eric Miltner, Koch’s research agronomist. “By applying a more efficient product, golf courses can achieve better results while optimizing labor and resources. And, because they’re able to use fewer inputs to maintain health and playability, they’re also demonstrating their commitment to a better, healthier environment. Switching to an enhanced efficiency fertilizer is a best management practice that’s very easy to implement.”

SUSTAINABILITY ON A BUDGET

As superintendents follow BMPs to make their courses more environmentally sustainable, they’re personally discovering the value of Koch’s enhanced efficiency fertilizers.

Chris Hedberg is the superintendent for The Ridge at Castle Pines, a Troon® course south of Denver that offers a high-end golfing experience. Unlike neighboring courses, the 212-acre, Audubon-certified sanctuary course is a public, daily-fee facility, and Hedberg and his team must operate within the constraints of a relatively small budget.

“We still want to provide the same conditions or better than the members-only courses around us,” Hedberg says. “We try to do a lot with a little.”

Hedberg and his staff emphasize environmental responsibility. They’ve decreased The Ridge’s irrigated acres by turning seven acres into native grass. The remaining 80 acres are irrigated with reclaimed water. That same sustainable focus extends to the fertilizer that Hedberg’s team applies throughout the course — Koch’s UMAXX® stabilized nitrogen fertilizer. A urea-based product with a 46-0-0 analysis and dual inhibitor technology, UMAXX protects against all three forms of nitrogen loss.

“Over the past six years, it’s given us the biggest bang for our buck,” Hedberg says. “Its performance has even allowed us to reduce the number of fertilizer applications we make each season. We usually make three applications, maybe four depending on the weather. That’s a huge timesaver, rather than having to go out once a month or every six weeks.”

Perhaps even more importantly, The Ridge’s turf looks better than ever. A few years ago, one of Troon’s agronomists tested the course’s soil and asked Hedberg what he was applying to the turf.

“I told them, ‘Just UMAXX,’” he says. “Simply putting down the nitrogen we need when we need it has produced great results for us. We don’t have to deplete our already limited budget by purchasing a lot of other products. UMAXX’s sustainability and performance are great, and we’re able to minimize the amount of fertilizer we apply.”

Discover how UMAXX and other enhanced efficiency fertilizers from Koch Turf & Ornamental can help your course follow BMPs and limit its environmental impact. Contact your distributor or your nearest Koch sales representative today.

Article Categories: Advertorial icon Advertorial
Article Tags: Golf Courses, Stewardship