Only Licensed Grower of SeaDwarf in the Islands
Mililani, Hawai’i (Wednesday, May 30, 2007): Environmental Turf, Inc., is proud to announce that Ali’i Turf has been selected as the company’s only licensed sod producer of SeaDwarf Seashore Paspalum, an environmentally friendly turfgrass, in the Hawaiian Islands.
SeaDwarf Seashore Paspalum is the only true dwarf variety of all commercially available seashore paspalum turfgrasses. It may be used on golf courses from tee-to-green and on sports fields and home lawns. SeaDwarf is a very environmentally friendly turfgrass in that it requires up to 50% less water and up to 75% less fertilizer than bermudagrass. It can tolerate high levels of salt from salt spray or irrigation. Salt can be used on SeaDwarf as an herbicide.
Located on the island of O’ahu, Ali’i Turf has a farm located in the Mililani Ag Park. Ali’i Turf is owned and operated by Mr. See Ba Thee, who is well known by the initials "T.C." A native of Malaysia, T.C. is a graduate of Brigham Young University-Hawai’i with a degree in agricultural management. T.C. has 16 years of experience in the turf industry in Hawai’i. He said he opted to become a licensed grower of SeaDwarf for several reasons.
"I wanted to grow SeaDwarf because it is excellent tee to green, wall to wall. It’s an environmentally friendly grass, has a nice color and grows faster than the rest of the grasses," he said.
As far as playability, SeaDwarf greens produce virtually no grain. The upright nature of the turf in the fairway makes a golf ball sit up almost as if it were on a tee.
The grass also has what many experts have termed the "Wow Factor." USGA Southeast Regional Agronomists Patrick O’Brien and Chris Hartwiger, in a recent USGA report, used the term to describe SeaDwarf’s bright green color, natural striping ability and smooth playing surface.
In the February 2007 USGA report, O’Brien and Hartwiger said SeaDwarf provides a "an extremely high quality playing surface" and noted that "the quality of the SeaDwarf putting surfaces was impressive. Green speeds are typically 9 feet or higher and the surfaces are smooth and true. The mowing height is 0.125 inch at most times."
According to O’Brien and Hartwiger, "SeaDwarf is the only dwarf-type paspalum variety and is well adapted as a golf turf on all playing areas."
From Ali’i Turf’s hilltop farm in the town of Mililani, visitors are treated to a view of Pearl Harbor. One might also notice that the SeaDwarf at Ali’i Turf is not grown on Mililani’s famous red volcanic soil. Rather, it’s grown on plastic in a mulch medium. T.C. said he uses this method for growing the grass to provide a fast grow-in without the worry of any weeds.
In Hawai’i, as in most other places in the world these days, environmental issues play a major part in golf and agricultural development. T.C. said these factors also defined his choice of SeaDwarf®.
"It’s the only grass in the world that makes sense to grow because you can use all kinds of water," T.C. said. "It’s more versatile."
Environmental Turf, Inc., is an award-winning firm dedicated to the research, development, marketing and distribution of environmentally-friendly warm-season turfgrasses. Based in Avon Park, Florida, Environmental Turf licenses quality sod producers world-wide to grow its environmentally friendly turfgrasses. For general information about SeaDwarf, visit: www.environmentalturf.com .
For more information on SeaDwarf in Hawai’i, contact Ali’i Turf at 808-293-8873 or via email at thees001@hawaii.rr.com.
Contact:
Stacie Zinn
Cell: 239-398-4224
Office: 239-774-1293
stacie@environmentalturf.com
