4/16/2012 1:04 PM
I don't have a dog in this fight so I will share my observations. I've traveled around the country the last two years and visited 9 hole mom and pop courses to the best courses in the country. In the Midwest, the last two seasons have been brutal and I have seen substantial turf loss. There were a couple of common denominators on the courses that I believed had better turf conditions tee to green. Most of the Superintendents were trying to maintain poa and keep it alive rather than eradiciate it, and most were using some type of humate. There also seemed to be better response with the flowable humic acid sources than those in a granular form as part of a micro-pack in a fertilizer.
If the goal is to "feed microbes" or increase microbial activity, I believe that you need to create and maintain an environment that is conducive to that. I utilized organic fertilizers as the foundation of my nutrition program, maintained adequate moisture, and routinely, weekly, vented greens and problem areas through spiking and solid tine aeration to increase O2 and gas exchange.
The thing that I have always admired about this profession is that there is more than one way to achieve the results you desire, and the methods may be very different than what someone else is doing.