OUR BLOG

Golf Course Superintendent Gary Myers couldn’t say the word “excited” enough times when we spoke with him recently.

And why shouldn’t he be excited? Life is good at Sagamore Golf Club, a highly revered Indiana championship course that can be compared to Muirfield Village Golf Club and Medinah.

This past fall, Sagamore signed on with Holganix- an organic soil amendment manufacturer to help create healthier turf with less synthetic inputs.

“As of right now, we are getting exceptional results,” spews Myers.

He reports that with Holganix Bio 800⁺ Golf, he has been receiving the same color and quality of turf despite reducing nitrogen by half. Furthermore, the root system is denser and longer with Holganix Bio 800⁺ Golf (see the second picture on the right). Because of this, Myers anticipates that his turf will handle draught conditions better than usual with longer intervals between waterings and with less weeds.

Organic…?

Traditionally, Sagamore Golf Club has not held a philosophy for organic products. The Club and its superintendent pride themselves on their beautiful course and have developed a heavy appetite for synthetics.

However, Myers is very aware of the threat too many synthetics can pose of the local marine environment. Talk of fertilizer’s role in marine dead zones has been circulating amongst scientific communities and the green industry.

Furthermore, synthetics’ natural tendency toward inefficiency has long frustrated Myers, who reports that with synthetics he receives 40% efficiency by the plant, the rest of which turns into run off. With Holganix Bio 800⁺ Golf, Myers is able to solve both problems.

By reducing inputs with Holganix Bio 800⁺ Golf, he is able to address Sagamore’s responsibility to the local environment. Holganix Bio 800⁺ Golf also allows Myers to boost efficiency of nitrogen use by the plant, effectively freeing up nutrients tied within the soil and increasing populations of nitrogen-fixing and phosphorous-fixing bacteria.

Working with Mother Nature

Another highlight Myers points out is his newfound ability to work with Mother Nature.

“With synthetics,” reports Myers, “it was a one-shot deal. You lay down your synthetics and then you wait to see what happens. With Holganix Bio 800⁺ Golf, that all changes.” Holganix Golf gives Myers the flexibility to work with Mother Nature, reacting with the weather on an event or as-needed basis.

*Check out the roots at Sagamore Golf Course! Picture to the right.

Exciting Learning Process

Initially, Myers had only intended to test Holganix Bio 800⁺ Golf on the fairways and had planned to hold off utilizing Holganix Bio 800⁺ Golf on the greens until the following season. However, after seeing the results of Holganix on their fairways, specifically on turf roots, Myers quickly changed course and has begun applying Holganix on the greens as well as the fairways.

Yet, despite all of Myers’ success with Holganix Golf, utilizing it is still a learning process.

“Switching to Holganix Bio 800⁺ Golf meant rethinking the whole process (from synthetic to organic) of fertilization. It’s exciting!”

For Myers, his use of Holganix Bio 800⁺ Golf has only just begun and he is excited to see what additional possibilities it may yield.

Want To Learn More About Sagamore's Results?

Watch our below video interview with Garry about his Holganix Bio 800⁺ Golf results.