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Honor the land
It’s not just their name, it’s also their credo at Roco Ki and its new Nick Faldo-designed layout in the Dominican Republic.
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The coontie at one of two nurseries at the Faldo Legacy Course gets a close inspection. |
Located in the Punta Cana region of the Dominican Republic, the Faldo Legacy Course at Roco Ki Resort will host its grand opening this October. To the staff at the resort, it’s important that they do whatever is necessary to “honor the land.”
One reason is because that’s their name — in the language of the native Tiano Indian, the words “Roco Ki” mean “honor the land.”
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No. 17 at the Faldo Legacy Course, a short par 3 that plays to the top of the cliff. A shot left short meets a watery demise in the clear waters of the Caribbean Sea. |
From the ancient bones and pottery found on the site to the flora, if it was native to Roco Ki Resort, it stays on the Roco Ki Resort.
“Before we did any clearing on the golf course, we took out any plants we wanted to use and took them to one of two on-site nurseries,” says Damon Di Giorgio, a 12-year GCSAA member and the superintendent at the course.
There, they propagated the plants to reuse when they finished constructing the golf course.
“Literally, no plant comes off Roco Ki,” Di Giorgio says. “You can’t honor the land any more than that.”
But there is another step the Nick Faldo-designed layout took to ensure that its land is pure, this one forced upon it by the Dominican government. Though the course looks perfectly lush and beautiful with Sea Isle Supreme paspalum from Phillip Jennings Turf Farms in Georgia, most visitors will never know the agony the course went through to get that turf from Georgia to the Dominican Republic.
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Before any clearing was done on the site of the golf course, native plants were moved to one of two on-site nurseries to be replanted once the course was completed. |
Hard-earned turf
In order for the Faldo Legacy Course, a Troon Golf-managed course, to use licensed paspalum turf, the course had to create a nursery that was free of contaminants — fumigated and 100 percent clean. Manderley Inc., a company that licenses turf and ensures it’s the exact turf a client purchases, inspected the nursery and certified it would meet Dominican Republic standards.
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No. 18 is a 499-yard par 5 with two carries over ravines. In the background is the Westin Roco Ki Beach Resort, which was still under construction at the time of the photo in January 2008. A Fairmont Resort begins construction next month. |
Once the nursery was approved, the next step began. A representative from the Faldo Legacy Course would fly to Georgia, accompanied by an inspector from the Dominican Republic’s Ministry of Agriculture, to visit the sod farm. The duo would watch as every sprig of grass was washed free of soil. No foreign soil is allowed in the Dominican Republic, so not a single sprig can be shipped until the inspector is satisfied with the condition of the sprigs.
From there, the sprigs were shipped in refrigerated trucks set at just above freezing from Georgia to Miami, where they would be loaded onto a climate-controlled boat bound for the Dominican Republic. Upon arrival in the country, the sprigs had to pass one last inspection at customs before being allowed to complete the journey to the golf course.
Honoring the land is one thing — this is worshiping the ground they walk on.
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Di Giorgio (center) served as the construction superintendent and grow-in superintendent, and has since signed on to be the superintendent of the Faldo Legacy Course when it opens this October. He also does sales tours and talks for the course, both in English and Spanish. “My life down here is great,” he says. “I live on the beach and meet great people from around the world.” |
“When we grass the course, we regrow the nursery to use the same turf. All the while we have constant inspections from Manderley, and if they see something is not right, they will take a DNA sample of the grass,” Di Giorgio says. “They even inspect us to make sure the nursery is properly destroyed when we’re done. It’s a pretty complex and amazing process we go through.”
John Holmes, global sales manager for Phillip Jennings Turf Farms, says the process of working with the Dominican Republic government is unlike any other.
“No other country in the world is this particular and strict,” Holmes says.
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The nurseries at the course contain everything from inkberry and bluestem to large groupings of palm trees. |
Growing pains
The results are worth the effort, though.
“There are several courses in the Dominican Republic that are ideal for paspalum, and this is one of them,” Holmes says. “Damon is doing a great job growing in the turf and the quality is a testament to his dedication to the project, because he has had to overcome some adverse conditions there.”
Di Giorgio is quickly learning the quirks of the Faldo Legacy Course. The soil there has a high pH, making it hard for nutrients to assimilate. His irrigation water is 1,800 ppm (TDS). Every time he irrigates, he’s putting tons of salt on the golf course.
“Paspalum is salt-tolerant,” Di Giorgio sighs, “Not salt-resistant.”
Ocean water contains 34,000 ppm salt. Paspalum can survive at 8,000 ppm salt, but anything over 3,000 is doing damage to the turf. He’s currently using well water. Once the hotel being built on the resort opens, he’ll start using recycled water.
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A bundle of paspalum sprigs when it arrived at the course. Photo by Chris May |
Another hiccup in the process was weather, as a low-pressure system sat over them in April. With two holes stretching along the Caribbean Sea, course management knew that based on climate patterns they should expect to one day incur severe wave damage from the ocean within the next 25 years. They did not think, however, that wave damage would hit in the very first year, before the course had even officially opened.
