Education

Andy Young has been working on a golf course since he was 14-years old. He played golf in college and continues to play weekly in the men’s league at Woodbine Bend Golf Course near Stockton, Illinois, where he has been the Golf Course Superintendent since 2012.

Woodbine Bend opened in 2002 and was formerly a rolling northern Illinois cornfield. Andy’s goal is to give golfers at Woodbine Bend a fun and unique experience – one they want to come back to.

“I want golfers to have the best conditions for the money, and I feel we exceed that here at Woodbine Bend,” says Andy.

One of the ways Andy creates a TV-worthy golf course is by applying SO4 pelletized gypsum in the spring and fall. Andy’s distributor representative, Mike Werth from Advanced Turf Solutions, introduced him to SO4.

“We have heavy clay soils, so we use SO4 to make the soil structure better for the plant to grow,” says Andy. “Especially if we don’t get rain, the SO4 helps flush salt build-up from the fertilizer we apply.”

In past fall seasons, Andy has typically applied SO4 right before the first snowfall. This year he applied it right after aerification so it can enter the soil profile through the aerification holes.

“Every fall and spring after I apply SO4, I see better playability on the turf. It’s one of the best gypsums out there,” said Andy.