The Naples, Fla., property has completed a project that re-grassed its 36 tees, fairways and rough areas with Platinum TE paspalum turfgrass. The renovation project began in 2015, and the turfgrass was selected due to its tolerance of salt, cold, and low-light intensity.
The Club at Mediterra in Naples, Fla., recently completed a re-grass and renovation, making it the world’s first 36-hole, private Audubon International-certified Silver Signature Sanctuary to re-grass with Platinum TE™ paspalum turfgrass. The re-grass effort included the tees, fairways and rough areas.
Tom Fazio initially designed the two courses in 2001 and also supervised the re-grass and course renovation, which began in 2015. The course brought on Tim Hiers as director of agronomy in 2015 to help lead the renovation efforts, which also included new bunkers and a new irrigation system.
“In addition to its excellent salt tolerance, we went to Platinum TE paspalum because it has better cold tolerance, low-light intensity tolerance—which is cloudy weather—it’s got a deeper root system and a very vibrant rhizome system that recovers from divots rapidly,” said Hiers. “It’s just a nice-looking grass, and it’s a great grass to hit off of because it grows vertically.”
The deeper and higher-mass root system also uses water and nitrogen much more efficiently, cutting down on the cost of maintenance, Hiers said.
Mediterra offers more than 1,000 acres of open spaces, parks and nature preserves, and was named a certified Silver Signature Sanctuary by Audubon International. This renovation improves the quality of play while also investing in the health of the sanctuary space.
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