x Teaspoon feeding Latest GCSAA survey results champion superintendents nutrient management, help set a course for the future. Terry Ostmeyer A bit of controversy in turfgrass science circles and increasing regulatory scrutiny notwithstanding, the results of GCSAA s survey of nutrient use on American golf courses reflect a strong sense of duty among superintendents to apply turf-care products in a manner that provides quality playing conditions combined with proper consideration for the environment. The survey, published officially this month in the journal Applied Turfgrass Science, covers golf course nutrient use in 2006. It s the third installment of GCSAA s Golf Course Environmental Profile project, a series of five surveys funded by The Environmental Institute for Golf and The Toro Giving Program, and conducted and analyzed by the National Golf Foundation. (All reports can be viewed at www.eifg.org/programs/baselinesurvey.asp.) The project is intended to provide baseline information for the golf course industry through surveys of natural resource inventories, management inputs and environmental practices at U.S. golf facilities. The data will be used to document change over time, set priorities for the industry and indicate future needs for education, research and other environmental programs. The two previous surveys identified land-use characteristics and environmental stewardship practices on golf courses, along with water use and conservation. The final two surveys pesticide use, and energy use and environmental practices have been completed and the results are expected to be published in 2010. Straightforward data The nutrient-use survey collected data of both regional and national scope, establishing information on how superintendents across the United States apply nutrients on greens, tees, fairways and roughs, and also providing revealing comparisons with the use of nutrients in crop production. This allows us to make statistically sound conclusions and statements about the golf course industry, says Clark Throssell, Ph.D., GCSAA director of research and a chief architect of the profile project, noting that more than 2,500 superin- 60 GCM December 2009
tendents participated in the nutrient survey, a response rate of 15.6 percent. The true value of the survey is that for the first time that I m aware of we have data on fertilizer use on golf courses throughout the country. When people point their fingers and make sweeping statements that golf courses use a lot of fertilizer, now we can respond to that in a factual way and try to put into context what golf course fertilizer use really is. Overall, Throssell says the survey shows that superintendents apply nutrients in a professional and responsible way and consider multiple factors in their decision-making. He adds that the reported trends of nutrient use are a positive reflection on the profession. Inside the numbers In the Southeast and Southwest regions, where bermudagrass is a widely used species, nitrogen application rates are higher than in other regions. This is because bermudagrass requires a higher annual nitrogen rate than other turfgrass species. In addition, winter overseeding is most common in the Southeast and Southwest, which also contributes to the higher rate of nitrogen applied in these regions. Higher annual nitrogen rates are used in the Southeast, Southwest, Transition and Pacific regions because of a longer growing season. Sixty-four percent of 18-hole courses in the U.S. apply slowrelease nitrogen. Sixty-six percent of the respondents said they apply organic nutrients in one form or another. Forty-three percent said they did not use soil amendments in 2006. The highest use of soil amendments was in the Southwest, where it is common to find soil and irrigation water with a high sodium content. Nearly three-quarters of the respondents use a supplement, however, such as biostimulants, humates and amino acids/ proteins. While just 6 percent of 18-hole golf facilities are required by federal, state, local or tribal authority to have a written nutrient management plan, almost half, 49 percent, of all courses have a written fertilizer program, many of which cite voluntary participation in local watershed protection or conservation groups. Since 2002, 95 percent of the respondents have had soil tests done on their greens, 80 percent on fairways, 75 percent on tees and 26 percent on roughs. Throssell stresses the need for soil testing and adds that superintendents should do more, especially in the roughs, which might lead to fewer applications of potash and phosphate and subsequent cost savings. The survey revealed a need for improvement in golf courses storage facilities for fertilizers. While 91 percent of the respondents stored nutrients on-site for three consecutive days or more, only half of them reported having a facility designed for dedicated fertilizer storage. x The education edge Throssell also says the survey indicates superintendents are using the fertilizer recommendations developed and published by university scientists. John Cisar, Ph.D., professor of turfgrass and water management at the University of Florida s Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, represents a strong cadre of turfgrass teachers in a state with more than 1,400 golf courses and tens of thousands of acres of nutrient-dependent bermudagrass. The survey has set a benchmark, a baseline to compare to in the future. Following trends in the industry is important to superintendents, as well as the people who support them, Cisar says, adding that university guidelines are based on research, investigative work to evaluate performance, quality, aesthetics and environmental impact, along with independent testing and verification of products all to get the information out to the superintendents. The university people are looked