This morning we collected soil samples from a number of tees, fairways, roughs and a few greens. Like I said yesterday, I soil sample once per year except for greens which is 3x a year. I focus on "problem areas" as well as areas that look really good to try and determine if a nutrient is responsible for those differences. When I soil test, I also focus on areas that are a good average of the course and representative of all areas. After all, I will base nutrient inputs off of this data.
Above, we are using 1" soil profilers to randomly pull plugs across a given surface. We don't want all plugs to come from the same 10 square foot area. So we zig-zag around the tee randomly so that sample represents the whole tee, not just one section. Below, all of the plugs are place in a plastic bucket and shaken up to mix them up. Finally, they are placed in a labeled ziplock bag and sent off.
These samples are being sent to Harris labs in Lincoln, NE. Greens go to a lab in Pittsburgh. I send my greens samples to a lab I've been using for years. I am reluctant to switch because they do a great job and very methodical in ensuring the same methods are used to evaluate the soil giving consistent results. However, the cost is slightly higher.
Another popular technology used today is a company called NuTec. I've done this twice in the past and to be honest, never saw an extreme enough benefit to justify the cost. I personally feel turf quality issues at HCC are driven solely by environmental stresses like shade and excess moisture. Our soils are heavy enough that they hold on to nutrients well and have most everything the plant needs. Of course, I still worry about Nitrogen, Potassium and Calicum. NuTec pulls soil samples across the whole property on 10 foot centers (this is a lot of soil samples). When they get the results, they are mapped on a GPS system. They then have a spreader where they will fill the hopper with a particular nutrient, Poatassium for example and the spreader kicks on only where the map says Potassium is needed. It is pretty neat technology and theoretically will save money. However, nitrogen is not a soil test and applied as needed. Therefore, I know am going to make a Nitrogen and Potassium application every year (with my crabgrass pre-emergent) regardless, in addition to Calcium based on soil test results and pH. Again, sandy soils are one thing (have no nutrient holding capacity) but we are fortunate to have what I consider, beautiful soils on this property.