We Have an App For That

Today, prior to our 1 pm shotgun tournament we were able to apply our second fertilizer application for the season. This granular application will continue our healthy look into mid July. The product applies a sufficient amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and iron to the plants to help them along the stressful parts of the golf season. The fertilizer is applied to only maintained turf areas on the course with the exception of the putting surfaces. The greens fertilizer is applied in mostly a liquid form through a boom sprayer.

Also, today we took advantage of the slow morning and applied our only fungicide application for the season. The greens here in Vail have a widely-known mycelium in the soil commonly known as fairy ring. This particular strain is rare and nothing I have ever seen before. It was diagnosed by a Colorado State University pathologist 3 seasons ago. Normally fairy ring looks like a ring. The mycelium gives off an excessive amount of nitrogen in the soil and sometimes produces mushrooms. Typically the ring has a deep green color, which makes it stand out. The ring is not aesthetically pleasing, but can be harmless. Unfortunately in Vail we have been experiencing some turf loss. The mycelium gives off more nitrogen than the plant can handle. Instead of a ring, it is more like a patch, about the size of a golf hole and it kills off the turf.

For the past three years we have been applying a product that does a wonderful job disbursing this mycelium before it becomes a problem on the surface.

Mixed with the fungicide is our first wetting agent application on greens this season. The wetting agent makes the fungicide more effective as well as keeping some of the moisture in the soil more available for the turf plants. The wetting agent allows us to irrigate less frequent and create a firmer putting surface.

The greens application is watered into the soil immediately after being applied. Like all of our fungicides we use, it has a very low toxicity rate. However it is always good practice to wash your hands after playing a round of golf.