Presenting Golfdom‘s 2023 Supers’ Choice Award winners

We’re back for year two! We asked our readers for their favorite products of the year, and their favorite products of all time … and these 34 products were what they told us.

Some of these products are their favorites from this year, tools to get supers through the busy season. Others are their all-time favorite products, tools they have relied on throughout their career that have stood the test of time.

What products should have been included that were not? You tell us — send an email to Golfdom Editor-in-Chief Seth Jones at sjones@northcoastmedia.net — and tell us what tools need to be included in 2024!

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Green Activator

Standard Golf

“I run five golf courses, and the fairways have looked amazing. I put it on about three to four times a year and see immediate results. With this, you don’t get an immediate surge of growth, it’s consistent. I started doing it on my tees and greens last year and now that’s all I use; it provides a nice color and it doesn’t give you that surge of growth.”

— Scott Rohlfsen, superintendent, Jesup (Iowa) G&CC

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OII-YS

Organisan Corp.

“Improves the health of turf utilizing yucca plant extract and chitosan. It helps us build healthy root zone biology and protects plants from stress. It is a natural wetting agent too. It works well against nematodes, as I haven’t lost any turf to them since I incorporated this product into my program.”

— Eddie Wachter, CGCS, superintendent, Franklin County CC, Washington, Mo.

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Shockwave

Imants

“The flexibility to utilize this product throughout the season, on a variety of surfaces, to a variety of depths, with little to no impact on playability makes it great. That coupled with maximum decompaction is an absolute home run, especially in heavily compacted cart traffic wear areas.”

— Ross Miller, CGCS, superintendent, Country Club of Detroit

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Suprado *All-time favorite*

Quali-Pro

“It’s virtually a magic bullet for annual bluegrass weevil. This one application in the spring has saved agronomy programs hundreds of dollars per acre when using other programs in the past. The timing is incredibly flexible, and the resistance concern is nonexistent.”

— Chris Navin, superintendent, The Club at P.B. Dye, Ijamsville, Md.

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Maxtima

BASF

“It’s the best dollar spot product I’ve ever seen. I’ve been using it since it came out, we can use it and if the pressure gets to be too much, it has a knockdown power.”

— Steve Schultz, superintendent, Lincoln GC, Muskegon, Mich.

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Field Scout TDR300

Spectrum Technologies

“I wouldn’t really know how to do my job without my TDR moisture meter. I think that tool revolutionized everything for everybody. I’d say that’s my number one. You can get away with a litany of agronomic sins, as long as your moisture management is where it should be.”

— Curtis Schriever, greenkeeper, Wichita (Kan.) CC

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SIP 7000

SIP Grinders

“This is a revolutionary reel grinder, when paired with the SIP bedknife grinder it’s unparalleled in our industry. No back lapping anymore, reel and bedknife fit perfectly every time and it’s all based on geometry figured out by smarter people than me.”

— Thad Thompson, superintendent, Terry Hills GC, Batavia, N.Y.

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GreenKeeper App

TurfGrade

The GKA Course Information System is a game-changer. Having the ability to create Rx applications with a few clicks and loading the application into the GPS Sprayer Control Console is a real time saver and provides next-level control of product applications.”

— Eric Johnson, director of agronomy, Pierce CC, University Place, Wash.

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Nimitz Pro G

Quali-Pro

“Nimitz Pro G coming back for nematode suppression has been huge. It’s like having a new chemistry for us. We started seeing some resistance to some of the other products that have been used so much here. So this has been a big help and we’ve seen some big improvement just in the last few months from getting this product out.”

— Glenn McWhirter, superintendent, Lagoon Park GC, Montgomery, Ala.

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PeneCal

Redox Bio-Nutrients

“To me, it is the best product, and it isn’t expensive. It’s a calcium product that almost acts like a penetrant wetting agent. My joke with our Redox representative is that if you’re not spraying PeneCal, you’re missing the boat.”

— David Beanblossom, superintendent, Chariot Run GC, Laconia, Ind.