upon as fair judges, I believe, he says. Obviously, if we weren t, our credibility would be shot. Crop production and turfgrass The survey results come on the heels of a published study by the U.S. Geological Survey that states that nutrient runoff into the northern Gulf of Mexico is the highest in more than 30 years. That study cited many runoff sources, including fertilizers, atmospheric contributions, erosion of soils containing nutrients and sewage plant discharges. Throssell believes GCSAA s nutrient-use survey will offer some context to the ramifications of the USGS study and other instances that contribute to the golf course industry s nagging perception problem. Specifically, the final report on the nutrient survey, being prepared now, compares golf course nutrient use to nutrient use in the production of corn a widely grown agronomic crop that covers 76 million acres in the U.S. and tomatoes a high-value, intensely maintained vegetable crop that covers 105,600 total acres. Overall, the survey results reveal that golf course turfgrass about 1.5 million acres in the U.S. is fertilized similarly to these crops. Citing U.S. Department of Agriculture figures, Throssell notes that while the rate of application of nitrogen, phosphate and potash on golf course turfgrass exceeds that of corn (golf course turfgrass was fertilized with 112 percent as much nitrogen and phosphate per acre and 187 percent as much potash per acre than corn), the total amount applied to golf course turfgrass was far less than on corn nitrogen and phosphate use in golf was 0.8 percent of that applied to corn; potash use in golf was 2.1 percent of that applied to corn. When compared with tomato production, golf s rates of application were less (golf course turfgrass was fertilized with 71 percent as much nitrogen and 53 percent as much potash as tomatoes), but the total amounts were more. We do need to do a good job and need to be good stewards, but in context, we are just not a big user of fertilizer and therefore we are only a small fraction of the issue (runoff), 62 GCM December 2009
x Not so special K? A growing chorus of turfgrass researchers is raising questions about the amount of potassium used on golf course playing surfaces. The surprise voiced by GCSAA Director of Research Clark Throssell, Ph.D., in the lead story concerning the amount of potash applied to golf course turf has been a point of contention in education and research circles for several years. The most persistent voice on what is wrong and what is right in potassium use has been that of Frank Rossi, Ph.D., of Cornell University, who has been butting brains with other university researchers over K fertilization for a decade or more. When I saw the data, it did nothing but confirm what I already suspected that golf course superintendents are applying potassium at ridiculously high rates, Rossi says. There is no research anywhere that supports that level of use. In fact, Rossi is surprised the GCSAA survey s data for potassium use wasn t even higher. Most scientists agree potassium isn t an environmental concern. Potassium doesn t contribute to aquatic weed growth and hasn t been shown to have a negative impact on water quality. Instead, the question more regularly debated is, Why overuse when you don t have to? Rossi admits that potassium is an important macronutrient most often found in high concentrations in turfgrass. It s vital for stress and traffic tolerance and water relations. It s logical, he says, that its importance has led to overuse, notably in the country s southern regions where bermudagrass must be managed and water quality often is poor. Rates there, he notes, have been known to be 1 pound of nitrogen to 4-6 pounds potassium. As far back as 30 years ago, a 1-to-1 ratio was widely accepted but with little research support, Rossi says, adding that more modern studies have shown that 1 pound nitrogen and ½ pound K would be adequate. Rossi has been seriously researching potassium and its use for the past eight years. When his initial work was published four years ago, he says the industry was 70-30 against his findings, which, among other things, concluded that late-season applications of potassium in some regions led to winter diseases such as snow mold. He also continued to maintain that requirements for K were not as high as most thought and many had underestimated the soil s ability to supply potassium and the plant s ability to take it from the soil. Now Rossi says other researchers from around the country have joined him and the majority opinion is now against excessive use of the nutrient. But he s skeptical of the real reason for any turnabout among superintendents. With the price increases of the last few years, people have started to question the use of potassium but not because of the research. I do think if you took the same survey today, we d see a marked reduction in potassium use. Even so, Rossi says it isn t good enough. There are clear times when you ve got to make potassium applications, he says. But I suspect that 70 to 80 percent of the potassium that s used on golf courses today isn t needed. The University of Florida s John Cisar, Ph.D., another veteran in the field, is typically more moderate than Rossi, considering his locale. I would be surprised if they (nitrogen and potassium) weren t matched closely together, Cisar says. They re both needed by the plant. It s like a dinner of meat and potatoes they go together. That said, Cisar admits that a 1-to-1 ratio is a bit high and that research has come around to support a more reasonable 2-to-1 nitrogen/potassium, application. Still, though more nitrogen and less potassium is recommended in Florida, he suspects 1-to-1 is still recognized by many superintendents. One of the things that s always argued about scientific research is that we aren t golf