Registration is now open for the March 8 to 10 Sustainable Turfgrass Management In Asia 2010 conference./This educational  event is supported by The R&A and is organized by ATC and the Thai GCSA on behalf of the Thailand Golf Association.

The classroom and field seminars at Sustainable Turfgrass Management in Asia 2010 are designed to provide information about grass selection and grass management for golf courses in Asia. From the results of scientific experiments conducted to identify the best-performing grasses in Asia, to practical advice about how to improve playing conditions, to specific tips about presenting the best possible course, you will have access to that information at this three-day program.

One of the speakers, Darren Moore of the Shadow Creek Golf Club at Beijing has worked with both warm and cool season grasses and has experience working on golf courses in China, Australia, the United States, and the Philippines. When he was superintendent at Manila Southwoods, he was awarded the GCSAA/Golf Digest Environmental Leaders in Golf Award and was responsible for preparing the course for the World Amateur Championship, twice for the Philippine Open, for the Philippine Ladies Open, all while becoming the first course in the Asia Pacific region to be fully certified as an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary. He has recently been superintendent at Lakelands Golf Club in Australia, which was named the best-conditioned course in Australia in 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2005. In addition to his work as a superintendent, Moore has obtained a Masters degree in turf management with a thesis about the performance of different bermudagrass selections from putting greens. Delegates will learn from him about how to get the desired conditions on a golf course by implementing the best management practices for pest control, environmental management, and presentation of the course.

When it comes to new turfgrass varieties and their performance in the Asia Pacific region, Matt Roche from the Queensland Department of Primary Industries knows all about these grasses, because he has been supervising research trials to evaluate these grasses in side-by-side trials under different management regimes. Old and new bermudagrass varieties, seashore paspalum, blue couch. Roche has an encyclopedic knowledge of the performance of these grasses, the varieties that you may consider for your course, and the management inputs that will be required to get the desired turfgrass quality. He will share information about the performance and the management of grasses for this region.

Micah Woods from the Asian Turfgrass Center has worked with over fifty varieties of grass in research trials at Thailand, and he has provided advisory services to golf courses throughout East and Southeast Asia. In the course of this extensive advisory work along with his scientific research, he has ascertained which maintenance practices are essential to the creation of high-quality playing surfaces in Asia. He will share the scientific principles and the practical techniques that you can apply at your course to create the optimum soil conditions and surface conditions for a great golf experience.