81 REPORT and plays as a short dogleg left over a massive sandy waste area.” Bunkering varies throughout the course, from large, organic features to small, deep, links-style pot bunkers. On the holes nearest the ocean, IMG introduced expansive sandy waste areas featuring seaside grasses and shrubs. This rugged natural terrain contrasts visually with the Tahoma 31 playing surfaces. “The total area of maintained grass is somewhere around 30 hectares which is a statistic we like to be very cognisant of for environmental and economic sustainability,” says McFarlane. “Our goal is always to try and keep this number manageable without compromising the playability and enjoyment of the golfing experience.” Tees, fairways and rough all feature Tahoma 31 bermuda, while greens are TifEagle. Outfield Nursery Enterprises, led by Jason Blacka, supplied these varieties and helped superintendent Ben Villanueva oversee grow-in. “The owner had been especially impressed with Tahoma’s colour at a couple of other courses, and based on our experience we knew it was well suited to the site and climate,” says Blacka. “The fast establishment, low inputs and reasonable salt tolerance all made Tahoma ideal for this island site. It helped to beat the wet season, meet the owner’s tight construction timeframe and is easy to maintain… it also helps with playability and allows the ball to roll true. “We also had lower irrigation inputs during the dry season, and it still established well. Tahoma coped with the moderately high salinity with no issues.” Villanueva adds: “Tahoma is great for all sorts of maintenance reasons… quick establishment, a wide range of heights of cut, ease of recovery and salt tolerance. The owner was absolutely right about the great colour, and it held through our winter too. It looks terrific! The only reason to choose a different grass would be if you had very high salinity issues on a site and only paspalum could grow.” Course lighting means play is available at night. “This is a great benefit in this part of the world as it allows golf to be played when temperatures drop,” says McFarlane. “It does not really impact our design process but having mature vegetation throughout the course allows us to position the poles so that they do not have any significant visual impact on the look and character of the holes.” Photo: Steven Halliwell Tees, fairways and rough all feature Tahoma 31 bermuda “ We put a lot of focus on providing easier angles into the landing areas and making sure there was plenty of fairway width”
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