Why MOL Products are Good for Sand, Greens, and Push-up Greens alike 

Most sand greens do not come up to the research standards done by the USGA for organic matter. There is a big misconception as to what organic really is. They also do not have any idea as to how the test for organic is performed. Superintendents have told me that they have tremendous root mass in their sand greens and call this organic matter. It is one form of organic matter called inert. The form given in the test for organic matter is called humus. In my forty years of experience and over 10,000 tests that I have done, I have never seen organic levels from the “inert organic matter” rise more than .30% in 10 years.

What you need is to sustain good levels of microbial activity in order to breakdown inert fiber or organic matter into humus or carbon. The best grades of molasses assist in furnishing this need. If the soil's life, which becomes the digestive system for higher plants/animals, had different requirements/needs to sustain life we would have sick plants or sick soil life. Because of the misuse of nitrogen, or the luxury feeding thereof, the microbes burn off soil carbon to maintain a good soil carbon to nitrogen ratio.

In push-up greens, or greens with excessive build-up of inert organic matter, you create a hay stack condition where the plant material becomes so hardened off that it doesn’t break down fast enough to supply the carbon needed.

In either case the rule applies. In order for soil life to achieve its highest level, it not only needs carbon, it also needs a balance of calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium. Trying to maintain this in all-sand greens without humus or something to retain the C.E.C. is difficult. Trying to maintain a balance of nutrients in the soil solution with the use of chemical salts (fertilizer) is a crap shoot at best.