Mark Bostick Golf Course Fertilization

          Fertilization does more to improve poor-quality turfgrass or to maintain good-quality turfgrass than any other management practice. Proper fertilization practices produce a dense, medium- to dark-green turf that resists pests and environmental stresses. Careless application techniques or excessive amounts of fertilizer applied at the wrong time of year can result in serious turf damage and contamination of water resources. Successful turf maintenance fertilization requires that you assess your turf’s nutritional requirements, understand fertilizers, know how much to apply and when, and use proper application techniques. These are all important factors in how the Mark Bostick golf course maintains their greens. Knowing what each type of Bermuda needs in order to stay healthy is important. We cannot focus our attention on the greens and fairways alone, we must keep a close eye on every aspect of the course. People like to find what is wrong about a golf course rather than what is good about a golf course. If any grass becomes unhealthy, it does not go over well with good paying customers. 

        This is a good example of what a golf course fertilization technique looks like. Fertilization is only done a few times a year and normally in the hotter months or right after emerging from winter dormancy for warm season grasses. The fertilization happens most of the time directly after aerification in the summer. Due to the holes that are dug up by the process, it is much easier for diseases to increase in the surface. Fertilization also usually happens almost immediately after to prevent any such thing to happen. Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are referred to as primary nutrients and must be supplied periodically to turf through fertilizer applications. Calcium, magnesium, and sulfur, the secondary nutrients, are needed only occasionally in the form of fertilizer or lime. One of the main problems that the superintendent at the Mark Bostick golf course talks about is runoff. Runoff is most likely to occur following sudden, heavy rainstorms on soils with poor infiltration characteristics that support little or no vegetation. The most significant runoff threat, however, is from impervious surfaces such as sidewalks, driveways, and roads. Due to the hills at the course, this has always been a problem, and it can be reflected by looking at the pond on hole #2 where this runoff goes too. Fertilization is also far easier to manage in warm season grasses than in cool season grass, which is something the superintendent has been happy about.