While some superintendents are just now developing serious strategies for water conservation on their courses, Scott Anderson, CGCS, has made a career out of learning how to produce ideal, firm and fast playing conditions with a minimum of moisture. As the Head Superintendent since 1983 at Huntingdon Valley (Pa.) Country Club (HVCC) in suburban Philadelphia, Anderson is legendary for his ability to keep the club’s hilly and scenic 27 holes in top shape through an impressive, cost-effective combination of low-water use, reduced aeration, and judicious application of fertilizers, chemicals and pesticides, plus some interesting “home-cooked” remedies for top-dressing.
HVCC hosts many top amateur events, but Anderson still feels he holds his own against today’s high-tech golfing equipment and player skill levels, by using his time-tested techniques to keep the club’s turf very playable and durable, but still extremely challenging. “When the course is at its best,” he says, “balls can actually bounce over a flag pole.”
I recently had this chat with Scott, to learn more about the unique approach to groundskeeping he’s developed—and proved successful—in his 20-plus years in the business:
Scott Anderson, with help from his wife, Susan, a holistic practitioner, has learned to apply “wellness” techniques to turf management at Huntingdon Valley CC. |
Q Scott, tell me a little about the unique character of Huntingdon Valley Country Club.
A It’s a classic, 27-hole William Flynn course that opened in 1927. As its name implies, it’s laid out around a valley, with many holes traversing the hillsides and requiring creative shot-making. When nature allows, the course is kept very dry. So obviously, the course conditions change with the weather. One day you’ll be playing a bump-and-run type game, and the next day the dreaded aerial game.
Q How do you create and maintain these playing conditions, and still keep grass?
A It begins with our club’s water management philosophy, which dates back to the 1980s. We had a visionary member, Lincoln Roden III, who drove the restoration of our course. As part of that, we developed our “Golf Course Quality Standards and Objectives, ” (Editor’s Note: The entire document can be here. )
which still serves as our maintenance guidelines for all parts of the course: greens, tees, fairways, rough, bunkers, trees, course setup, practice area, and more. It’s several pages long, and very detailed and specific. (Editor’s Note: The entire document can be viewed with this article at clubandresortbusiness.com; click on Course & Grounds, then Super to Super.)
This document has been a valuable tool as it’s evolved through the years. One of its biggest values has been to communicate our low-water philosophy to the membership, as well as to new Directors and Committee chairmen. For example, in the Greens section it states, “Greens will be irrigated as little as possible to promote deep rooting, drought tolerance, and minimal disease problems. Greens will be firm and the soil dry whenever possible.”
I think a comprehensive written program about water use and philosophy would be beneficial to just about any club. In addition to great traditional playing conditions, low water use reduces fertility, mowing (remember that grass occasionally goes dormant—even greens), fungicides, wear on the irrigation system, and stress on the staff. Basically, you aren’t out there trying to save every blade of grass. A low percentage of turf loss is actually welcomed. Every year, we hope to strengthen the strong plants, and weed out the weaker ones, while focusing on playing conditions over color.
Q How low is “minimal” irrigation, as you define it?
A Our water use is so low that when we had drought restrictions, our allotment was 25 percent more than we had ever used. If we water, it is done early in the morning, usually between 5:00 and 10:00 a.m. The soil remains dry (weather permitting), sometimes to the point of some dust when you change holes. Irrigation time on the heads is usually five to 10 minutes, with three-minute afternoon spot syringing, if necessary, to help tolerate cart traffic on the fairways.
Q What are your greens constructed of?
A Basically, they are old push-up greens that percolate at a rate of .2 to .4 inches per hour. We top-dress with what they’re constructed of—it’s a combination of mushroom soil and sand; basically, dirty sand. I love the stuff. It’s alive with food for beneficial organisms that buffer the soil, promote nutrient cycling, fix nitrogen, break down thatch, bio-remediate toxins and support healthy plants.
These organic soils (six percent) also reduce temperature fluctuations, wick moisture from below as the top dries, and require very little input. We do have to keep small, open aeration holes, to keep them from going anaerobic during wet periods. We use deep needle tines once per year in the fall and two shallow 1/4-inch aerations—one in the spring and one in the late summer or early fall. Two light top-dressings, plus top-dressing from the quarter-inch aerations—that’s it for the eight-month growing season.
With minimal water use, Anderson has kept HVCC’s hilly and scenic holes fast and firm—and is especially proud of the strong root systems in his soil- based greens. |
Q But the demand in American golf is for firm, fast and green turf; any suggestion of “letting go” isn’t usually met with a positive reaction.
A I realize it’s difficult to adopt this type of program. The education that “down and brown” isn’t so bad has to start with a coordinated effort involving the USGA, PGA and GCSAA. Why not make it a true environmental initiative? Superintendents could be considered playing-condition managers, instead of turf managers.
One critical aspect of attempting to dry out greens is to avoid the straight sand topdressing that’s recommended for many fairways. That scares me because of what it can do to nutrient-holding capacity. When there are quick soil-temperature fluctuations, it cooks like beach sand and leads to a lack of organisms and associated thatch buildup. Better porosity can be achieved by introducing organics through the aggregation of soil particles with microbes.
Don’t get me wrong. We do use pesticides. But too much can kill off beneficial organisms. More can be done to reintroduce beneficials through the brewing and appl
ication of compost teas and other organic fertilizers, or a variety of commercially available products.
Q Organics are just starting to get a lot of superintendents’ attention; you’ve had a long history with them. Can you share your experiences?
A I’ve always tried to do the job of satisfying our membership with as little inputs as possible, and that approach led me, earlier than most, down a road less-traveled. A while back, a friend told me how you can suppress dollar spot with compost tea and organic fertilizers. I did one experiment where I found that when organic fertilizer was left on the surface overnight and then smeared with a drag hose in the morning dew, it was pretty effective in the war on dollar spot. Next, I noticed a reduction in thatch and improved health.
So I began to study and learn more. It even led me to become proficient at dowsing, an ancient technique usually associated with finding water. I use it to locate “geopathic stress”—distorted earth energies that cause injury to susceptible plant and animal species.
Q What would you recommend to superintendents who want to try alternative approaches?
A I would dedicate a hole to a new program, or at least the tee end of a fairway. Let a small percentage of grass go south, and then push what’s left to recover. Maybe change your fertility on that hole. You have to start experimenting and looking beyond the mainstream. Or, as I like to say, “find your own truth.” C&RB
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