When Skokie Country Club, an old private resort on Chicago’s north side, decided a re-grassing of their greens and fairways was in order a few years ago, veteran superintendent Don Cross knew a quick grow-in was essential.
Skokie Country Club, which hosted the 1922 U.S. Open and has undergone facelifts over the years from the likes of Thomas Bendelow, Donald Ross, and the team of William Langford and Theodore Moreau, closed the course in early August of 2015 for the remainder of the season, with plans to open again spring of 2016.
To facilitate the quick grow-in of the 007 bentgrass, Cross turned to The Andersons Contec DG 18-24-5 and The Andersons 16-0-8 Humic DG granule. The results were nothing short of fantastic.
“The grow-in was better than anything I could have expected,” Cross says. “We had germination in three days. We were mowing the new greens in just 11 days, and the fairways in 12. No doubt the timing helped with the warm temps in August, but I give a lot of the credit to the fertility we chose.”
The Andersons 16-0-8 with Humic DG was the second application on the newly seeded fairways. “This was about three weeks after the initial seeding,” he says.
Skokie Country Club reopened by Memorial Day of 2016, and they haven’t looked back. In fact, Cross still uses the Contec DG 18-24-5 whenever they have a re-grassing project.
“We occasionally re-grass the edges of our fairways or tinker with areas on tees,” he says. “When we do we take the sod from our extensive bentgrass nursery. We use the 18-24-5 for re-growing the nursery.”
Cross relies heavily on other products from The Andersons for in-season fertility of his greens, tees and fairways, as well. His go-to product is The Andersons HCU (Humic Coated Urea) 44-0-0.
“I use the HCU on greens, tees and fairways,” he says. “We use it at light rates pretty much anytime we’re making a spray application. We hit the greens and fairways at .05 LBS of N/1000, and the tees at about double that, .10 to .12 LBS of N/1000. It’s our main nitrogen source.”
Another product he relies on is The Andersons Humic DG every spring. Humic acid enhances the plant’s ability to take in essential nutrients, as well as improves the soil structure. According to The Andersons, Humic DG utilizes patented technology to create uniform, spherical dispersing granules. While most products on the market today provide strictly mineral-based humic substances, Humic DG provides both a mineral-based humate, and a plant-based carbon source.
Cross also raves about The Andersons Foltec SG with minors. “I tested this product slowly at first,” he says. “I really liked the response. We’re now using it on greens, tees and fairways.”
The Andersons offers the Foltec SG in four separate formulations, each containing a specific N-P-K ratio along with essential micronutrients, Ultramate SG and sea plant extract.
To Cross, it doesn’t matter if it’s a major re-grassing or simply an in-season spoon-feeding, when he needs fertility, he knows where to look first.
Ron Furlong is a Bllingham, Was.-based turf writer and frequent GCI contributor.
Skokie Country Club, which hosted the 1922 U.S. Open and has undergone facelifts over the years from the likes of Thomas Bendelow, Donald Ross, and the team of William Langford and Theodore Moreau, closed the course in early August of 2015 for the remainder of the season, with plans to open again spring of 2016. To facilitate the quick grow-in of the 007 bentgrass, Cross turned to The Andersons Contec DG 18-24-5 and The Andersons 16-0-8 Humic DG granule. The results were nothing short of fantastic.
“The grow-in was better than anything I could have expected,” Cross says. “We had germination in three days. We were mowing the new greens in just 11 days, and the fairways in 12. No doubt the timing helped with the warm temps in August, but I give a lot of the credit to the fertility we chose.”
The Andersons 16-0-8 with Humic DG was the second application on the newly seeded fairways. “This was about three weeks after the initial seeding,” he says.
Skokie Country Club reopened by Memorial Day of 2016, and they haven’t looked back. In fact, Cross still uses the Contec DG 18-24-5 whenever they have a re-grassing project.
“We occasionally re-grass the edges of our fairways or tinker with areas on tees,” he says. “When we do we take the sod from our extensive bentgrass nursery. We use the 18-24-5 for re-growing the nursery.”
Cross relies heavily on other products from The Andersons for in-season fertility of his greens, tees and fairways, as well. His go-to product is The Andersons HCU (Humic Coated Urea) 44-0-0.
“I use the HCU on greens, tees and fairways,” he says. “We use it at light rates pretty much anytime we’re making a spray application. We hit the greens and fairways at .05 LBS of N/1000, and the tees at about double that, .10 to .12 LBS of N/1000. It’s our main nitrogen source.”
Another product he relies on is The Andersons Humic DG every spring. Humic acid enhances the plant’s ability to take in essential nutrients, as well as improves the soil structure. According to The Andersons, Humic DG utilizes patented technology to create uniform, spherical dispersing granules. While most products on the market today provide strictly mineral-based humic substances, Humic DG provides both a mineral-based humate, and a plant-based carbon source.Cross also raves about The Andersons Foltec SG with minors. “I tested this product slowly at first,” he says. “I really liked the response. We’re now using it on greens, tees and fairways.”
The Andersons offers the Foltec SG in four separate formulations, each containing a specific N-P-K ratio along with essential micronutrients, Ultramate SG and sea plant extract.
To Cross, it doesn’t matter if it’s a major re-grassing or simply an in-season spoon-feeding, when he needs fertility, he knows where to look first.
Ron Furlong is a Bllingham, Was.-based turf writer and frequent GCI contributor.