courses, he says. We can t duplicate the same use and abuse as on a golf course that has 50,000 rounds a year played on it. That s a fair criticism. We have to extrapolate our results to the real thing. It is a little bit of a leap. T.O. Throssell says. In that context, the survey lets us talk about the facts. That s a huge value for the industry. The rest of the story The survey also brought to the forefront a pair of ongoing, high-profile issues in golf course management the contentious use of potassium, or potash, on golf turf and the increasingly diligent advocacy of superintendents and others in the face of possible governmental restrictions on nutrient use. According to the results of the survey, the average rate of use of golf course macronutrients shows that potassium was applied at 3.6 pounds per 1,000 square feet three years ago compared with 3.5 pounds per 1,000 square feet for nitrogen. In total acres fertilized, nitrogen was applied to 1,311,000 acres and potassium to 1,260,000 acres. The use of phosphate, no less important to turfgrass growth, was considerably less than the other two 1.5 pounds per 1,000 square feet. Throssell was particularly taken aback by the near-equal use of nitrogen, the most essential nutrient, and potassium, the subject of much debated research in recent years. While too much potassium doesn t pose an environmental concern it doesn t contribute to aquatic weed growth and hasn t been shown to negatively impact water quality its rate of use as revealed in the survey isn t backed by science. To me I don t think there is much data to support that (the near-equal use 64 GCM December 2009
Recommendations The data provided by GCSAA s Golf Course Environmental Profile project surveys are sure to be discussed within the golf course management industry for some time. The following are GCSAA s recommendations from the nutrient-use survey. Environmental stewardship The results of the nutrient-use survey indicate that golf course superintendents use a variety of nutrient sources. Quick-release and slowrelease nitrogen sources and synthetic and organic nutrient sources are applied to most of the nation s golf courses. No matter the nitrogen source (quick- or slow-release, synthetic or organic) superintendents decide the rate applied, the frequency of application, the time of year applications are made and the product used, and are therefore responsible for producing the desired effect on the turfgrass without negatively affecting the environment. GCSAA recommends that superintendents evaluate all sources of nutrients based on their agronomic performance, cost, potential impact on water quality and other environmental concerns and choose products that foster sustainability of the golf facility. By itself, the source of nutrients (quick-release, slow-release, synthetic, organic) is not an indicator of the environmental stewardship of the golf facility. The potential for nutrients to move from the application site is influenced by application rate, frequency of application, time of year, product applied, soil type, soil moisture content, temperature, turfgrass density and the intensity and amount of rainfall/irrigation following application. Understanding and adjusting to the influence of these factors is the responsibility of a golf course superintendent. Soil testing Since 2002, only 26 percent of 18-hole golf facilities have conducted soil tests on the rough. On an average 18-hole golf facility, the rough comprises 50 acres, more than any other component of a golf course. Because the greatest total amount of phosphate and potash are applied to rough, GCSAA recommends that superintendents routinely conduct soil tests on the rough to determine phosphorus and potassium fertilizer needs. This practice has the potential to curtail costs and promote fertilizer programs that meet, not exceed, the nutritional needs of turfgrass. Fertilizer storage In 2006, 50 percent of the 18-hole golf facilities that stored fertilizer for more than three consecutive days used a dedicated storage building. All golf facilities that store fertilizer should use facilities designed specifically for that purpose. Nutrient management plans Approximately 50 percent of golf facilities nationally have a written nutrient management plan or a written fertilizer program. A written nutrient management plan or a written fertilizer program provides the means to achieve goals and should be used by all golf facilities. GCSAA recommends that all golf facilities develop written nutrient management plans based on the characteristics and expectations unique to each facility using recommendations developed by university scientists. x of nitrogen and potassium), Throssell says. Quite honestly, as a turfgrass scientist, I don t know why superintendents are applying that much potassium. I would question the benefit they re getting from that. Turfgrass science needs to get involved and define how much potassium turf really needs. For more information on this issue, see the sidebar Not so special K on Page 64. Advocacy by moonlight The survey revealed only scattered current government oversight of nutrient use just 9 percent of survey respondents reported existing restrictions and only 6 percent said they were required by local legislation to have a written nutrient management plan. But it would be remiss to overlook the advocacy of the golf course management profession at both the local and national levels in attempting to gain a sense of balance among prolific agriculture concerns, domestic and commercial lawn care, and golf course turfgrass. The nutrient-use survey, viewed with the already published Environmental Profile surveys and those yet to come, creates a baseline of knowledge from which a basic vocabulary of sustainable progress can be shared between the golf industry, government regulators and the public. As