Turf field day showcases new Fazio course, national "super-sod" alliance

Golf Course News, Dec 2001

SAN ANTONIO, Texas - Tom Fazio's latest golf course design here, Briggs Ranch Golf Club, highlighted the Bladerunner Farms Turf Field Day Oct. 5. The event also showcased the formation of a national "super-sod" alliance between three leading turfgrass companies: Bladerunner Farms, Gardner Turfgrass and Patten Seed.

The Briggs Ranch course, opened this fall, is the first golf course ever to use wall-to-wall Zeon Zoysia that covers the entire course except for greens. The private club is situated on a 2,500-acre property with a community now under development in the scenic Hill Country approximately20 minutes south of downtown San Antonio.

Zeon Zoysia was only one of several varieties on display here for the field day. (see chart, page 5) "We wanted to give people a chance to see these new grasses in their working environment instead of in a booth at a trade show," said Bladerunner Farms' president David Doguet.

Fazio delivered the keynote address at the event. Featured speakers included Ronny Duncan, developer of SeaShore 1 Paspalum, and Dr. Ken Diesburg, a zoysiagrass expert and turfgrass researcher from the University of Southern Illinois.

SUPER-SOD ALLIANCE

The event also kicked off the formation of a national alliance between three regional turfgrass producers. Each company will oversee a regional network of farms and growers of specialty grasses: Bladerunner Farms, based if Poteet,Texas, will serve the Central region; Gardner Turfgrass,headquartered in Westminster, Colo., will cover the West; and Patten Seed, out of Lakeland, Ga., will take responsibility for the Eastern United States.

The alliance gives customers the selection and competitive pricing of a national company with the service and quality of a family-owned business, according to Doguet. "This allows us to maintain the quality and service of our individual operations with the power and reach of a national company behind us," added Ben Copeland, president of Patten Seed.

With a network of growers, the alliance will be able to deliver locally adapted turfgrasses from family-owned farms in each region. "We saw some really great synergies withthe three companies," said Stan Gardner, vice president of Gardner Turfgrass."Each of us shares a track record of providing new varieties, developing new skills and staying on the edge of what's happening in turfgrass."

Bladerunner Farms, founded in 1993, offers patented zoysiagrasses, Bermudagrasses and buffalograsses. Gardner Turfgrass, operating since 1970, provide non-allergenic hybrid Bermudagrasses, Reveille Texas Bluegrass and soil-less turfgrasses. The Patten Seed Co., with nearly 50 years in the industry, maintains their signature centipede grass, Centi-Seed. Afamily and employee owned corporation, Patten Seed is also one of the world's largest growers of zoysiagrasses.

Some specialty grasses available through the alliance include: Reveille Texas Bluegrass, Zeon and JaMur Zoysias, Zenith Zoysia seed, and Density Buffalograsses.

NEW TURFGRASS VARIETIES DISPLAYED AT THE FIELD DAY:

* Jamur Zoysia

* Baby Bermuda

* Reveille Texas Bluegrass

* Sealsle 1 Seashore Paspalum

* Density Buffalograss

* Zenith, VJ and Y2 zoysiagrasses.