GPS Fertilizer Sprayers Make Positive Environmental Impact At Captains

BREWSTER – It’s been a year since the town purchased new fertilizer equipment for Captains Golf Course, and the effects have had a dramatic impact. 

Last fall, three John Deere ProGator GPS Precision Sprayers were added to the grounds equipment. Before the new technology, the crew at Captains was using traditional sprayers which relied on the operator’s precision to apply fertilizer accurately. Now, the new machines are guided by pre-programmed GPS mapping, which eliminates overlap, missed coverage and overspraying. 

The spray nozzles are also individually controlled so they stop spraying the moment they cross into an unmapped area. The two functions alone have reduced the total amount of acres sprayed by 16 percent. 

“Greens, tees, and fairways had been sprayed for 74 acres; now, combined we spray for 62 acres,” Superintendent Colin Walsh said. 

Nitrogen is a key ingredient for turf fertilization. It promotes growth, helps disease prevention and maintains density for the necessary golf course playing requirements. But nitrogen has had a negative effect on Cape Cod’s water quality. 

According to Mark Nelson, a water planning consultant for the town, “13 percent of the nitrogen load in the Pleasant Bay watershed is from Brewster.” In securing a 20-year permit for the watershed, the town needed to follow state regulations to mitigate nitrogen pollution and continue to plan for nitrogen reduction.

In the five years since obtaining the permit, Brewster has met the minimum requirements of nitrogen reduction due solely to the practices implemented at Captains Golf Course, which is in the Pleasant Bay watershed. 

In addition to new technology, the course has decreased its fertilizer application schedule from bi-annually to just once a year, in the fall, said Walsh. This granular approach allows for one overarching application and supplemental liquid fertilizations every three to four weeks. 

Liquid fertilization contains lower nitrogen rates and absorbs directly into the leaf blades of plants, reducing the potential of leaching into the groundwater, he said.

“The trend in the golf business has been steadily shifting toward more sustainable practices over the past 30-plus years, and the fertilizer application rates at Captains, and industry-wide, have been drastically reduced,” said Walsh.

Town Manager Peter Lombardi praises the work of the golf department. 

“In meeting the state obligations set out for Brewster in the Pleasant Bay watershed permit, the cooperation and support of our golf department in proactively making these operational changes has saved the town and our residents millions of dollars that would otherwise be needed to either install neighborhood sewer plants and related infrastructure or innovative/alternative septic systems in this area,” he said. 

As the operations team finishes out the 2024 growing season, they will continue to use the updated technologies moving forward.