Last Updated on February 7, 2023 by Brian Beck
I often hear this response when I start talking about correcting issues in my customers lawns: “I really don’t want it to look like a golf course.” In people’s minds they have built up that a golf course is the epitome of refinement, health and beauty and that it is going to cost a lot of money to have a good looking lawn. Actually it costs a lot of money to have a lawn that is not functioning properly and even more to fix it but one is paying more the deeper they go on the wrong path. Maybe the beauty part of that equation is on mark but the rest of it is a system propped up on a very sterile, synthetic means of care. It looks good because they are constantly being worked on but the reason for this is that there is absolutely zero sustainability and if it were to be left alone the system would collapse as there are no mechanisms other than direct and constant human intervention that would keep it alive. The high use of synthetics and the highly inorganic sandy soils, especially on the greens (that are bent grass by the way, not bluegrass or fescue) have zero microbial life from the salts present in synthetic fertilizers. This combined with more traffic than a professional football field leaves golf turf in dire need for routine help. People also associate a good looking lawn with a healthy lawn. I can assure you that they are two different things. A healthy turf is one that is objectively biologically healthy. You can temporarily “green up” a lawn with a cheap and fast dose of Irion or Nitrogen but there are almost two dozen other elements that allow biological functions, provide natural insect and disease resistance as well as cellular integrity and tolerance to heat and cold. There is a lot more going on and the perception that being healthy is expensive is really short sighted as the effects of not being so far outweigh the cost of maintaining a healthy lawn, water and toxic chemicals being chief concerns as well as cost. so, when you utter statement “I don’t want a golf course”, rejoice because you really don’t want one, you want a healthy one instead because they are far cheaper to maintain if done right.
Photo by craig hellier on Unsplash