Q&A: Geoponics & Virginia Golf Course Superintendent Jay Wade
Each season has its challenges for growing healthy turfgrass. Particularly challenging is maintaining that vibrant green color expected by golf club members and tournament players, regardless of climate, weather or water restrictions.
So when
Geoponics heard of a man in Virginia who maintained a green golf course throughout the year, throughout a multitude of growing conditions, pleasing members with his handling of warm season grasses even during cool weather, we wanted to hear how he did it. Golf Course Superintendent Jay Wade shares how he maintains healthy turf throughout the seasons.
Here is our brief interview.
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Endurant keeps warm season grasses gorgeous and playable throughout the cold winters. Magnolia Green Golf Club uses Endurant on Celebration Bermudagrass, lasting four months.[/caption]
Q&A with Geoponics and Golf Course Superintendent Jay Wade of Magnolia Green Golf Club in Moseley, VA.
We broke the interview into seasonal questions and tips.
WINTER
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Golf Course Superintendent Jay Wade is known for maintaining a gorgeous golf course year round at Virginia's Magnolia Green Golf Club. Photo credit: Magnolia Green Golf Club[/caption]
Geoponics: Let’s start with winter. Somehow, you managed to keep the golf course green all winter long, from December 2016, even into the spring, into March 2017. The turfgrass had to go into winter dormancy. So, how’d you do it?
Jay Wade: Just
Endurant.
Geoponics: That’s believable. But how much did you apply? How many times? Was it really just one application of Endurant turf colorant that lasted from Dec. 1, 2016 into March of 2017?
Wade: Yes. Just Endurant. One application at a rate of 5 gallons per acre applied Dec. 1.
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Dormant warmseason turfgrass in Virginia gets color and contrast with Endurant for great playability throughout the winter in Virginia. Photo credit: Magnolia Green Golf Club[/caption]
Geoponics: Wow. What’s your trick? It’s common for Endurant turf colorants to last three months, but you kept natural green color depth beyond three months. Was the turf fully dormant throughout that time?
Wade: Yes. The grass was dormant. We applied
Endurant Premium. What helps us is we’re cart path only through the winter. Even if only 85 percent of players listen to the rule, I’m good for winter. That helps us out a ton. We applied Endurant to tees and fairways.
SPRING Transition
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Springtime green at Magnolia Green Golf Club in Virginia on Celebration bermudagrass. Endurant turf colorants provide a great spring transition.[/caption]
Geoponics: How do you transition from winter to spring? Are you able to maintain color in early spring or get chlorophyll levels back up for early season greenup?
Wade: Paint helps us greenup about three weeks faster. Endurant helps us transition. I played with a lot of products when we first started to paint. We tested side by side on fairways. This is our best year yet. Geoponics service is amazing. Working with service, Geoponics added additional black colorant to our mix. We wanted to darken it up. The service is great to get just what we needed.
SUMMER: Heat, drought, flood
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Penterra & Agriox are being applied in this August 2016 photo. Penterra, the fastest acting soil surfactant on the market, along with Agriox, which provides slow release oxygen, helps keep the grass healthy in high heat and moisture.[/caption]
Geoponics: What tips do you have for summer, including heat?
Wade: I try to keep it very simple. I keep our water management under wraps. In the super wet periods, use
Penterra. We might just use Penterra once a month to push the water through. If it’s too wet, we’ll do a greens flush, using
Agriox to help it breathe better.
FALL Transition
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Magnolia Green Golf Club maintains beautiful playability throughout the year using Endurant turf colorant as well as Penterra and Agriox for water management.[/caption]
Geoponics: What do you do about the fall transition
Wade: We did wait this year for the turf to go into full dormancy before painting. That seemed to help a lot. So our one application (Dec. 1, 2016) lasted all season.