No. 17, a par 3 with the green placed on a small outcropping into the ocean, did fine. But No. 18, an adventure of a finishing hole with two carries over ravines, was severely damaged. The sea swelled to about 15 feet and then started pounding the fairway with 6- to 9-foot waves. The bunkers were destroyed and the green was partially washed away along with some lateral irrigation lines and drain pipe. Di Giorgio and his team had to scramble to stay on track for their course opening, but managed to pick up the pieces in time.
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Punta Espada GC hosted a successful Champions Tour event in April this year, gaining the Dominican Republic more exposure as a golf destination. Roberto Garcia, a 10-year Class A member of GCSAA, is the superintendent at the course. |
“The Sea Isle Supreme paspalum took a pretty hard hit, but we saw signs of improvement within a week,” Di Giorgio says. “With plenty of flushing, it did fine.”
The advent of paspalum has been a serious boon to the golf business, and is one reason the Faldo Legacy Course is possible today. The salt water-tolerant turfgrass has made it possible to put golf courses in areas where it previously was impossible because of poor water quality and poor soil conditions.
“Three years ago, 50 percent of our export business was paspalum varieties,” Holmes says. “Now, 90 percent of our export business is paspalum varieties. Golf course design and development changed the day paspalums became regulated, certified and improved.”
Faldo’s name
Including the Faldo Legacy Course, the Hall-of-Fame golfer Faldo has 18 courses in 14 countries in some form of construction. Faldo Design has been busy.
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The Faldo Legacy Course is also “honoring the land” by working toward becoming a certified Audubon course. “International courses may be a step ahead, environmentally,” Jeff Spangler, Troon’s senior vice president, science and agronomy, says. “Pretty soon we’ll all share this environmental understanding.” |
Nick Edmund, Faldo Design’s manager of golf course design, says that the job at Roco Ki Resort is one that the company’s namesake is proud of; it’s the first and only course where he’ll own property. And of course, there’s the fact that he’s put his name on it, which puts some pressure on for Edmund.
“There was a bit of apprehension (taking the job),” Edmund says. “A site as spectacular as this, there’s a lot of responsibility. If we don’t create one of the best courses in the world, we’re falling short.
“I think those words — ‘Roco Ki’ — will eventually be known throughout the world.”
Grow the nursery,
take the cannoli
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Julio Diaz, superintendent over the three courses at the Puntacana Resort and Club in the Punta Cana region of the Dominican Republic, stands on his 40-acre paspalum nursery. Known as “el Padrino,” (“the Godfather” in English), Diaz always wanted to work on a golf course even though there were fewer than a handful of courses in the Dominican Republic when he was growing up. |
With all the angst that goes into getting turf to the ultra-strict Dominican Republic, Julio Diaz, superintendent over the three courses within the Puntacana Resort and Club, has a nice solution in the form of a 40-acre Sea Isle Supreme paspalum nursery.
“This is my baby,” he laughs as he looks out over the expanse of turf.
Diaz, or “el Padrino” (the Godfather), as he’s lovingly referred to by his colleagues on the island of Hispaniola, knows well how hard it is to get turf into the Dominican.
“If you don’t have a good nursery here, you’re in trouble,” the 11-year Class A GCSAA member with the great nickname says. “Our nursery is big… so it’s not a concern.”
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The Sea Isle Supreme paspalum originated in Georgia at Phillip Jennings Turf Farms and now resides in the Dominican Republic. |
Indeed, the nursery seems to stretch as far as the eye can see. With 54 holes of golf in various states at Puntacana, the turf gets harvested every 100 days. The La Cana course, a P.B. Dye design, has been open for play since 2001; Corales Golf Club, a Tom Fazio design, is currently being grown-in; La Hacienda, another P.B. Dye course, has just begun construction.
El Padrino is a father figure to the area superintendents. He’s a native Dominican, having earned his degree in agronomy from nearby Universidad Carolica Madre y Measira. He then moved to New Jersey to complete the two-year turf course at Rutgers and worked at a few courses in New York before returning home to be the superintendent at Puntacana.
His colleagues might also call him Godfather because of the power his company wields in the Dominican Republic. Puntacana owns the local airport, the largest privately owned airport in the world. The airplanes departing Punta Cana currently have a flight path over the Corales course. That’s about to change. The runway is being rebuilt to cater to the golfers at the high-end private course.
The 26,000-square-foot maintenance facility Diaz is having constructed with 10 garages is as impressive as his nursery. His facility will feature the first equipment washing area in the country to utilize recycled water.
But there’s one thing even the Dominican Godfather cannot help with: getting supplies to the golf courses any quicker.
“When you want parts and delivery, it takes weeks — months, sometimes,” Diaz says. “Anywhere in the U.S., you make a phone call, you have what you need within the hour. Just call UPS and get it delivered.
“It’s getting better. Globalization helps.”
Damon Di Giorgio, superintendent at the Faldo Legacy Course, says that the superintendent community in the area looks out for each other. When a fuse blows on a control box, a phone call will result in a lent part to keep things moving. “There’s no Home Depot down the street here,” he laughs.
No Home Depot, but there is a family.
— S.J