3/30/2023 - By Dr. Paul Giordano

We recently had the chance to sit down with the Superintendent of Plum Brook Country Club, Mike Bibler. Mike has recently implemented Harrell’s root health program and has found great success in improving root health, as well as soil samples holding together much more consistently.

Read on to hear more of his story and learn about how the root health program can provide great results.

More on Mike Bibler and His Harrell’s Rep, Mike Rupp

I am currently the golf course superintendent at Plum Brook Country Club in Sandusky, OH, where I have been for 5 years. Previously I was the assistant superintendent at Sylvania Country Club for 5 years. Mr. Mike Rupp is my Harrell’s sales rep, who I have known since I started in the golf industry at Stone Ridge Golf Club in 2008. Mike has been heavily involved here at PBCC with some of the agronomic challenges we have faced over the past couple of years, and he is the first call I make to run ideas or ask any questions. We have been heavily testing for nematodes for the past couple of years, so Mike is on the property every month.

What are Some of Your Root Health Challenges or Opportunities?

For the past couple of seasons, we have had a bentgrass root problem here at PBCC. There have been multiple potential culprits for these problems including take-all patch, Pythium root dysfunction, and nematodes. Our greens are old push greens with no internal drainage, which looks to be a big culprit as to why we were having these issues. The club has decided to install drainage in all the greens at PBCC, which started last fall. We also have a couple of greens that are dealing with a shade issue on the east side of the property that we are working to address. 

What Led You to Use Harrell’s Programs for these Problems? Which Products Did You Apply?

Last spring, we started to have the same issues again with our rooting, so I called Mike to see if Dr. Giordano (Harrell's Director of Agronomy) would be able to visit for a diagnosis. Once we did an onsite visit and sent samples to MSU and to Dr. Settle for nematode count, we came up with a program to promote root health. We started a bi-weekly approach to go after nematodes, pythium root dysfunction, and plant health. The plant health products that were used during this timetable were: EarthMAX® Organic and Amino Pro V, then two weeks later Mycorrhizae Pro and Seaweed A+E. This program started in early June and went thru the end of October.

What did You Observe When You Started Using the Program?

In early June we had bentgrass roots at a shallow depth of 1 ½ inches and smaller. The plant was struggling. When we started this program it was a slow process since we were in the heat of summer, but we didn’t see any more turf loss leading into August. We had some favorable weather in August to grow some roots and they took off. We started to get some turf recovery and bright white roots were starting to shoot down. We had a great fall and greens were healing in nicely and PBCC had a great putting surface once again.

By the end of the year, we had roots at a depth of 5 to 6 inches and soil samples were holding together where in the past they would just fall apart.

Would You Recommend this Program to Others and Why?

The Harrell’s program we put into place last summer saved the greens here at PBCC and we have already implemented a program for next season to ensure that growth and health continue. The root mass and root depth are the best I’ve seen here in 3 or 4 seasons, and we don’t plan on changing programs anytime soon.

Your Harrell’s Rep is Here to Help.

If you have any questions on any of the programs or products mentioned, please contact your local Harrell’s Rep. We’re here to help and are always ready to answer your questions.