39 TEE BOX The regrassing of the nine-hole CCC Country Club Playa Palmas course in Ciudad del Carmen, Mexico, with Pure Dynasty seeded paspalum has delivered consistent and robust playing surfaces. The new grass was introduced during a redesign of the layout by Greg Letsche, who worked alongside Atlas Turf International on the project. Letsche said it was “a no-brainer” to collaborate again with John Holmes of Atlas, having worked with the grass supplier on projects around the world for over 20 years. The architect said the project at Playa Palmas “has been another success, with members and guests enjoying the updated course and playing surfaces”. “John’s focus has always been on the site and the scientific data when making grass selection,” added Letsche. “That is why his grass selection excels even more in remote regions, and the paspalum has really made the difference at Playa Palmas. There wasn’t room for a turf nursery, the course previously had a mixture of grasses that didn’t really perform well, and we were basically on an island two metres above sea level with a lot of salt intrusion and wind, but the grass selected by John performed excellently.” Letsche’s redesign involved changes to holes four, seven and eight to improve safety following the introduction of a new residential component alongside the course. All par threes were also adjusted and now play in a different direction, and greens and bunkers were redesigned. “It’s nine holes, but we have alternate tees so there is a lot of different shot values for players,” said Letsche. “Golfers are enjoying the updated green complexes and bunkering. Previously, all the greens were somewhat elevated, so we lowered them to give players the chance for more bump and runs and f lop shots. It’s more user friendly now.” Regrassing project delivers highperformance surfaces for Playa Palmas Photo: Letsche Golf Design Greg Letsche has redesigned the Playa Palmas layout in Mexico Image: Letsche Golf Design
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