So before I made it to CA, I started in Phoenix, AZ and met up with Sales Account Manager Carlos Palavicini. We then met with a relatively new Retail Partner Jeramie Black of RNM Agriturf. I know some AgroLiquid has been sold to golf courses in some places, but it really helps if you know the business and speak the language. Jeramie is fluent in golf speak having been a golf course superintendent and general manager for many years in the past. But he wanted to go into the supply side and work with multiple courses, and is now selling AgroLiquid to a number of courses in the Phoenix and Tucson areas. He has had quite a bit of success with Primagro N, liking the fast green-up response, plus the extended-release nitrogen for sustainability. It works great as applied through irrigation systems which all courses in Arizona have. Well the ones that aren't dirt. (I must add that Jay Eccleton of the NCRS is a golf course superintendent who used AgroLiquid for several years on St. John's Emerald Golf course before coming to work at the NCRS. He has also sold to other mid-Michigan golf courses, as well as advised others around the country, including Jeramie. But again, it takes a special knowledge of golf courses to figure it all out.)
Here we are at Las Colinas golf club SE of Phoenix. You can see the irrigation running in the background. That's Carlos and Jeramie looking down and Superintendent Eric looking out. You do a lot of kneeling down when looking at grass on a golf course. That's why I stand back and take pictures. But Eric is pleased with the grass and color and ease of handling. There are a number of tweeks for different situations, like Sure-K and NResponse as needed on greens. More to come.
OK, I'm not a golf turf expert by any means, so I learned quite a bit. The main grass on golf courses here is Bermudagrass. But it is a warm-season grass that goes dormant in the fall and winter. So what they do is overseed in September with ryegrass. They close the courses for a couple of weeks while it gets established. So that is the green grass that you will see on golf courses here in the winter. Several courses used Pro-Germinator at overseeding and remarked that they had never seen the ryegrass come on so fast. Makes sense to me. Well now in late April when I was there, it is a transition time when the ryegrass is fading out and the bermudagrass is greening up. On this fairway below at Trilogy golf club in Gilbert, you can see the bermudagrass turning green in the rough. It was watered and fertilized with Primagro N, and the superintendant remarked that it is greening up very nicely. They typically don't overseed off the fairway. That bare spot back there on the fairway is due to uneven watering and the rye is fading faster. However, one trick that Jeramie has found is to hit these "hot spots" with NResponse + water through a hand sprayer and that promotes the bermudagrass. He said he has it so that you don't even have to water after application. It's great to have a Retail Partner to know how to use the tools that AgroLiquid offers.
Kneeling on the green now at San Marcos golf club in Chandler. That's superintendent Matt with Carlos and Jeramie. Matt is well pleased with how the AgroLiquid has worked for him.
Built in 1913, this is the oldest course in Arizona that had grass year round, as they used to play on dirt part of the year. The fairways are lined with the signature Salt Cedar or Tamarisk trees that are over 100 years old.
It is also the source of irrigation water. And irrigation water is the source for delivery of Primagro N through the irrigation system. Here are fertilizer tanks, injectors and controllers.
There is a Crowne Plaza hotel in association with the golf course, and Matt also takes care of the grounds. He used Primagro N and some Sure-K on the grass here. Very nice lawn.
There was another course we visited, that will remain anonymous. Although it's no secret. But a couple months ago a disgruntled employee put Roundup in one of the sprayers they use to spray greens....and you can guess the rest. I guess it wasn't quite a lethal dose, but they all turned yellow and looked dead. This is the practice putting green by the clubhouse that is now making decent recovery with the help of Primagro N, NResponse and Sure-K. I don't think that guy was ever seen again.
Water makes the difference. Just a few miles away, Southwest of Phoenix, you are in the dessert. A big sand trap for sure. But pretty.
