Tee To Green
It’s Holiday Spray, Y’all!
MAY/JUNE 2023
By Pat Jones When tough disease management problems collide with the challenges of warm-season turf, supers down south turn to a foundational program using the best of BASF’s proven Intrinsic products. Here are insights from our agronomy team and some great superintendents from below the Mason-Dixon Line. You may be surprised to learn that the Holiday Spray concept had its beginnings not in a northern disease hotspot like Philly or St. Louis or D.C., but in central Alabama at the famed FarmLinks course. As the nation’s best supers visited the facility and interacted with the BASF team working there, it became clear that too many folks were just chasing symptoms instead of getting ahead of problems and preventing them. That’s when the concept of a simple, easy-to-remember spray planning template emerged. The idea was to use the best weapons in your arsenal at exactly the right times to proactively prevent disease. When Lexicon came along shortly thereafter, the Holiday Spray concept caught fire and has been a foundational approach for turf pros ever since. Last year we took a look at how the Holiday Spray program worked around traditional disease areas in the north. Now, let’s take a look at how they use the concept closer to where it was born: Down South. TEXAS IN FOCUS: Solving One Part of the Puzzle When people say something is “as big as Texas,” it suggests size, but it doesn’t do justice to the complexities of the state’s climate and vast array of soils. Scott Dunham, the BASF territory manager for the Lone Star state has to support customers and reps to customize foundational programs for very different locations. And it’s not always based on holidays. “A lot of guys are focused on long weekends and big outings and how they can create championship conditions for their players,” says Dunham. “The Holiday Spray concept helps them solve one part of the puzzle. If they can get it out ahead of highly visible events, it’s one more thing they don’t have to worry about. Summer holidays are usually the perfect times, but a little flexibility can make a bit difference.” To cope with weird Texas winters, he usually recommends Lexicon in October and Navicon in November. Then repeat that rotation again in February and March. “A lot of guys have committed to that rotation to put them to bed clean and wake them up happy during spring green-up.” Dunham works with reps to help them make the most of foundational programs for their customers. “The science behind Intrinsic is so solid. Nearly everyone understands what Lexicon and Navicon can do. The disease control is indisputable, and the program often results in half the number of sprays required with generics.” And then there’s the plant health component: “When Lexicon came out people called it Leprechaun because of how the green color just popped. It has that ‘wow factor’ that transcends disease control,” says Dunham. Ultimately, it’s about being able to be confident that you have your bases covered. “Holiday Spray is such a clear concept…it’s just a great way to plan a program. But at the end of the day, it’s the superintendent’s program to structure the way they want. But because the products last so long, they can have always be more confident that they don’t need to spray every two weeks.” The bottom-line question he asks customers is simple: “Why are you focused on 24 sprays a year when we can do it with 12 and save time, labor and money? The economics and proven performance speak for themselves.” Tim Huber, the Club at Carlton Woods, Houston “Coming down here from the north, I had to get used to the different diseases and times of year,” observes Tim Huber. “The big issues here are bermuda decline, large patch on zoysia, and brown patch on bermuda in the winter. It was a shift. But since Lexicon came along, life has been simpler. Now we do our annual max of Lexicon on both courses.” Huber also relies on Lexicon for aerification recovery and he collaborates with his local sod farm to pre-treat sprigs with it, particularly for the ongoing renovation of the Nicklaus course at Carlton Woods. “Lexicon really aids recovery from aerification and speeds up the sprigging process a lot.” (continued on next page)