Mike Coker and son Troy work on golf courses ... - Backed By Bayer

well in advance of the tournament.
The previous spring,he treated two-thirds of
his greens with a tank mix of Proxy® <strong>and</strong> Primo
MAXX plant growth regulators. The remaining
third were treated with Embark plant growth
regulator. To find out which rate <strong>work</strong>ed best,
Hollick experimented with two rates of Proxy
<strong>and</strong> a 1/8th oz. rate of Primo. Embark was applied
at the rate of 3 oz. per 1,000 sq. ft. Two
applications — one on April 19 <strong>and</strong> the other
on May 12 — were made. A foliar treatment
was included with each application.
Two weeks after the first application, Hollick
discovered that while seedhead control
appeared to be similar on all the greens, the
color looked better on the greens treated
with the Proxy/Primo tank mix. Following
the second application, he noticed longer
control on the greens treated with the fiveounce
rate of Proxy.
“Proxy gave us a four- to six-week residual,”
he notes. “The applications overlapped
this time period, so no seedhead would be
given an opportunity to appear. With the
tournament coming up, that was important.”
Trying for even better timing in 2005, Hollick
treated all his greens on April 11 with the
Proxy/Primo tank mix, utilizing the 5-oz. rate
of Proxy <strong>and</strong> the 1/8 th -oz. rate of Primo. Four
weeks later — or about four weeks prior to the
tournament — Hollick made the second application.
One week before the tournament,
Hollick applied Primo alone at the rate of
1/8 th -oz. per 1,000 sq. ft.“We had already controlled
the seedhead at that point,”he explains.
“Now, we were looking to control growth.”
Honing the putting surfaces
Hollick believes it was this program that provided
the players with championship putting
surfaces in spite of the wet weather.
“They couldn’t believe the greens were
putting as well as they were as wet as they
were,” he says.“I would have to say that had a
lot to do with us spraying the seedhead with
the Proxy/Primo tank mix. The rest of it was
just routine mowing. The growth suppression
I got from using growth regulators kept me
from getting clipping yield, <strong>and</strong> we just continued
to hone the putting surfaces. With
every mowing, it got better <strong>and</strong> better. The
honing smoothes everything up.”
A letter the 52-year-old superintendent
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Scott Waltz,
Bayer Golf sales representative for western
Pennsylvnia, speaks with Mark Hollick on
the 13 th tee. The Laurel Valley course was
designed by Dick Wil<strong>son</strong>. Hollick <strong>and</strong> his
trusty assistant on the 18 th hole.
received from <strong>Mike</strong> Reid, who birdied the first
playoff hole — the par 5 18 th — to win the
Senior PGA Championship, is proof that Hollick’s
formula is <strong>work</strong>ing.“I can’t say enough in
praise of the terrific job you <strong>and</strong> your crew did
the week of the PGA Senior,” wrote a grateful
Reid after winning his first professional tournament
in 15 years. “Wow! The greens were
great. Even speedy after all the rain.”
www.bayergolfadvantage.com Golf Advantage 15