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Spot Over-Seeder-Spiker

Par Aide

“You push it down in the ground, it releases bentgrass seed. We use that a lot for greens to really get them to fill in seed and bad spots. It’s a phenomenal tool for us.”

— Troy Flanagan, director of golf maintenance, Olympic Club, San Francisco

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ProCore 648 *All-time favorite*

Toro

“It’s very hard to beat or top this tried-and-true cultural practice icon for its capabilities, flexibility in setup, efficiency and operator-friendly setup. This product has run for 20-plus years and it’s still going strong, with no rival.”

— Ross Miller, CGCS, Superintendent, Country Club of Detroit

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Anuew PGR

Nufarm

“It helps produce a better product for us in the summer. Now I can start regulating my ryegrass in the spring and early summer to help regulate and tilt the scale on my bermudagrass. It’s probably, in the last, I would say, five years, that product right there has been a game changer for me here in Arizona.”

— Ernie Pock, director of agronomy, Grayhawk Club, Scottsdale, Ariz.

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Posterity

Syngenta

“Ever since I started using Posterity, it seems to help our turf recover better from dollar spot. I just don’t have it as much with the longer window that Posterity gives. It has helped us out a lot.”

— Maron Towse, superintendent, Schifferdecker GC, Joplin, Mo.

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PoaCure

Moghu USA

“Over the course of two seasons of applications, we have effectively removed Poa from 30-plus-year-old PennLink USGA spec greens. Our greens are as good as new.”

— Chris Thuer, CGCS, superintendent, Bear Slide GC, Cicero, Ind.

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Nemasan

Organisan Corp.

“It’s a natural nematicide with chitosan and quillaja. These two ingredients help build healthy root zone biology. It’s also a great help with nematodes, as alongside OII-YS, we have not lost any turf from Nematodes since we started to use it.”

— Eddie Wachter, CGCS, superintendent, Franklin County CC, Washington, Mo.

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Koro Field Top Maker

Imants

“It’s basically like sod cutting a fairway, which allows that (bermuda) to grow back in. It not only removes the thatch and all the other organic that’s built up over the year, but it also removes all the Poa seed bank in the soil, so we don’t have to worry about that in our fairways.”

— Greg Niendorf, superintendent, Shadow Creek, Las Vegas

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Tempo wire toner

Tempo Communications

“We’ve done a lot of construction on this golf course. We built Edgewood Lodge seven years ago, we’re now building the Edgewood Villas. We’ve realigned a couple of holes for that project. So, there’s been a lot of disruption with our irrigation system, so I’ve been using a tempo wire toner, trying to get all our wiring back to normal, and figuring out which wires go where. It’s been a great tool.”

— Brad Wunderlich, CGCS, director of grounds and agronomy, Edgewood Lake Tahoe GC, Stateline, Nev.

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Gas leak detector

Forensics

“I still have the original irrigation system and it is hydraulic. Hydraulic is a nightmare. There are little, tiny tubes that go to all 1,000 sprinkler heads. If they get a little pinhole leak, the head comes on, but won’t go off. When that happens, we use a combustible gas leak detector. We put propane through the tube and then we walk around and sniff for propane. Without that, I’d be in trouble.”

— Mike Bellino, superintendent, Heathrow CC, Lake Mary, Fla.

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Excalibur

Aqua-Aid

“Our tees are 85-percent sand. I’ve tried everything, but the hot spots on them have always been out of control. With Excalibur, it’s made them the best they’ve ever been. It helps them keep moisture uniformly, but not too wet. Now I’m using it on my greens as well.”

— Greg D’Antonio, golf course superintendent, Concord CC, West Chester, Pa.

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Master key

“Right now, my favorite tool is my master key to the clubhouse to pick Poa from the greens. It’s getting worn down. I plug it in and pop the seedhead right out.”

— Matt Dachowski, superintendent, Lake Merced GC, San Francisco

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Ascernity

Syngenta

“I’ve had some problems with anthracnose breaking through on my fairways and this has been working really well. It’s something our Syngenta rep recommended, and it’s helped much more than what we were spraying before.”

