Skeptics challenged at Te Puke Golf Club
“You’re going to lose your fairways if you use that stuff.” – a kiwifruit grower and golfer, Spring 2007.
“We’ve noticed a big improvement in the fairways, particularly in the last six months – you must be using the right stuff:” – Dave and Jan Parkes, April 2008.
“Wormtech Extra is fantastic, we’ve saved heaps of money and the fairways are in great shape” – Richard Knight, course superintendent.
In May 2007, Richard Knight took over as course superintendent at the attractive Te Puke Golf Club course. Richard has previously worked on courses in Canada, England, Portugal, Spain, Malaysia, Thailand and elsewhere, over some 20 years since qualifying.
The Te Puke course comprises 12.5 ha of fairways, 24 ha of rough, 1 ha of greens, 1.5 ha of tees and 1 ha of surrounds and aprons. As well as satisfying the 600 members, Richard is responsible for delivering a quality playing surface for numerous corporate days which often host 150 people, and a good volume of visitors.
We interviewed Richard in May 2008, when he explained his challenge: “In the two years before I arrived, there was not good turf cover on the fairways in summer. I did a soil test and found that there were lots of nutrients locked up in the soil.
A new approach
“I had been talking to the guys from Ag Grow and Wormtech about a new product of theirs which uses vermicast, humic acid and a proprietary oxygen booster to revive microbial activity in the soil, releasing locked up nutrients, stimulating root growth, and ultimately leading to better plant nutrition and less waste of fertiliser.
“I tried it on some tees and was immediately impressed with the results. I made the controversial decision there and then to treat all the fairways with Wormtech Extra in spring, and not to use any solid fertilisers on them at all. One or two of the players here are old school kiwifruit growers who are not very familiar with the role of soil biology in plant production, and I think they thought I was nuts!
Richard treated the fairways with 100l/ha of Wormtech Extra, applied by boom sprayer in October 2007. He has used no other fertilisers since he arrived in May 2007. Nor has he used any fungicides on the fairways this year.
“It took six months to really show a visible result. The turf has better colour, better density, deeper roots and better leaf – easily a 65% improvement in overall fairway condition. I have gone through this summer with 97% turf cover on the fairways, and at most used 645 cubic metres of water, even in the drought. I have had only two areas of ‘melting out’ fungal infection. The course looks great and the players are delighted. Even the skeptics are now saying maybe I do know what I am doing!
Multiiple benefits
“But that is not all - with Wormtech Extra being such a clean green product, we are being more environmentally responsible and providing a healthier playing environment. It really is a win-win.”
Richard reports to the Course Advisory Committee of the club board, and chairman Malcolm Cartwright said “Of course, the condition of the fairways is a function of whole regime, and the credit is impossible to attribute to one product. However, we are very happy with how the fairways came through this summer.”
Similarly club pro Scott Pickett comments “The course is great, you never get a bad lie now and the fairways are in such good condition. I have had visitors go out of their way to tell me that they were delighted, and members are all saying they have never seen them so good in the summer. Word is getting around, which is great for the club!”
And the plan for next season? “My plan is to extend the use of Wormtech Extra to the tees and the aprons in front of the greens, which will save me another $7000. I will also treat a metre-wide band of the rough on each side of the fairways in the coming spring. I will not be using other fertilizers there, and hope not to need fungicides either.
“The greens are quite a different surface, with no drainage and heavy chemical use, and being cut to 2.5mm, and we will not be using Wormtech Extra there next season. Whether we extend our Wormtech Extra treatment to the greens will depend on how things go this year on the tees."
Unfortunately Richard has since left the club and decisions on these maters are now out of his hands. However he concludes:
“Wormtech Extra has worked well for us, with a lovely soil and with irrigation. I think it would also have good application where there is no irrigation and where there is lots of couch, as it promotes deeper roots and water retention. I will keep using it and am very happy to recommend it.”