Turf

Fall 2016

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120 SUPER SPOTLIGHT: PRESCOTT that I felt comfortable with how the course was looking." In addition to dramatically improving the quality of the turf, Prescott and his crew made Lost Key much easier to play. With help from WCI Communities, Prescott's team conducted extensive work on protecting the course's wildlife habitats, helping preserve Lost Key's designation as an Audubon Sanctuary (Florida's first Silver Certified course). Prescott credits his assistant superintendent Jason Bazan and their loyal crew for embracing the change and pulling together to get Lost Key back on track. "Power is only power if you share it. If anything good happens on the course, I give credit to the crew," said Prescott. "I'm here to train, teach and motivate them but ultimately they're the ones doing the most work to get it done." He saves his highest praise for mechanic Stan Kocel. "He's one of the best mechanics I've come across in my twenty year career and is a critical part of our turnaround," said Prescott. "Because of the aggressiveness of SeaDwarf Paspalum, we introduced a heavy topdressing program to combat the thatch build-up. With so much sand in our reels, Stan has to change out bedknives every day in the summer and grinds the reels once a week. Thanks to Stan, I don't even have to think about equipment, I just focus on the agronomy." For Prescott and Kocel, maintaining wall-to-wall SeaDwarf Paspalum is a constant battle. "I had never maintained Paspalum before Lost Key and I was amazed by how aggressive it is. In the summer, we are applying a large amount of growth regulator on the greens weekly," said Prescott. "If I don't use the growth regulator, we can cut the greens in the afternoon and get as much grass

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