Spend just a few minutes with Travis Shaddox, and it quickly becomes apparent that he is all about data, peer-reviewed research and the scientific proof it yields. Who can blame him? It is, after all, important for someone in his position as a turfgrass researcher and extension specialist at a satellite campus of a major university in the most densely populated area of the country's third-largest state to have reliable information when making diagnoses and handing out recommendations.
A soil scientist by training, Shaddox has been working to bring the University of Florida's Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center into the 21st century since he arrived at the facility two years ago after a brief career in private industry.In that time, he has been almost singularly focused on making the center the state's go-to source for all questions about turfgrass fertility with the goal of helping stakeholders in the industry on the never-ending quest of doing more with less.
And the Florida Golf Course Superintendents Association, comprised of 11 chapters and more than 1,100 courses statewide, is only too happy to help him.
"When he was new in that position, we went to him to see what he needed to make things happen," said David Dore-Smith of Copperleaf Golf Club in Bonita Springs, then the president of the FGCSA.
"We wanted to know what we could do to help him help us."
Shaddox had a big ask of the state's turfgrass stakeholders, namely two devices that analyze nutrient content in just about any medium, including turf, water and soil. One device, a Carbon/Hydrogen/Nitrogen Determinator, measures nitrogen content, the other, called an Inductively Coupled Plasma Spectrometer, measures "all the other nutrients, except carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen", Shaddox said.
"The way nutrients are analyzed, nitrogen is unique and different from all other elements, in terms of analysis, and then there is everything else. Everything we do requires two steps. We have to analyze for nitrogen, and we have to analyze for everything else."
Thus two machines that eventually will help superintendents, sports turf managers, lawn care operators and others manage fertilizer applications more wisely. By knowing how much of an element already is in the soil or the turf, this information will help end users produce healthier plants with fewer inputs.
"Turf managers want to know what fertilizers do we need to apply, and what nutrients are deficient and can we alleviate that with fertilizer applications," Shaddox said. "Our goal is to better manage the application of nutrients and fertilizers and be able to tell if we have a problem, is it a nutrition problem, a nematode problem or a disease problem.
"Let's ask these questions and in so doing get better at what we do so the end use can be more environmentally conscious."
The association provided the majority of the funding, but it took some salesmanship to do it, and the process has changed the way the FGCSA does business on a day-to-day basis.
We wanted to know what we could do to help him help us."
As the president of the FGCSA when the university hired Shaddox, Dore-Smith and FGCSA executive director Jennifer Bryan played key roles in rallying support for Shaddox's cause.
That included convincing others around the state of the benefits of one day knowing exactly how much of an element is in a turf or soil sample and how that knowledge could help superintendents manage nutrient applications more wisely.
"The state association went out to chapters and talked to them about how this would benefit us," Dore-Smith said. "That's how this all came about. In the past, researchers had to go to the chapters individually, and that was not helping the situation. Now we go to the members, discuss what we are doing and we publish an article in every issue of the Florida Green about the research that is taking place and what is taking place around the state.
"This is a big deal, because there are not a lot of places around the country doing testing at this level. No one is doing this. Travis is at the forefront."
Since January, Shaddox has been collecting tissue samples from around Florida to develop ranges and protocols so that that data he produces and the recommendations he one day will make have meaning.
"There are different philosophies in interpreting these numbers, and they all have weaknesses," Shaddox said. "We've developed a philosophy that we have adopted from the medical field, and it's working for us. But we have to establish these ranges first before we can provide any meaningful interpretations and recommendations for superintendents and sports turf managers.
"When you go to the doctor and he tells you that your cholesterol is high, what does that mean. What number to you is high?
"We are comparing an unknown sample to a population of turfgrass that we know is healthy, just like doctors do in medical world. When doctors say cholesterol is high, what they are doing is comparing my values to 95 percent of healthy people. If my value falls outside that, that is what doctor considers high."
Shaddox hopes that stakeholders around the state will be able to realize a return on their investment some time next year.
"The goal is to get to a point where we can receive samples from the public, analyze them, interpret results and get recommendations back to superintendents within a week," he said. "That is a big challenge, to get that done from scratch."
One more tool that eventually will help superintendents be better stewards of the environment and give them the information they need to use their budget dollars more wisely is critical as the golf industry continues to find new players and revenue opportunities.
"It's huge. To maximize dollars that are being donated is incredibly important," Dore-Smith said. "Donation money across the nation is not easy to get.
"If we can justify what doing and publicize it, then people can see where it is going and then maybe decide to help out. It is important to showcase what we are doing and why we are doing it."