Florida course becomes world’s first 36-hole, private Audubon International-certified
Silver Signature Sanctuary to regrass with Platinum TE paspalum turfgrass
Highlights:
- The Tom Fazio-designed course recently re-grassed its tees, fairways and roughs with Platinum TE™ paspalum turfgrass.
- It’s the world’s first 36-hole private Audubon International-certified Silver Signature Sanctuary to re-grass with Platinum TE paspalum turfgrass.
The benefits of Platinum TE paspalum include excellent color, salt tolerance, playability, divot recovery, low-light intensity tolerance and efficient use of nitrogen.
The Club at Mediterra, a 36-hole, private country club in Naples, Fla., recently completed a re-grass and renovation, making it the world’s first 36-hole, private Audubon International-certified Silver Signature Sanctuary to re-grass with Platinum TE™ paspalum turfgrass. The re-grass effort included the tees, fairways and rough areas.
Tom Fazio initially designed the two courses in 2001 and also supervised the re-grass and course renovation, which began in 2015. The course brought on Tim Hiers as director of agronomy in 2015 to help lead the renovation efforts, which also included new bunkers and a new irrigation system.
“In addition to its excellent salt tolerance, we went to Platinum TE paspalum because it has better cold tolerance, low-light intensity tolerance — which is cloudy weather — it’s got a deeper root system and a very vibrant rhizome system that recovers from divots rapidly,” said Hiers. “It’s just a nice-looking grass, and it’s a great grass to hit off of because it grows vertically.”
Hiers also went on to explain that the deeper and higher-mass root system uses water and nitrogen much more efficiently, cutting down on the cost of maintenance.
Mediterra offers more than 1,000 acres of open spaces, parks and nature preserves, and was named a certified Silver Signature Sanctuary by Audubon International. This renovation improves the quality of play while also investing in the health of the sanctuary space.
The low-light intensity tolerance of Platinum TE paspalum also lends itself to other unique applications. The Miami Marlins and Houston Astros of Major League Baseball both use Platinum TE paspalum because they each play in a retractable-roof stadium.
To learn more about Platinum TE paspalum turfgrass, visit www.platinumte.com.
To learn more about The Club at Mediterra, visit www.mediterraliving.com/golf.
To watch a recent video of the renovation on GCSAA TV, click here.
About Platinum TE Paspalum
Introduced in 2007 by Dr. Ron R. Duncan, PhD, Platinum TE™ turfgrass delivers unsurpassed playability and appearance combined with the company’s renowned service and expertise. Platinum TE’s many key characteristics include a darker green color for exceptional striping, better greens speeds for exceptional ball setup and puttability, and superior tolerance to low light intensity conditions, making it an ideal choice for areas with persistent cloudy or rainy climatic patterns. This naturally selected paspalum is certified and licensed, and is perfect for installation at golf courses, sports venues and other turfgrass areas. Platinum TE is the turfgrass of choice for more than 150 golf course and sports field projects around the world. For more information, visit www.platinumte.com.
