COVER STORY
UT Turfgrass Research at Golf
Courses in
By Eric H. Reasor, Ph.D. Candidate, The University of Tennessee
game of golf is played all over the world, and this has led to the need to manage fine turfgrass globally. As with everything else, things are different from country to country when it comes to turfgrass management and the game of golf. Both of these are especially true in Thailand and Japan. I was extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to conduct research and visit many golf courses in Thailand and Japan in July 2016. This was the most challenging, yet rewarding, experience of my life. Therefore, the goals of this article are (1) to introduce the research method used to measure golf ball roll uniformity and (2) to discuss some of my turfgrass-management experiences in Asia and how they compare to the United States.
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How did this research opportunity start? First and foremost, I want to thank my major advisor at The University of Tennessee, Dr. Jim Brosnan, as well as Dr. Micah Woods, chief scientist at the Asian Turfgrass Center. Dr. Woods is also an adjunct faculty at The University of Tennessee. I would also like to thank Mr. Matee Suntisawasdi, Mr. Norifumi Yawata and Mr. Yukio Ueno. They deserve all the credit for organizing the logistics of my trip. My research as a Ph.D. candidate in turfgrass weed science has focused on managing off-type grasses in ultradwarf bermudagrass putting greens. One of my objectives with this topic was to study the effects that off-types may have on golf ball roll uniformity.
TENNESSEE TURFGRASS FEBRUARY/MARCH 2017 Email TTA at: info@ttaonline.org
The idea to test putting surfaces in Asia began in April 2015 during a visit from Dr. Woods to Knoxville when Dr. Brosnan and I were showing him a device called the Perfect Putter to potentially measure putting quality on putting greens. We had been working on the method for several months prior to his visit, but we wanted to get Dr. Woods’ input because of his expertise on the subject. Dr. Woods introduced us to the idea of measuring putting surfaces in Asia in addition to the U.S.; doing so would allow us to learn more about golf ball roll uniformity and putting quality in different countries, on different grasses and with different management techniques. The trip to Asia began on July 10, 2016, with 4 days spent measuring greens at 18 different golf courses in Thailand