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“HGX PRO Bio 800⁺ Golf just makes sense,” explains Joey Franco, Director of Agronomy at Daniel Island Club in South Carolina, a premier private club that boasts two 18-hold courses. “It's the first product that I have seen with my own eyes that will develop a sound root system.” 

Over the last 7 years, Joey has put HGX PRO Bio 800⁺ Golf to the test, incorporating it into his maintenance at three different courses. He has seen significant root development on all three courses! The root development has allowed him to improve recovery time after aeration and renovations and has allowed him to reduce irrigation by 40% and fertilizer by 25%. 

Earlier this month, we sat down with Joey to interview him about his results and how he uses the product. Click the link to skip to the topic of your choice. You can watch the full interview on video here. 

1. What does your program look like? 
2. What results have you seen with rooting? 
3. What results have you seen during renovation and aeration? 
4. What results have you seen with irrigation and fertilizer reductions? 
5. Why did you decide to use Holganix Bio 800⁺ Golf? 
6. How does HGX PRO Bio 800⁺ Golf work? 
   

What does your program look like? 

Daniel Island Club has heavy clay and marshy soil. The turf type is Latitude 36TM Bermudagrass, but they do have Zoysia around the bunkers. 

They use HGX PRO Bio 800⁺ Golf 10-to-11 months of the year, depending on the weather. “We apply Bio 800⁺ Golf every two weeks at a rate of 14 ounces per 1,000 square feet,” explains Joey. “We like to mix it with a surfactant to push the microbes into the ground and better drive soil health and root mass.” 

Watch this 7-minute video interview where Joey goes into detail about incorporating HGX PRO Bio 800⁺ Golf in his turf management program. If you are reading this blog via email, click here to watch the video clip. 

What results have you seen with rooting? 

“Until I started using Holganix, I have never had roots like this. It is just amazing,” explains Joey. He claims that the biggest, most noticeable result with using the product is improved rooting. “Our greens are only eight weeks old and we have 7–8-inch roots.”  

Joey believes that a strong root system can lead to multiple benefits, from reducing inputs to improving stress resistance and playability. “We have high expectations at the club,” states Joey. “They expect firm, fast greens. If you have a strong root system, there are stressors that happen like heat, cold, mechanical, whatever, we can mow at low heights because we have those strong roots.” 

Watch the 1-minute video interview where Joey goes into detail about his results with HGX PRO Bio 800⁺ Golf and rooting. If you are reading this blog via email, click here to watch the video clip.

What results have you seen during renovation and aeration?

Whether you are aerifying or renovating, Joey claims that recovery time is swift. “It’s really helped us progress throughout the renovation.” This summer, he is renovating both courses. In order to increase recovery time, he uses HGX PRO Bio 800⁺ Golf at 14 ounces per 1,000 square feet, every other week. “We are about to open one golf course where we renovated the greens, and within two weeks we had 2-inch roots.”  

Joey recommends using the product both prior to and after aeration. “I know from my experience with ultra dwarf turf. I would highly recommend when you do aeration apply the product before and after. And I can speak from my experience that recovery time is pretty rapid. I was really impressed with that.” 

Watch the 10-minute video interview where Joey goes into detail about his results with HGX PRO Bio 800⁺ Golf and aeration. If you are reading this blog via email, click here to watch the video clip. 

What results have you seen with irrigation and fertilizer reductions? 

Since using HGX PRO Bio 800⁺ Golf, Joey reports he has been able to reduce fertilizer by 25% and irrigation by 40%. “Because of the root system, we can really push the turf and experiment with different reductions.”  

One of the specific examples Joey cites is irrigation. “With PGA greens, moisture can be a challenge. But we don’t put a lot of water on our greens. As an example, the entire month of May, we only had to water in a quarter of an inch on our putting greens. This speaks to the root structure of the turf.”  

Watch the 2-minute video interview where Joey goes into detail about results with HGX PRO Bio 800⁺ Golf and moisture. If you are reading this blog via email, click out here to watch the video clip. 

Why did you decide to use hGX PRO bio 800⁺ Golf? 

Joey had just started working at Brookstone Golf Club course when he noticed a lot of contamination of mutated turf on the greens. “I needed a plan to get it out. We started killing it via spot spray and then plugging and sodding. But I had a big problem developing the roots. I spoke with a good friend, Shannon Easter, who is the Director of Golf and Sustainability at Broken Sound Club in Florida.”

At his suggestion, Joey started applying HGX PRO Bio 800⁺ Golf at 14 ounces per 1,000 square feet every two weeks. “I had about 20,000 square feet of plugs or sod and in less than two weeks it was clearly developing that root system. Ever since then, HGX PRO Bio 800⁺ Golf has always been in my program.” 

Watch the 4.5-minute video interview where Joey goes into detail about his results with HGX PRO Bio 800⁺ Golf and aeration. If you are reading this blog via email, click here to watch the video clip. 

How does HGX PRO Bio 800⁺ Golf work? 

HGX PRO Bio 800⁺ Golf harnesses the power of over 800 species of soil microbes to increase nutrient uptake and availability, improve root growth, and increase playability. What can you expect from HGX PRO Bio 800⁺ Golf?  

• Improve playability  
• Improve plant resilience against environmental stress  
• Swifter recovery time  
• Boost root architecture  
• Maximize uptake of nutrients, minerals, and water  
• Develop soil health 

Want to learn more about using HGX PRO Bio 800⁺ on your course?