Challenge
- Create a greens mix that balances air and water porosity even during the rainy season
- Limited sands available suitable for a greens root zone
Result
- PPC Greens Grade helped balance porosity despite weather fluctuations and established healthy root zones with balanced porosity
- Success on the Queen’s course prompted regular maintenance applications of PPC Greens Grade to the King’s course to improve drainage and reduce compaction of the greens.
Product Used
- Profile® Porous Ceramic Greens Grade™
Royal Golf Club in Vietnam is one of the most beautiful clubs in the country. The flagship King’s Course boasts 18 holes through tight rock formations and glittering lakes. After the King’s Course received high accolades, Royal set their sights on creating the next 18 holes, known as the Queen’s Course. The Queen also plays off the natural rockiness of the land, which provided a unique challenge to build the course in a way that ensures well-oxygenated soils and adequate water holding to promote healthy greens.
“From a scientific perspective, the concept with the Royal Golf Course greens was to engineer the most simple, functional and robust root zone,” Cameron Thompson, agronomist and President of Thompson Golf, said. “We were very cognizant of giving the superintendent the most consistent long-term greens management conditions.”
Choosing the Right Blend
To ensure the initial drainage rates were high enough to handle the rainy season, which averages 12-22 cm (5-9 in) of rain per month, the team opted to replace the gravel layer with a blend of Profile® Porous Ceramic (PPC) Greens GradeTM and locally available sand at 25 cm (9.8 in). When blended with sand in a greens mix, PPC improves water and nutrient-holding capabilities, increases oxygen levels at the root zone, and facilitates drainage.
During the first three to five years of a green, drainage rates must allow for 50-60% water reduction in the top layer so the plant can establish root systems and develop biomass. This is especially important when local water quality is poor, which is the case for the Royal Golf Club.
“After testing numerous greens mix options, we found that the perfect blend of Profile Porous Ceramics with a locally available sand actually allowed us to save a lot money on greens construction and delivered better agronomic results in the end,” President of Flagstick GCCM, Martin Moore said. “Now two years later, the greens at Royal are performing flawlessly and based on my previous experiences with Profile, we are confident this will continue for years to come.”
Now two years later, the greens at Royal are performing flawlessly and based on my previous experiences with Profile, we are confident this will continue for years to come.
Martin Moore
A Solution for Water Quality and Retention
PPC’s excellent aeration and air/water-holding capacity reduces the pressure on turf that makes it susceptible to insect or disease damage. Overall, course drainage has improved, air and water porosity stabilized to 25.7% and 19.2%, respectively, and infiltration stabilized at 156.1 cm/hr (61 in/hr). PPC is a large cost saver not only during the construction phase of a course build, but for future maintenance treatments because the soil retains moisture and nutrients better.
“Lab data confirmed adding Profile to the native sand significantly altered the aeration porosity, capillary percentage and chemical constituents, which allowed us to remove the gravel layer, reduce the depth of sand capping material and ultimately save on fertilizer and water inputs,” Thompson said.
Because of the recent success on the Queen’s course, the Royal Golf Club team has since added regular maintenance applications of PPC Greens Grade on the King’s course to improve drainage and rooting.
Agronomist
Cameron Thompson
Partners
Jim Wagner, Jack Nicklaus Design
Martin Moore, Flag Stick Golf Course
Jebsen & Jessen Ingredients, Vietnam Co., Ltd