— Steve Schultz, superintendent, Lincoln GC, Muskegon, Mich.

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Truckster *All-time favorite*

Cushman

“It’s the best piece of golf course equipment ever made. Back in the ’80s, I learned how to drive a stick shift on a Truckster. It’s built to last and helps get us everywhere we need to go.”

— Steve Wantz, Spring Ford CC, Royersford, Pa.

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TurfTrainer

TurfTrainer

“We started to use those three years ago as opposed to brushes and it’s really helped the texture of our putting surfaces. We have it on the triflex and on walkers. It does a nice job getting the grain out and it’s easier to use than brushes.”

— Paul Hoarston, superintendent, Ryland Lakes CC, Ryland Heights, Ky.

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Serata

FMC

“It extends your Pythium root rot control. People told me about it last year, that you can get longer control when you use it. I plugged it in every three weeks, and we stayed really clean all season.”

— Sean Berger, superintendent, The Club at Porto Cima, Sunrise Beach, Mo.

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Primo Maxx

Syngenta

“From a chemistry standpoint, I think growth regulators, such as Primo, are starting to become even more stable, not that they already haven’t been for us the last 15 years. It helps address some of the labor shortages. We can help control the growth, which reduces the amount of mowing that we must do to keep good quality conditions.”

— Chuck J. Connolly, superintendent, Savannah Lakes Village, Greenville, S.C.

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Celero

Nufarm

“Celero is a magic bullet when it comes to Kyllinga in any turf.”

— Chris Navin, superintendent, The Club at P.B. Dye, Ijamsville, Md.

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Rebar Multitool

Leatherman

“It’s a toolbox in your pocket. It has wire cutters, pliers, screwdrivers; everything you need to work on sprinkler heads without lugging along a giant toolbox. Plus it’s got a multitude of other uses with its knives, files, rulers and a bottle and can opener.”

— Steve Wantz, Spring Ford CC, Royersford, Pa.

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Ninja GPS Sprayer *All-time favorite*

Frost

“It’s very user-friendly, especially now that they married the system with the GreenKeeper app, which I was already using. I’ve been beta-testing the new system, you can now create your own prescription maps … and it’s plug-and-play from there, it’s awesome.”

— Bill Irving, superintendent, Wolf Creek GL, Olathe, Kan.

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Turf Fuel Infinite

Target Specialty Products

“I mostly run Target Specialty Products. I have been very impressed with their (Turf Fuel) Infinite wetting agent. That stuff is good. There is no denying that.”

— Matthew Fiorentino, superintendent, Profile Club, Bethlehem, N.H.

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Kalida and Fame

FMC

“Last year we had a fairy ring problem at the club on our greens, and with the help of Kalida and Fame, we haven’t had any issues. It’s been eliminated on the property through the use of the products and watering the products in properly.”

— Shawn Westacott, director of agronomy, Blessings GC, Fayetteville, Ark.

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Greensaire 24

Ryan Turf

“We’ve been using Greensaire since the ’70s. It’s the best aerifier ever made. It helps relieve compaction and provides air to our soil and roots. Air is the cheapest thing you can give to your turf.”

— Steve Wantz, Spring Ford CC, Royersford, Pa.

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Professional Greens Mower

Hudson Star

“The Hudson Star mowers for some of the slopes around bunkering. There’s no motor, they’re just kind of an old-school reel mower. You can adjust them down to greens height, which is pretty amazing, the engineering on that. I’m excited to play around with some of the hillside slopes that we haven’t been able to cut short previously.”

— Kyle Harrigan, North Course superintendent, Silverado Resort, Napa, Calif.

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Cell phone

“You can’t check your POGO without it. I can assemble my staff with it. I can order products from my cell phone. I can phone a friend when I’m in trouble. I could ask a superintendent down the road for something. We basically have a minicomputer in our hand, available at all times.”

— Marc Muniz, director of agronomy, The Club at Lansdowne (Va.)