Nailed it

The depth of science and research suppliers place today into new product development reflects their appreciation for the pressure placed on golf course superintendents to manage healthy, superior performing playing surfaces.

Veteran golf course superintendent Jim Ferrin agrees with this notion, adding he sees firsthand how today’s products have changed to meet the new challenges turf managers face with regard to sustainability and meeting player expectations. 

“There’s simply more pressure as we go forward,” says Ferrin, who, for the last 13 years, has managed the turf at Timber Creek Golf Club in Roseville, Calif., just outside of Sacramento. “Run-off … Ingestion …  So many things were considerations we weren’t making decades ago when I started in this business. Today, there is clearly a development of better products.”

This is a prime reason Ferrin was interested in the release of The Andersons HCU (Humic Coated Urea) 44-0-0 nitrogen granule bonded with potassium humate. The product offers low application rates combined with what Ferrin hoped would be great results throughout Timber Creek.

“We’ve been using the product for about six months now, and the results are amazing,” he says. “Minimal inputs, yet long-lasting effect.”

Ferrin uses The Andersons HCU on fairways, approaches and tees. With its Sacramento location, Timber Creek GC has a mixed bag, if you will, of perennial rye, Poa, bent and Bermuda. 

“We spray every five weeks at .10 lbs N/1000,” he says. “I’ve definitely noticed we’ve been extending out our color.” 

This extending out of color is important to Ferrin because of the residential community that surround the Timber Creek property. “We have to have something that will balance what the homeowners around the facility want -- which is green -- with the expectations our golfers and members have regarding not only the look, but the playability of the turfgrass,” he says.

Another great feature of The Andersons HCU is the ability to either spray the product or, if you so choose, spread it as a granular. As The Andersons advertises: "Soluble. Sprayable. Spreadable. Sustainable."

“If you’re looking for affordability as well as sustainability – (The Andersons HCU) nails it,” Ferrin says.

According to The Andersons, the HCU granules utilize urea-humate fusion technology, which bonds a uniform coating of potassium humate over a urea granule. This coating works synergistically with urea to promote and enhance soil biology.

The granules also contain beneficial fulvic and humic acids, which have numerous proven benefits. These include enhanced nutrient efficiency, greater micronutrient uptake and improved water holding capacity. 

And speaking of water, water -- specifically irrigation water -- is another reason Ferrin prefers The Andersons HCU. 

“We irrigate with reclaimed water, which is not ideal,” he says. “It can be a tough animal in the summer because of its usually high-salt content and the negative impacts on the soil and turf. But I’ve found the 44-0-0 and its humic component performs very well even with the use of reclaimed water.”

Ron Furlong is a Bellingham, Wash.-based turf writer and frequent GCI contributor.