Platinum TE Heralded as the Only Choice for ANARA Binh Tien Golf Club

Binh Tien, with its kaleidoscope of magnificent terrains, gave Golfplan architects David Dale and Kevin Ramsey the most amazing site on which to create the Vietnam resort’s new golf course. However, along with the varied canvas of ocean, mountains, and forests came many challenges. Water and soil quality, water availability, and high performance standards made turfgrass selection one of the most crucial components of the project. Platinum TE Paspalum, according to Dale, “was the only choice to create a sustainable golf course facility.”

The golf course, recently rebranded as ANARA Binh Tien, lies within the key tourist area of the Ninh Thuan region of Vietnam close to Cam Ranh. Binh Tien beach, with its white sand and blue water leading to the South China Sea, lines one side of the course. Mountains and forests surround the rest. Adjacent to the Nui Chua National Park, Binh Tien is a nature wonderland. As if all of this wasn’t enough, the 18-hole course features lakes, streams, and rock outcroppings throughout. With its links style and many sand dunes, the course has been compared to the iconic Seminole.

While the site abounds with beauty, sustainability issues were also in abundance. A limited water supply and the quality of the water provided significant challenges.

“This is a fairly dry area of Vietnam with very limited seasonal rainfall,” said Dale. “The groundwater is highly saline. Factory water from seven kilometers away requires additional treatment. At times, the factory water has been less than anticipated during the dry season, and the groundwater is blended for irrigation.”

Sand harvested from the villa and hotel development site allowed for capping the entire golf course core. The course location is behind and below the coastal dunes on half of the holes with soils that are predominantly rocky clay silt loam.

“Not ideal for flushing the rootzone profile to eradicate sodium buildup,” said Dale. “Although there are several water features on the course, there is only one irrigation reservoir sited on holes two through five.”

Considering the many challenges, Dale said that grass selection options were considerably limited. With extreme salinity tolerance and very good drought tolerance, Platinum TE, sourced through Atlas Turf International, provided the solution. Despite the obstacles, Dale says, “the turfgrass is holding up beautifully.”

Along with the turfgrass selection to address water quality concerns, the creative design innovations by Golfplan also proved resourceful. Lakes incorporated in the design provide significant water storage for use during the dry season, with some of the lakes serving the dual purpose of bio-filtration. In addition, the tee complexes are islands within the dunescape with several of the holes requiring modest force carries to the fairways to conserve water.

Beyond the sustainability issues, the playability of Binh Tien also influenced the creative design. And Platinum TE proved resourceful in this capacity as well. Platinum TE, planted wall-to-wall, features the unique ability to thrive at varying heights of cut.

“Flexibility of cutting height highlights the architectural characteristics of the course design,” said Dale. “The turf is managed at three cutting heights with greens averaging 3.2 millimeters, fairways 10 millimeters, and a 55 centimeter wide rough at 30 millimeters. Without the Platinum TE, the club would not be able to present the high-caliber playing surface for the resort guests, and the demand for tee times would be minimal at best. Instead, the course is highly popular, and booking weekend tee times is challenging.”

When asked about player feedback on the turfgrass, Dale replied, “The players love the beautiful green color, density, firmness of the course, and variety of recover shot options from the green surrounds mown at 10 millimeters.”

And as far as course highlights go, the impact of the turfgrass made Dale’s list. “The creative green sites being elevated with the depressed ball collection areas for the surrounds of the greens, the blending of bunkering at landing zones and green site into the dunescape, and the capturing of the ocean views with ribbons of beautiful turf as the focal point are dominant features of this course that meanders through the created coconut palm tree oasis.”

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