Viridescent - the Asian Turfgrass Center blog

Report on the 2012 India Greenkeeper Education Programme

The Indian Golf Union's greenkeeper education programme was conducted for four consecutive weeks in the four zones of India, beginning on 24 September in the South and ending on 19 October in the East. 

The South Zone saw 20 delegates gather for five days at host Kodaikanal Golf Club in Tamil Nadu. This is India's only organic golf course, and the summary video from the South Zone programme shows some of the wildlife that can be found on this natural course high in the Palni Hills.

We then moved to Pune in Maharashtra for the West Zone programme, where we were hosted by Poona Club (Golf) and also made visits to Oxford Golf and Country Club and the Army's RSI GC. In each zone, we conducted a five day course on the theme of Improving Course Conditions, with content tailored to the grasses, climate, water supply, and course types in each region.

In the North Zone we were hosted by the Army Environmental Park and Training Area (AEPTA, or simply Army GC) in New Delhi, and we also made a visit to the first public golf course in India, the Delhi Development Authority's Qutub Golf Course. We learned about management of water and soil organic matter to optimize course conditions, weed management, equipment maintenance and mowing quality, and turfgrass nutrient requirements. The presentation notes, slides, and links to additional reading are available for download at the programme website, www.in.asianturfgrass.com.

Our hosts in the East were Royal Calcutta Golf Club, where we enjoyed a week of fine weather, ate excellent food from West Bengal, visited the Tollygunge Club, and learned about effective turfgrass management techniques.

A selection of photos from each of the four zones have been assembled in this gallery. 

This greenkeeper education programme is organized and delivered by the Indian Golf Union. It is supported by The R&A, and the educational materials are prepared and taught by Dr. Micah Woods of the Asian Turfgrass Center with support from the Asian Golf Industry Federation (AGIF). Our objective with this programme is simple: to share practical and technical information related to greenkeeping that will lead to improved playing conditions on golf courses in India. 

I would like to thank each of the host clubs for this year's programme for providing such a great venue and excellent food, all of the delegates who participated in the programme, the AGIF for their support, and the IGU and The R&A for making this programme possible. Thanks are also due to Dr. Jim Brosnan from the University of Tennessee and Dr. Doug Soldat from the University of Wisconsin, for their assistance in developing the teaching materials used for the weed management and water management topics, respectively. For more information about the topics, more photos, and more downloads of educational materials, please visit the programme website.

IGU Greenkeeper Education in East Zone

We've moved to Royal Calcutta Golf Club in the eastern city of Kolkata for the 4^th and final week of this year's IGU greenkeeper education programme. 

a fun day of greenkeeper education today in sunny Kolkata at the oldest golf club outside Britain twitter.com/asianturfgrass…

— Micah Woods (@asianturfgrass) October 16, 2012

The programme website has been updated with photos from the West and North Zones, and video reports from the South and West Zones are also available for viewing on the programme website.

At the programme website, you can download the notes for this year's lectures (61 pages, PDF file) or view the presentation slides or find additional reading.

India Greenkeeper Education Programme South Zone Video

The Indian Golf Union's Greenkeeper Education Programme for the South Zone was held at Kodaikanal Golf Club in Tamil Nadu from 24 to 28 September. This video shows some of the highlights from the week, showing the scenery of Kodaikanal, the wildlife there, and feedback from the programme participants. You'll also see how to get a great workout on the golf course core aerifying a green – by hand!

More pictures from the program can be seen in this photo gallery.

A Turfgrass Mystery on Seashore Paspalum in Tamil Nadu

Last week I visited a golf course in Southern India and saw these symptoms on seashore paspalum turf. The general symptoms are shown above, and a close-up of a single patch is shown below. 

Can you identify the cause of these patches? 

This one was quickly solved by three people. Did you have the same answer?

@timfleegel @asianturfgrass - great image and I'd agree with Tim on this one!

— Frank Wong (@turfpathology) October 2, 2012

@asianturfgrass Have they got elephants there? Bruising soft growth?

— DG (@GreatManDan) October 2, 2012

That, of course, is the correct answer, as this course, right up against the Western Ghats, is visited frequently by elephants. 

If we take an even closer look at one of the elephant footprints, we can see that the patch seems to include some dried mud that remains on the leaf, along with some bruising from the weight of the elephant.

These footprints should not be confused with the autumnal disease of Zoysia japonica in Japan, caused by Rhizoctonia cerealis, and known by the common name of elephant's footprint.

Hopefully this information will help you to identify elephant footprints on your turf the next time they occur, and you will easily be able to distinguish the real elephant's footprint from the one caused by R. cerealis.

Indian Golf Union Greenkeeper Education Programme Underway in South Zone

Twenty greenkeers from India's South Zone have gathered at the hill station of Kodaikanal this week for the second year of the IGU Greenkeeper Education Programme. At last year's programme, held at Eagleton Golf Resort in Bangalore, we studied topics related to Principles of Greenkeeping. This year, at host Kodaikanal Golf Club, we are focusing the weeklong course on Improving Course Conditions.

Kodaikanal is high in the Palni Hills at an elevation of more than 2,100 meters. From the Club, we can look down at the plains of Tamil Nadu far below. At this elevation, the main grasses on the course are kikuyugrass (Pennisetum clandestinum), creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera), narrowleaf carpetgrass (Axonopus affinis), and blue couch (Digitaria didactyla). 

