Primo Maxx for increased productivity while maintaining turf quality

PRIMO MAXX® can bring significant cost savings from regulating grass growth to reduce the frequency and time spent mowing – along with associated machinery cost savings. The PRIMO MAXX® cost calculator uses a club's current costs and routine of fairway cutting, to give an instant answer for its potential savings from a reduced frequency of mowing.

Application of PRIMO MAXX® on large expanses of fairways will result in the greatest cost savings and productivity growth. Over the past year, Warren Country Club has seen an improved cost savings and productivity by applying PRIMO MAXX® on their fairways. Occupying 15 hectares of fairways, the Club has managed to reduce their weekly mowing frequency by 66%, simply by applying PRIMO MAXX®. This reduced frequency of mowing also means that less manpower is required for mowing activities, and can be reallocated to higher priority areas. Given the volatility of the current situation caused by the pandemic, freeing up manpower will allow the club more flexibility to adapt to the situation.

Reduced mowing will also lower the wear and tear on machines and potentially extend their working life. Combined with the depreciation from an average seven-year operating life of fairways mowers, the reducing in mowing per week offered a substantial savings of $51,000 for the Club. According to Warren Country Club’s superintendent Raja, the club started using Primo Maxx because of the Covid pandemic, which resulted in less than 50% of the usual manpower working on the turf. The club used to apply 300 ml/ha of Primo Maxx every week, but have seen an improvement in turf quality and labor savings after changing the application to 600 ml/ha every 2 weeks.

When asked why the club continues to use Primo Maxx over other growth regulators, Raja said that “We trust Syngenta’s Primo Maxx – they are safe to apply and more effective than other generics PGRs in turf regulation. With other brands, we had encounter issues such as leaf tips burning and stressful -looking turf, but not with Primo Maxx. After using Primo Maxx on fairways, we have reduced mowing from thrice to once weekly. The benefits are beyond just cost savings and increased playability! We have happier members as their games are no longer disrupted by fairways mowing.”

Furthermore, the reduced mowing can also reduce the carbon footprint of turf management. With the application of PRIMO MAXX® on fairways, Warren Country Club reduced its fuel usage by around 1,664L last year, resulting in a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emission. This illustrates how simple it is for the golf community to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions and embark on sustainable practices.

Raja’s closing remarks to other superintendents is “use PRIMO MAXX® to reduce stress and increase playability, when you adopt the Primo Maxx program from tees to greens, you achieve at least 40% in savings.”