The Greenskeeper Online – Green Industry Professionals' Experiences with Geoponics Earth Chemistries

Golf Course Superintendent Patrick Donelan Discusses His Utilization of Grizzly Terrain, Agriox and Carbotein In His Greens Fertility Program

November 4th, 2007

We’re here at the Barefoot Resort & Golf…
North Myrtle Beach, SC. We are a 54-hole resort facility with A1 bentgrass greens.

What drew you to the industry and the work in the first place?
I like working outside. Just seeing the grass, and seeing the trees and the birds; working outside is just as much fun as it is anything else. Watching the sunrise in the morning and then watching the sunset in the evening. Those are probably the two prettiest times of the day.

So were you spending time on golf courses prior to making it a career, or was it something you gradually found yourself doing?
I started out going to school as an engineer and hated it. I worked in a golf course one summer and said, “Hey, this is fun!” I really liked it, and ended up going to school and getting my degree.

That was where?
I went to Horry-Georgetown Technical College right here in the Myrtle Beach area, and then I’ve been in several different golf courses here in Myrtle Beach. Also in the upstate of South Carolina, and worked the PGA Tour for a little bit.

You’ve got great weather right now; do you have any challenges specific to this area that you address?
Trying to grow bentgrass here in Myrtle Beach is tough. We’re always looking for a new way, a different edge, something that would help us get through the hot and nasty days of summer. Daytime highs of mid to upper 90’s most days in August; nighttime temps at about 80. We had one point this summer when we had a heat index of 118 to 120. Bentgrass does not like that; so that’s always a major challenge.

Just trying to produce a better product, a little better for us, better for the customer. Trying new things as they come along, and working with some old standbys too. Just trying to find the right combinations so we can give a better product to the golfers.

You mentioned trying new things. Why were you willing to give our products a chance?
Well, after sitting down and looking at the material, and also talking with Geoponics, the ideas made sense. Particularly what the Agriox will do: to help increase the oxygen and gas in your soil to help the microbial activity, helping giving you a healthier soil so that the nutrients that are there are better available to the plant. That struck me.

If I can save a little bit on the fertilizers, and I can have a healthier plant, and I’ve got good things going in the soil, and if I can have a healthier plant next summer, we’re going to give it a try.

Have you done enough applications to see whether or not you are able to cut back on the amount of fertilizers that you’re using?
Yes. We have done the Agriox on several applications now. I’m seeing it, and also my other superintendents and assistant superintendents are seeing it. We’ve not put as much nitrogen fertilizer on the ground, or in the spray tank, as we have in the past, so we are seeing an even feed from what we’ve got. We really think that we are seeing some positive effects. We are seeing the soil is working for the plant, and the plant is able to extract the nutrients out of it. So we’re hoping that this will be continuing as we get further along, as we get into next spring and next summer, we’re going to see some great results.

So that has a certain impact on your bottom line, using less material, clearly. But it also makes one wonder, do you feel that the plant life is actually better using what you’re putting down so there’s less waste, less run off, less that’s sinking down below the root zone?
Yes, it will save us on the bottom line, because we are not going to have as much fertilizer. At least that’s what we’ve seen so far. However, if we can have a healthier soil, we’re all for trying to do it in an environmentally conscious, environmentally friendly way. Trying to be a steward, that’s what we all should be doing.

That way we can work better with what is happening, because, as we all know, in the future it is just going to get a little tighter, and little tighter, and little tighter as we move along. And maybe we can get started on some stuff now so we can learn before that big hammer comes along and says, “No, you can’t do that anymore.” We can learn now and experiment a little bit, which is what I’m doing with some good guidance and also by looking and talking to other folks that have used the product. I feel pretty confident that this is going to be a product that is going to work with the program that I’m working with on my product here.

I’m sure it was explained to you that we’ve been a “green” company from Day One. Would you say that impacted your willingness to utilize the product line?
It helps, but I’m not going to say that’s the driving factor. I’m looking at it along the lines that if there’s a product that can help me produce conditions that the golfer will really like in September (since August & September are our worst months), if we can have a healthier plant going into that time of year, it’s going to be a little easier on us when we get 95, 98, 100 degrees out with nighttime temps of 80.

Does it help that it is environmentally friendly? Yes, it does. You can go and put the product out and you don’t necessarily have to worry, “Am I wasting it? Is it getting washed through or getting trapped somewhere?” It’s all environmentally friendly, so that’s a great side benefit, not the primary benefit, but it’s a wonderful side benefit.

So if it came down to two products where you were going to get similar results, but one is from an environmentally friendly product line and the other one maybe not so much, that could tip the scales?
Yes, it could. If I can spend a little bit of money and get a great product that everybody is happy with, and I can show that I’m environmentally friendly, I think most people will understand that extra little bit of cost.

Absolutely. You mentioned Agriox. Is that the product you feel is giving you most visible results?
Agriox is not the most visible. What I’m seeing is that is going to be a continuing application. For me one of the biggest things that I’ve seen, and what other people are seeing, wherever they might be, what really shows you something in a couple of days is the Grizzly Terrain. With Terrain that you can see a lot of in a hurry.

I can tell being out here, and knowing the name that we’re working with here, it’s probably more difficult for you to get a clear benefit showing because you’ve already got a high caliber turf that you’re dealing with, so that’s says a lot about Terrain. Have you seen similar effects in the past with any other products?
I’ve personally not used anything that’s given me that big color hit that I’ve seen with Terrain. If you want big color in a hurry, it will do it. You can see color within about a day and a half or two days.

Wow! That’s instant results. Getting back to the Agriox, what makes it unique is the slow release aspect, that the demands of the oxygen in the soil will play a big part in how the product releases it over time.
It’s all based on soil temperature, what’s going on with air temperature, and also the microbes that you have in the ground. It’s all breaking down slowly, which is good. That way you’ll get a steady product out of it, instead of what you see in other products that you see in the market where you put it out and you see a big spike and then it dies off.

If we can get it in even distribution with the product, that’s what we need. It makes it easier for us as managers if we have somewhat of a prediction. If it’s going to work out say a month before we have to do anything again, versus we put the product out and 2 weeks later we’ve have to do it again, it will help us in time and labor there.

It’s just finding the right combinations. For us here at Barefoot, we have 3 different golf courses and each has it’s own little environment. Anywhere you go up and down the beach here, or anywhere throughout the country, we all have our own micro environments that we’re having to work with, and this product is going to help us get there. It is going to help. I really believe it is going to get us get there.

We’ve talked about how it’s unique, are you aware of any other products that do a similar thing, that put oxygen in to your soil in that way?
No, I don’t know of anything along those lines. Once I sat down and looked at some material that was given to me by Geoponics… I tell you: this is the product.

You’ve been more than generous with your time. Thank you so much for talking to us today. it sounds like you’re a fan and that we’ve earned that business, but I’ve got to tell you we’re so appreciative of it. And the fact that you are willing to keep talking to other people about it is something that we really want to extend our thanks for.

No problem.

Entry Filed under: Stabilized Chemical Aeration