A sign beside the first tee at Kodaikanal Golf Club says "welcome to India's only organic golf course," and in this climate, with these grasses, the organic management approach works well. In addition to the classroom seminars, and the practical sessions on the course, most of the delegates are staying at the Club and have the chance to inspect the course in the evenings after the day's training is finished.

Nets are placed around the greens at the Club, to keep off the wild boars but more especially to keep off the gaur. Every night, herds of Indian gaur come onto the course to graze. This is the largest species of wild cattle and I got a closeup look at this one as he was making his way to the Club.

This is a great venue in a great town, and the topics for this year are sure to be of value to golf courses here. We discuss irrigation, organic matter management, weed control, and turfgrass nutrient requirements and fertilizer. This programme, put on by the Indian Golf Union with support from The R&A, will continue in upcoming weeks at Pune, New Delhi, and Kolkata. 

A Report on Putting Green Performance Characteristics

From August 2011 to May 2012, I collected data on putting green performance from more than 200 greens on nearly 80 golf courses in seven countries. These data are now summarized in this 24 page report, which has also been expertly translated into Japanese by Mr. Yukio Ueno.

Announcing the 2012 India Greenkeeper Education Programme

I'm pleased to announce that the Indian Golf Union's Greenkeeper Education Programme will be held in September and October at four of the finest clubs in India. Following up on the successful first year of the programme which had a focus on Introduction to Greenkeeping, the 2012 programme expands with a focus on Improving Course Conditions. 

The intensive weeklong educational programme will be delivered at these host clubs:

• Kodaikanal GC, Tamil Nadu (South Zone), 24 to 28 September
• Poona Club, Pune (West Zone), 1 to 5 October
• Army Golf, Delhi (North Zone), 8 to 12 October
• Royal Calcutta GC (East Zone), 15 to 19 October

 Full information on the program is available at www.in.asianturfgrass.com including lecture notes and presentations slides from the 2011 programme, the first two issues of the Greenkeeping Information Service, and photos of the educational events in 2011.

Once again supported by The R&A, this IGU educational course is designed to provide information that will lead to improved playing conditions on golf courses in India. The educational programme is being led by Dr. Micah Woods of the Asian Turfgrass Center with additional support from the Asian Golf Industry Federation.

Webcast from the Australian Turfgrass Conference: Micah Woods on grass selection in Asia

The Australian Golf Course Superintendents' Association provide a great service by making so many of the presentations from their annual conference available for online viewing. 

At the 27^th Australian Turfgrass Conference in Adelaide, I gave presentations about turfgrass nutrient requirements, about grass selection, and about managing turf in microclimates.

In this presentation about grass selection, I spoke primarily about manilagrass (Zoysia matrella), bermudagrass or green couch (Cynodon), and seashore paspalum (Paspalum vaginatum). You'll see in this video representative photos of the different grasses and will learn how manilagrass persists and provides a fine turf even with minimal maintenance. In Southeast Asia, seashore paspalum tends to be overtaken by bermudagrass, you will see, and bermudagrass tends to be overtaken by manilagrass. This short video makes a case for using more manilagrass and less bermudagrass and seashore paspalum.

Article About ATC in July GCM

An article in this month's Golf Course Management magazine focuses on my work with the Asian Turfgrass Center. 

As a longtime reader of this magazine and an 18 year member of GCSAA, it was fun to read this article about the work that I do. 

Read the article online here to learn about, among other things, why I decided to be a turfgrass scientist, how I came to work in Asia, what I'm working on now, how many miles I flew in the first half of 2012, what professional tour my dad played, at which university I am an adjunct professor, and what Dr. Frank Rossi, Nicer Landas, CGCS, Vu Minh Son, and Jin Hai Bo have to say about me and my work.

Turfgrass Teaching in India

I spent the last month at Kolkata, New Delhi, Mumbai, Coimbatore, Kodaikanal, and Bangalore, conducting a Greenkeeper Education Programme for the Indian Golf Union. Working with technical experts from the Asian Golf Industry Federation, we taught a series of weeklong courses in each of the country's four zones, providing practical information covering many aspects of golf course maintenance, with a focus on these topics:

• grass selection for golf courses in India
• how to produce the desired playing conditions
• operation and maintenance of reel and rotary mowers
• preventative maintenance of golf course machinery
• safe operation of turfgrass equipment
• introduction to irrigation, plant nutrition, and management of soil organic matter
• on-course sessions to investigate and apply what was learned in the classroom

The primary grass used on golf courses in India is Cynodon (bermudagrass). Some courses have been planted with Paspalum vaginatum (seashore paspalum). Zoysia matrella is used in landscape areas and on a few courses the zoysia has invaded the Cynodon but has not yet been planted on a golf course. Axonopus compressus grows well and provides the playing surface on many courses in the country. Those are the main grasses we discussed, although there is isolated use of Stenotaphrum secundatum, Pennisetum clandestinum, and Digitaria didactyla in the South, and there are some courses at high elevation at which cool-season grasses can grow.

This programme is supported by The R&A and aims to provide information and education that greenkeepers in India can use to develop improved playing conditions on the many golf courses across the country. See photos from the IGU Greenkeeper Education Programme here, or read more about the programme at its dedicated website.