An essential tool

Tim Palko is no stranger to PGRs. In fact, the superintendent at Boulder (Colo.) Country Club has worked on golf course for 16 years, and in that time he's used PGRs in one way or another.

“The use of PGRs has been an essential tool at every course I've worked for,” Palko says. "The biggest changes the last few years have come with the combination products. They now give you the ability to sustain the amount of control over longer periods of time.”

Palko's team sprays greens on seven-day intervals. Judging the program’s effectiveness is a week-by-week process.

“We typically spray on Monday since the course doesn't open for play until the afternoon,” he says. “I rely on monitoring clipping yield to determine whether to increase my rates with PGRs or to lower them. By the time I get to Friday and the weekend, my expectations are to only have approximately 1/8 of a basket or so as an average throughout the course on greens. It may not be the most scientific method, but it works well for me.

Palko uses a predominantly foliar feeding program that he'll adjust, as well, to achieve greens that can withstand stress, stay consistent and stimp at -- or above -- his goals.

“I have been at Boulder Country Club for four years now and we have been able to significantly increase our bentgrass populations," he says. "The use of PGRs has been a major component in my program that has turned the tables and converted greens from majority Poa annua to Creeping Bentgrass.”

Considering the rapid advancements being made across the turfgrass industry, as well as the superintendent ingenuity, the  use patterns for plant growth regulator (PGRs) have been constantly evolving for golf course application.

“It’s difficult to keep up with the number of creative ways superintendents discover to use PGRs in their agronomic program,” says Jeff Atkinson, portfolio leader for SePRO’s Turf & Landscape Solutions. “I often tell folks, superintendents are our best research and development team. You’ll always have the staple use of suppressing growth to reduce clipping production, scalping, etc. Superintendents have evolved into using PGRs to encourage growth of one turf species while discouraging growth of a weed species. For example, applying Cutless MEC (Flurprimidol) to aggressively suppress Poa annua while not discouraging lateral spread of Creeping Bentgrass, thereby promoting a dense stand of desirable bentgrass. Others use PGRs as an environmental stewardship measure as a replacement for frequent nutrient inputs or to improve drought tolerance over a growing season.”

The cost saving with regard to mowing requirements on lower-maintenance turf is somewhat reasonable to track when gauging whether PGRs have been effective in achieving agronomic goals, says Bert McCarty, Professor of Turfgrass Science at Clemson University. But that’s not all.

“Other savings, such as water, aren’t as evident but probably just as important,” McCarty says. “Research indicates a potential 15 to 20 percent increase in water use efficiency by using PGRs. Those with separate irrigation system capabilities can more easily track water savings and should."

PGR-treated turf also typically has less clipping production, which saves time and money for courses which traditionally disposed of these by blowing or dragging, McCarty adds.

“On more intensively maintained turf such as greens, metrics typically involve greens speeds and uniformity," he says. "Speeds obviously are easy to gauge with a Stimp meter or similar device while uniformity becomes somewhat subjective, but often directly ties in with speeds. The darker turf that results from PGR use also has allowed golf courses to reduce nitrogen use approximately 30 percent without a loss in color.”

As for Palko next season, a successful program only needs a few tweaks here and there.

“It took me several years to figure out the program that would achieve the results I am looking for on greens,” he says. “I am happy with the results and will likely use a similar program with only a few modifications next year. With fairways, approaches and tees I'm looking to increase the frequency of application from [every] four-to-five weeks to two-to-three. This, in turn, will give me more consistency while permitting me to reduce my rates per application.”

Rob Thomas is a Cleveland-based writer and frequent GCI contributor.