Embark

Some of you have asked about our fairway turf looking "bronzed" lately.  Would you be surprised if I told you that we sprayed a chemical to do that on purpose fully aware that this would happen?  Because, we did.  On the 2nd of April, we applied a plant growth regulator (PGR) called Embark.  If you don't remember us doing this last year, it is because this is the first year that we have ever treated the fairways with this PGR.  Some of you may think, well doesn't the bronzing effect contradict what many would call nice green turf?  The answer is yes, but only temporarily.  In our case, the application of this chemical serves three different purposes:

• Seedhead Control:  Our fairways are over 90% Poa annua.  With that, comes the spring flush of white seedheads that suck the plants dry of valuable carbohydrates (energy) which weakens the turf.  If we can prevent seedhead production, the plant is able to divert carbohydrate production to root and shoot health rather than ugly seedheads.

• Turf Color and Density:  While the fairways may look bronzed, this is only temporary and a slight side effect worth overlooking because the dividends are great.  Basically, the cool thing is, after about 30 days from the initial spray, the color change reverses and the turf sprayed with Embark is greener and more beautiful all season long than the turf that was untreated.  (I will post pictures of side by side plots of treated/untreated turf later).  We are also able to partially mask the effects of the bronzing with a couple applications of Iron in the weeks following the initial treatment of Embark.

• Wet-Season Growth Regulation:  When the fairways are wet, it is extremely difficult to mow and maintain them with our heavy equipment.  Therefore, for the 30 days that the grass is under the regulation of Embark, we can pick and choose our days to mow to fit weather conditions and not be forced to play our hand too soon and cause unnecessary damage with our mowers.  (By the way, total rainfall on the golf course was 5.5 inches in March and as of today, the 23rd of April, we have recorded 9.10 inches of rain since the 1st of April!)



Spraying Embark.  We added a green pigment to help mask initial bronzing.



Bronzing effect, 15 days after application.