examples, the following are three case studies of government relations work in action by the golf course industry. Chesapeake Bay Restoration Program Last May President Barack Obama signed an executive order that recognized Chesapeake Bay as a national treasure and also called for the federal government to renew efforts to restore and protect the Bay and its watershed. While initial reports came down hard on agriculture as the main polluter of the Bay, other entities are on the radar, including urban and suburban sources, and stand to face such measures as mandatory nutrient restrictions. The Chesapeake Bay watershed includes six states Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, plus the District of Columbia. Since the president s order nearly eight months ago, industry and other commercial ventures have been jockeying for position at the regulatory table for a voice in the outcome. One of those is Peter McDonough, whose day job is superintendent at The Keswick (Va.) Club. He s also the founding president of the Virginia GCSA a decade ago and the external vice president of Old Dominion GCSA. McDonough says the Virginia golf industry may be ahead of Obama s plan, having been organized now for several years, with the 19-year GCSAA member playing an instrumental role in that effort and current advocacy aimed at the Bay restoration order. We ve really worked hard and we need to continue to be part of the decision-making, McDonough says of the Virginia GCSA, the state turfgrass council and other state golf industry partners. When it got to the point where each group needed to solidify its own strength, it was obvious that 66 GCM December 2009
x tribute to government entities. We need to be more proactive and compare our uses of water and nutrients against other users, he says, adding that a good start would be enlisting course owners and golfers themselves to aid in the cause. We superintendents are the stewards of the game, but we re only temporary, McDonough continues. We ve got to reach those who make the golf business go and have access to the end-users. They are the ones who have got to know that superintendents aren t creating environmental issues. GCSAA s survey of nutrient use on golf courses gives the industry a baseline of knowledge that can be used to measure progress. Photo courtesy of Syngenta we needed to organize ourselves as a part of the golf industry first instead of being broken into parts. Everybody who is a stakeholder has a role here. One of golf s true allies in Virginia as states toil over Chesapeake Bay decisions is the Virginia Agribusiness Council, of which the Virginia GCSA is a member. The council represents industries that have a $77 billion impact on the state, including $3.1 billion in golf interests. McDonough notes that Donna Johnson, the VAC president with expertise in the trappings of Capitol Hill, has helped the golf industry immensely in getting access to the proper government contacts. McDonough has positioned himself to represent his profession as the EPA mulls what has become known as the TMDL Total Maximum Daily Load for runoff into the Bay from all sources. He s currently on the state s technical advisory committees for both nutrient application management and reclaimed water regulation. Our plan is simple: Turf stops erosion and minimizes runoff, he says. Of course, it s lot more complicated than that under the circumstances. McDonough adds that the entire country should pay heed to what s going to come down for the Chesapeake Bay and its environs. The program they re working on now will be used for all waterways in the U.S. the Great Lakes, the Colorado River, the Mississippi you name it, he says. This is going to be the template, song, chapter and verse. To that end, McDonough is anxious to put the information gleaned from the nutrient-use survey to use in future discussions with state officials, and hopes others can do the same. We need GCSAA data in a user-friendly package to dis- Regulation of phosphorus fertilizer applications, Minnesota Golf course management in Minnesota has waged a long, hard battle for the better part of two decades to achieve reasonable nutrient legislation that came to be in 2004. Today, the state s self-regulating program for the use of phosphorus, developed by turf professionals for golf courses, is a model for others to pursue. Phosphorus is used considerably less on golf turf than nitrogen and potassium, according to GCSAA s survey, yet it leads the way in attracting legislated restrictions in an increasing number of states. The fertilizer is essential to turfgrass root growth and subsequent plant development during establishment from seed, sod and stolons. Most often, established turfgrass requires fewer applications because many soils provide adequate levels of phosphorus. However, phosphorus also is the most limiting nutrient in fresh water, and its excess presence there is the chief cause of such problems as algae, discoloration, habitat loss and low oxygen levels. In Minnesota, self-professed Land of 10,000 Lakes, that s a big deal. Several years ago, the state government sought an outright ban of phosphorus use, whether as laundry soap, cropland fertilizer or as a turfgrass care input. That rallied the state s department of agriculture and other stakeholders, including the golf industry. It was good that it (the ban) was originally stated the way it was because the farmers would have never put up with that, says Paul Eckholm, CGCS at Heritage Links Golf Club in Savage, Minn., who has been involved in crafting legislation that would work for everyone since around 2000 when he was president of the Minnesota GCSA. Eckholm and others used resources from GCSAA, the state chapter and the Minnesota Golf Association, which provided the services of its professional lobbyist. In the end, the law was one that superintendents could live with. Golf courses were exempted from strict phosphorus restrictions. Its use was approved for new sod situations and when soil tests support the need. Most of all, it s a self-regulating program in which turfgrass managers take training in the proper application of phosphorus. They (the legislators) agreed that golf courses are not one of the principal problems, but more one of the solutions, says Eckholm, a 25-year member of GCSAA. That allowed us some leeway to literally write ourselves into the 68 GCM December 2009
