We have a great lineup of speakers for Sustainable Turfgrass Management in Asia 2012 to share the latest informartion about disease prevention and control, performance attributes of different grasses, soil moisture management, and understanding the affect of light on turfgrass performance. All these advanced technical topics will be supplemented with a hands-on turfgrass field day and discussions of practical techniques that can be used to improve playability at your facility. Here is more about the speakers.
Dr. Lane Tredway, Associate Professor and Extension Specialist in the Department of Plant Pathology at North Carolina State University
Dr. Tredway will be giving presentations on Managing Major Turfgrass Diseases in Southeast Asia and Advanced Integrated Disease Management of Warm-season Grasses. He was raised in the golf course industry near Pittsburgh, PA as the son of a golf course superintendent and grandson of a golf professional/architect. After earning a B.S. in Agronomy from Penn State University, he received an M.S. in Plant Biology at Rutgers University in 1999 and Ph.D. from the University of Georgia in Plant Pathology in 2002. Dr. Tredway’s program is responsible for all extension, research, and teaching related to turfgrass diseases in North Carolina. His group’s research has helped golf course superintendents to more effectively manage many of their most chronic disease problems like dollar spot, anthracnose, summer patch, Pythium root dysfunction, fairy ring, and spring dead spot. Dr. Tredway has given presentations and seminars to golf course superintendents in 30 states and 14 countries. He also operates the Turf Diagnostics Lab at NC State, which receives samples for disease diagnosis from many of the top golf courses in the country. He was awarded the Award of Excellence from the Musser International Turfgrass Foundation Award in 2002, the North Carolina State Grange Search for Excellence Award in 2003, and the Alumni Association Outstanding Extension and Outreach Award in 2010.
Dr. Douglas Karcher, Turfgrass Soil Specialist and Associate Professor in the Department of Horticulture at the University of Arkansas
Dr. Karcher will be giving presentations on Selecting Cultivars Based on Specific Performance Characteristics, Managing Moisture in Putting Green Rootzones, and Too Much Shade? How to Quantify and Communicate Problem Areas. He received a B.S. Degree from The Ohio State University, and Masters and Ph.D. degrees from Michigan State University. In addition, he has several years of experience in golf course maintenance and residential turf installation and maintenance. Dr. Karcher has worked to develop digital image analysis techniques to quantify turfgrass cover, color, and other quality parameters. Dr. Karcher also has extensive experience evaluating cultivation practices, soil water repellency, and water movement in turfgrass root zones. Dr. Karcher has published in ACTA Horticulturae, Crop Science, HortScience, International Turfgrass Society Research Journal, Applied Turfgrass Science, the USGA Green Section Record, and Golf Course Management.
Sittichai Dusadeeporn, Golf Course Maintenance General Manager at Siam Country Club
Mr. Dusadeeporn will speak about Best Management Practices for Golf Course Turfgrass at Thailand. He is a graduate of Chiangmai University with a BS in Agriculture, first working as a landscaper in the Middle East and Africa, then working in the golf business with JMP golf design as a construction coordinator. Dusadeeporn was involved with the construction of Lakewood GC at Bangkok, later serving as the superintendent, then moved to be superintendent at Rajpruek Club. Since 2007, he has been involved with the construction of the 27 hole Plantation Course at Siam CC and the renovation of the 18 hole Old Course. Siam CC Old Course was awarded the Best Renovation of 2008 by Asian Golf Monthly and Siam CC's courses were voted as the Best-Maintained Course in Asia-Pacific in both 2009 and 2010. Since 2007, Siam CC has hosted the Honda LPGA Thailand, the richest professional golf tournament held in Thailand.
Boonthong Ngamsaprang, Golf Course Superintendent at Laem Chabang International Country Club
Mr. Ngamsaprang will speak about A Simple Technique to Introduce New Grass to an Established Course. He is a graduate of Buriram Agricultural College and Mae Jo University. He was a highland land development academic officer before going to work at the construction and then continuing maintenance of Laem Chabang International Country Club, the host club for Asian Tour qualifying in 1995 and 1996 and a course that is regularly recognized as one of the best in the region. He was the chairman of the Eastern Golf Course Superintendent Club in 1999 and the president of the Thai Golf Course Superintendents Association from 2007 to 2010.
Dr. Micah Woods, Chief Scientist at the Asian Turfgrass Center
Dr. Woods will be giving presentations on Turfgrass Performance in Asia: 2006--2011 and A New Way of Looking at the Weather. The objective in his work is to provide the best information about turfgrass and its management in Asia. He is also an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Tennessee. His work includes advisory services that have been provided to clients in more than ten countries, research work that has been published in journals such as Crop Science, Soil Science, International Turfgrass Society Research Journal, Weed Technology, and Applied Turfgrass Science, and training programs and conference presentations that are regularly given throughout the Asian region and beyond. Before founding the Asian Turfgrass Center he received his Ph.D. at Cornell University, and prior to that he was a golf course superintendent at Shanghai and in Japan. He has had the opportunity to work at many golf courses including course maintenance work for more than ten major championships. In his work, he applies scientific principles to the basic greenkeeping practices in an attempt to develop better turfgrass playing surfaces.
Philip Russell, Assistant to the Director – Golf Course Management for The R&A
Mr. Russell will be speaking about Sustainable Turfgrass Management in 2012. He graduated from St Andrews University in June 2009 with a BSc (Hons) in Sustainable Development. This was a globally unique and interdisciplinary undergraduate degree programme, emphasising the development of critical perspectives on integrated social, economic and environmental issues. He has studied topics including climate change, renewable energies, biodiversity loss, ecosystem degradation and natural resource management. Philip started work at The R&A in January 2010 as Assistant to the Director – Golf Course Management; a post allowing him to begin applying these concepts to the golf course setting and to contribute to The R&A’s promotion of greater sustainability in course management and development.
Michael Coffey, Member of R&A, Golf Course Committee of R&A, and Publisher of The Golf Club Secretary
Mr. Coffey will be speaking along with Mr. Russell on Sustainable Turfgrass Management in 2012. He publishes The Golf Club Secretary newsletter which offers briefing and practical advice for golf club administrators. He is a tournament administrator, a member of numerous committees, boards, and clubs, and consultant to multiple golf clubs. He has a deep knowledge and passion for golf and an aptitude for sharing practical and relevant information on the details necessary for successful and sustainable club management.
