Brian Hickey’s journey into golf course maintenance began with a simple desire to play free golf. "I guess I've always been a golfer, so I thought I'd work at a golf course. I started out actually on this golf course, picking range balls, parking carts, and washing carts. After a year of doing that, I switched over to the maintenance crew and found out that I really liked it.”
This newfound passion led him to further his education at Iowa State University, where he earned a degree in Turf Management. After gaining diverse experience across the country, including 13 years in Oregon, Hickey returned to Iowa to become the superintendent at Palmer Hills, where he has served for the past decade.
Upon his return, Hickey was tasked with enhancing the course's appeal to a broader range of players while maintaining its reputation as a challenging layout. "When I came here, they were looking for innovative ideas to increase how many rounds of golf they were doing. One of the things that my city administrator challenged me to do was to figure out how we could take this golf course and make it more playable for all skill levels."
To achieve this, Hickey implemented a series of strategic modifications aimed at improving playability without compromising the course's integrity. "We started creating additional forward tee boxes and we made the course more playable to a variety of people."
In addition to adding tee boxes, Hickey oversaw the removal of trees that overly narrowed fairways, strategic bunker renovations, and the introduction of The Forge, an innovative 18-hole putting course designed to engage families and promote community involvement.
Embracing Regenerative Turfgrass Management
Hickey's innovations extend beyond superficial changes. Inspired by industry leaders like Chris Tritabaugh at Hazeltine, Dan Dinelli at Northshore CC, and John Quinn in the UK, Hickey embraced a philosophy of regenerative turfgrass management. This approach reduces overreliance on chemicals, instead focusing on promoting overall soil health and ecology.
"Conventional turf grass management often includes very intensive cultural practices. We're a really busy golf course that does a lot of rounds. We don't have a Monday maintenance day or anything like that. It's always been a challenge to try to produce what the country clubs can create without having the extra time to put into the golf course."
To tackle these challenges, Hickey looked for alternative methods to produce high-quality surfaces without disrupting play. "Some of those cultural practices might be verticutting, sand top dressing and core aeration. I typically ask myself, “Are there other methods to be able to produce these high-quality surfaces without disrupting the surface for the golfers that are coming out to enjoy the course that day?””
Notable Results with Biological Products
Through careful experimentation with biological products like Thatch Relief and Bio-Mega, Hickey has achieved notable results, including improved drainage, reduced fungicide applications, and enhanced turf health. "It’s been a win-win for both golfers and the maintenance crew to be able to produce the type of playing conditions with fewer cultural practices."
"Products like Thatch Relief, that is organic, break down the thatch. That makes a lot of sense to me. How do we get there, though? We had to look at ways to reduce our fungicide usage because when I did the research, I found that fungicides kill all fungi, not just the bad fungi, but good and bad together. In a traditionally maintained golf green, you have a very low fungi-to-bacteria ratio, almost zero fungi because of the fungicides being used all the time. My goal was to get the good microorganism populations higher by using a product, Bio-Mega, that contains different fungi in its packaging, as well as good beneficial bacteria. Since making these changes, our fungi-to-bacteria ratio tested 1:1"
By utilizing products like Bio-Mega and Thatch Relief on a regular basis, Hickey has managed to reduce the thatch layer in the greens, which was previously restricting drainage. “We haven’t core aerified our greens in seven years,” Hickey shared. "At one point, we definitely had a thatch layer in our greens that was restricting drainage and that layer is completely gone now. The drainage is really, really good now, and we have push-up greens on most of the golf course. They used to footprint up all the time when golfers would go out there after rains, they don't do that anymore.”
Hickey has also seen a significant reduction in fungicide applications. "We started going with a few products from Soil Tech, so that we could incorporate them slowly into the budget. We observed no disease following a contact fungicide application for 21 – 28 days. This allowed us to save money on spray applications. When I first got here, we did 18 applications of fungicides for the first few seasons. We are now seeing that we're only having to put out about eight fungicides a year. That breaks down to three on fairways and five on greens. That's a significant reduction in fungicide use on our major turf playing surfaces."
Improved Fairway Drainage
Hickey's sustainable practices extend to the fairways as well. "We use TurfTech Bio as a regular ingredient in our soils for our sprays on fairways. Typically, what we're spraying on fairways is a wetting agent and Primo for growth regulation, and then TurfTech Bio. Those are our main three things that we put in the tank. One of the biggest things I've noticed on our fairways is how they drain better."
These practices have led to reduced downtime after rain events. "We have a continuous cart path at Palmer Hills Golf Course, so we can make it cart path only and still get golfers out there right after rain events. Many times when I first came here, we were cart path only for three or four days in a row after a one inch or more rain event. Now we're back to the 90-degree rule after 24 hrs. I feel like the drainage of the golf course is much better. We haven't been spraying the rough, so we can tell exactly where we're spraying because we're draining better on the
fairways, and the only thing we've done differently is putting out the TurfTech Bio."
Reduction in Fertilizer and Labor Costs
Hickey's approach has also led to reductions in fertilizer and labor costs. "We've been able to reduce fertilizer usage as well. The microbes are much more proficient, and they're mineralizing the soil as well as micro and macronutrients. We've been able to cut back on our fertilization, which has allowed us to conserve resources. We've been able to cut back on the core aeration and the labor that's involved with that to redirect the resources to other parts of the golf course."
A Vision for the Future
Looking ahead, Hickey anticipates a broader shift towards more sustainable greenskeeping practices within the industry, driven by both environmental considerations and practical benefits. “I definitely see regulatory pressure coming... It's probably inevitable that it's coming this direction to the United States," he predicts. While acknowledging that completely eliminating chemical use might be challenging, Hickey is optimistic about the potential for a greater focus on soil health and the use of biological products to become standard in the industry. "I see this more natural greenskeeping being a huge part of the industry in the next five years... We're having better playing conditions all the time, and we're doing it in a way that's not hurting the soils."
Brian Hickey's journey from a young golf enthusiast to a pioneering superintendent embodies a commitment to innovation, sustainability, and a deep love for the game. Under his stewardship, Palmer Hills Golf Course stands as a testament to the transformative power of thoughtful, eco-conscious management in the world of golf.