Golf Industry Show Seminar On The Grass Sold Out
Golf Industry Show, Atlanta, GA: (Thursday, February 9, 2006): Once considered a niche grass, Seashore Paspalum is now regarded by many in the golf industry as "the next big thing" in golf course turfgrass.
Dr. J. Bryan Unruh, extension turf specialist for University of Florida, is in the second year of a three-year USGA-funded study on Seashore Paspalum. He travels frequently throughout Florida and the Southeast speaking about turfgrass. Increasingly, Unruh said he’s fielding inquiries about Seashore Paspalum.
"In the past two years, especially as folks consider new construction or reconstruction of their golf courses, I’m getting a lot more questions about Seashore Paspalum," Unruh said. "The demand, especially in the coastal regions and in those areas with water quality issues, has increased."
Seashore Paspalum is a fine textured, warm-season turfgrass suitable for use on golf courses. Some cultivars, such as SeaDwarfâ?¢ Seashore Paspalum and Alohaâ?¢ Seashore Paspalum, may be used tee-to-green. What makes the grass so attractive to many in the industry is its environmentally friendly nature. Seashore Paspalum takes up to 50% less water for irrigation, up to 75% less nitrogen for fertilization, can be irrigated with nearly any quality water source and salt may be used as an herbicide on the grass. In addition, studies have shown SeaDwarfâ?¢ to heal twice as fast as bermudagrass from divots and sports-related wear.
During the Golf Industry Show in Atlanta, Unruh, along with his University of Florida colleague Barry Brecke, was scheduled to teach a three-hour seminar on "Pest Management in Seashore Paspalum."
"I thought that if I had 20 to 25 registered we’d be doing good. I had no idea how many people would sign up. Last week I spoke to the people at GCSAA and they said we had nearly 70 pre-registered. It surprised me," Unruh said. "Clearly we don’t have nearly 70 Seashore Pasplaum golf courses in Florida but it will be interesting to look at the mix (of attendees). Will they be international, from California, Arizona?"
Unruh’s is not the only Seashore Paspalum class to be offered to the turf industry in recent months. The full day session on "Seashore Paspalum Management on Golf Courses" at the Golf Industry Show in Atlanta was completely sold out.
And, at the Florida Turfgrass Association Regional Conference held in Fort Myers in January, Stewart T. Bennett, paspalum consultant and owner of SaltScape Solutions in Bokeelia, Florida, presented two seminars on the grass. Both sessions were standing room only.
Educational interest in the grass is not the only indication of its growth in popularity.
In 2005, many golf courses from Florida to the Caribbean to California chose Seashore Paspalum over other traditional warm-season golf course grasses such as bermudagrass. And big-name PGA Tour Players who now design golf courses, such as Raymond Floyd and Greg Norman, opened courses recently that were grassed 100-percent with SeaDwarfâ?¢ Seashore Pasplaum from tee-to-green.
Emerald Island Turf, a licensed grower of Certified SeaDwarfâ?¢ Seashore Paspalum, reports that from their Avon Park, Florida, farm they sold Seashore Pasplaum sod or sprigs to nearly two dozen golf courses in 2005 alone.
Just a sampling of the high-profile courses recently grassed with SeaDwarfâ?¢ Seashore Paspalum include:
While in the past Seashore Paspalum might only have been considered for use on courses where environmental issues such as poor quality water might have dictated it, that is no longer the case.
"Today golf course architects and superintendents are choosing the grass just because they like it," said Mike Vanatta, vice president of international sales for Environmental Turf, worldwide marketer of SeaDwarfâ?¢ and Alohaâ?¢ Seashore Paspalum.
"The playability of the grass," Vanatta said, "is now just as much of a selling point as its environmentally friendly characteristics."
The growth pattern of Seashore Paspalum is very vertical in nature, as opposed to other grasses that lay to one side, Vanatta explained.
"Golf balls tend to sit up in the fairway as if on a tee," Vanatta said.
This adds to the grasses’ ease of play, especially for the average golfer, according to Mike Calbot, internationally known PGA Tour Instructor and Trick Shot Artist who endorses SeaDwarfâ?¢ for use on golf courses from tee-to-green.
"For the average golfer, the firmness of the grass will promote better ball/clubface contact, thus more fun and better shots," Calbot said. "On the fairways, the ball sits up on top of the grass and it’s easier for contact with mid and longer irons and fairway woods."
In fact, at Ocean Point Golf Links at Fripp Island Resort near Beaufort, South Carolina, the implementation of the grass is used as a promotional tool. SeaDwarfâ?¢ Seashore Paspalum was installed on the greens and Alohaâ?¢ Seashore Paspalum was installed on the fairways, tees and roughs of the newly renovated golf course.
In Fripp Island’s advertisements for the course, the headline reads: "Play the hottest new turf in golf."
Environmental Turf licenses growers world-wide to grow its two proprietary Seashore Paspalum grasses, SeaDwarfâ?¢ Seashore Paspalum and Alohaâ?¢ Seahsore Paspalum.
SeaDwarfâ?¢ Seashore Paspalum is the only true dwarf of all of the paspalums, delivering faster green speeds and a tighter knit. It can be mowed from about 1/10th-inch up to about 4-inches. It offers a bright green color, natural striping and excellent salt tolerance.
Alohaâ?¢ Seashore Pasplaum was developed by the University of Florida. Though not quite as fine textured as SeaDwarfâ?¢, Alohaâ?¢ may be used tee-to-green where green speeds are not an issue. Alohaâ?¢ can be mowed from about 1/8th-inch to about 6-inches. It delivers a longer rough and deeper green color than SeaDwarfâ?¢. Alohaâ?¢ may be used in combination with SeaDwarfâ?¢, where a golf course would plant SeaDwarfâ?¢ greens and Alohaâ?¢ fairways, tees, and roughs, for a longer rough and color contrast.
For more information on SeaDwarfâ?¢ Seashore Paspalum or Alohaâ?¢ Seashore Paspalum, or to find a licensed grower near you, call: 772-460-5575 or visit: www.environmentalturf.com
Contact:
Stacie Zinn
Cell: 239-398-4224
Office: 239-774-1293
stacie@environmentalturf.com