bill. It worked out very well. We set it up where we would do the training and the renewals ourselves. We provide the state with the list of those who have gone through the program and are certified to apply phosphorus to turf. We also provide information on renewals. Eckholm says 95 percent of the golf courses in Minnesota complied with the training initially. Even with some falloff in renewals, more than 80 percent are still in compliance today. The certification program was developed and is run by Brian Horgan, Ph.D., an associate professor of turfgrass management at the University of Minnesota and a leading nutrient researcher. It entails a four-hour class, as well as ongoing training such as keeping abreast of trade journal articles and research updates. In the last four or five years, with the economics of things, superintendents have become very astute in how to limit their fertilizer use, Horgan says. The training has been like a refresher course. We ve had a good success rate for certification and renewals. Our goal was to have between 450 and 600 people take the class and we are in that range. We re very happy with that. Eckholm adds that the major advocacy victory has its ancillary dividends. It s paid off in many other ways because it opened our chapter s eyes to how much stuff goes on in the state that we don t know about, he says. Now we are working a lot more closely with the nursery and landscaping people so when they have issues or we have issues we re all pulling on the same rope in the same direction. Phosphorus ban, Westchester County, N.Y. For every victory or two in government relations, there is a setback. I m one of the failures, says Bob Nielsen, CGCS at Bedford (N.Y.) Golf & Tennis Club. Nielsen is being a little hard on himself. But his experience is an example of what can happen when you take on a government advocacy challenge for the first time, a situation that can now be aided by the Golf Course Environmental Profile data. About a year ago, Nielsen, Metropolitan GCSA vice president, chapter delegate and government relations chairman, was thrust into the role of trying to save golf courses in prestigious Westchester County from an impending ban on nutrients. With assistance from GCSAA public policy staff, a strategy was formed and materials prepared that responded to the proposed ban. Despite his valiant, albeit neophyte, efforts, the County Board of Legislators passed a law last July that will ban the use of phosphorus by 2011. Exempted are new seedings in their first year and cases supported by soil tests. More important to the county s 57 golf courses was a lastminute add-on to the law in effect now that no fertilizer can be used within 10 feet of a body of water or 20 feet if there is no buffer strip. The same law also has banned all fertilizer use from Dec. 1 to April 11. x That s what we re most concerned about. Our goal is to somehow avoid that, Nielsen says of the nutrient ban near water, which raises dire consequences of erosion and sediment runoff. They didn t pass this law because of science, they passed it because it was a feel-good law. The 19-year GCSAA member has since been working with county officials saddled with enforcing the law to seek a reasonable solution for the county s golf industry, which represents a sizeable portion of the game s $5.3 billion total economic impact in New York. Nielsen s hopes hang on the fact that the issue has since been raised at the state level. I hate to say it, but that s the best thing that could happen, he says. We have a better chance of getting special considerations for golf courses on a statewide basis than we do in Westchester County. Meanwhile, Nielsen is continuing his role in the quest, going to more meetings, telling anyone who will listen what golf courses are really doing in nutrient management, an effort where the new nutrient survey can help. This was my first try at something like this and I just didn t develop a relationship with any of the legislators until we were too far into it. You learn an awful lot in your first go-around, unfortunately. Now I know, he says. To tell the truth, I thought the law was going to be fashioned after the Minnesota law. I just thought all along golf courses were going to be exempted. GCSAA revs up its resources As GCSAA s five-part Golf Course Environmental Profile is developed, compiled and published, many more resources will be available to grassroots government relations and communications efforts. Sandy Queen, CGCS, a GCSAA board member and chairman of the association s Environmental Programs Committee, says he understands members frustrations as scrutiny aimed at golf courses increases, but is confident that the already-completed surveys and those to come can provide a basis for factbased conversation. Queen a 31-year GCSAA member who since 1984 has been manager of golf operations for the city of Overland Park, Kan., notes that feedback on the project has been extremely positive, notably from the overall golf industry. He commends the superintendents who took the time to gather the data and participate in the surveys. I think there will be some real benefits come out of the surveys in all areas, he says. GCM Terry Ostmeyer is a longtime writer for GCM and a former editor of the magazine. 70 GCM December 2009