Case Study: Golf Courses

Golf Course Turf Maintenance

Ditch the Chemicals

Chemical inputs have long been the industry standard for maintaining the vitality of turf. However, concerns about the environmental and financial impact of these products has led turf managers toward microbial inputs. Inputs containing microorganisms promote turf growth while minimizing the use of fertilizers and pesticides — and help increase the population of helpful microorganisms in the living soil.

TerraMax has produced products that rely on the bacteria Azosiprillum for more than 10 years. Using a unique, scientifically proven formulation technology, the Azosprillum in TerraMax’s TAZO® products have a much longer shelf life than other products containing the bacteria, surviving in the container for up to 2 years.

And turf managers across the U.S. have seen success with TerraMax products.

Decrease Your Fertilizer, Up Your Game

At Lake Panorama National Golf Club in Panora, Iowa, 3,000 golfers hit the greens annually, playing round after round upon the 160-acre course. With that kind of activity, maintaining hardy turf is a challenge for Dan Wollner, the club’s head groundskeeper.

That’s why he chose to test the use of TerraMax’s TAZO-B liquid broadcast turf and seed treatment on his ryegrass fairway. He quickly noticed that there was less pythium on the fairway and the grass was more disease resistant. As a bonus, the color improved on the fairway without adding fertilizer. Wollner found these were so successful that he expanded the use of TAZO-B on all of the fairway, greens and tees on the course.

Wollner’s success illustrates how TAZO-B creates hardy plants with improved root structure. He now applies TAZO-B once a year at Panorama in June when the soil warms. Since he began treating his soil with TAZO-B, the club uses a quarter less fertilizer. He has also noted stronger plants with deeper roots.

Stronger Roots Beget Stronger Greens

Imagine 27,000 golfers hitting balls on your greens every year.

At Bearpath Golf & Country Club in Eden Prairie, Minn., John Malloy, head groundskeeper, began using TAZO-B to treat the 4-acre greens at his club 6 years ago. Applying a quarter per acre to the greens every 4 to 6 weeks, Malloy has seen consistent results with TAZO-B. The application has:

• Eliminated the appearance of common fertilizer granular products
• Decreased concern of walking and playing on recently treated turf
• Seen 6 to 8 inches of root growth each year

For Malloy at Bearpath, TAZO-B is an affordable solution for treating his turf greens. He also likes the diversity of the product and the ability to use it along other products to produce high-quality turf.