Kazan Golf Greens Up to Par – In just ten weeks!

Advisor (left), Alina Kolchina, Vice Chairman (centre) and Arne Van Amerongen, Chairman. (right)

Arne van Amerongen is currently Golf Project Manager at the exclusive, privately-owned Kazan Golf and Country Club in Tatarstan, in Russia, where a 30-month, five-season construction programme extending the golf course from nine to eighteen holes has just completed.

The 80-hectare course is about 40km from Kazan, Russia’s third largest city and the thousand year old capital of the Tatarstan Republic. One of the largest economic, scientific and cultural centres in the country, Kazan is home to many athletes and clubs competing at national, international and Olympic championship level, playing host to major international events including the FINA High Diving World Cup, 16th FINA World and World Masters Championships. Kazan is also one the Russian cities for FIFA’s World Cup matches in 2018.

Designed by golf architect Peter Harradine, the first nine opened in 2009. The more impressive second nine, stretching 3,350 metres from the back tees and offering breathtaking vistas, opened on 12 September this year. The third and final nine is due to begin next year and once finished will make this 27-hole course the largest in Russia.

Having first started the project in 2011, Arne’s final and most important challenge was getting the new golf greens seeded and all 18 holes in play for September 2015, in what seemed an impossibly short time frame. Arne explains that in Russia the growing season is very short with warm and often dry summers followed by long and very cold winters. “Here in Russia the difference between summer and winter temperatures can be as much as 75 degrees, with winter temperatures often dropping to minus 25 Celsius. So in terms of greenkeeping we’re really working at the very edge of what possible! My approach for establishing these new greens was to focus on the fertilization. We needed, fast healthy growth for greens that also had to look good, and literally, within weeks.” He adds, “I use ICL’s fertilizers because, in my experience, they really are the best quality and outperform other fertilizers. I’ve used these products successfully for over 25 years in very different countries and conditions, and while I appreciate they can seem more expensive initially to the client investors, the quality of playing surface you can achieve is what counts.”

ICL products specified for Kazan Golf are as follows:

For greens, tees and approaches, two fertilizers; SierraformGT All Season 18-6-18+MgO which contains both slow release Nitrogen and slow release Potassium, along with normal release NPK in a single compound micro-granule and SierraformGT K-Step (6-0-27+MgO) with slow release Nitrogen and Potassium along with conventional release NPK in a single compound micro-granule.
https://icl-sf.com/uk/products/turf_amenity/sierraform-gt-all-season/

On fairways and semi-roughs, SierraFormGT Momentum, a fertilizer containing both slow release Nitrogen and slow release Potassium, along with normal release NPK in a single compound micro-granule. https://icl-sf.com/uk/products/turf_amenity/sierraformgt-momentum/

For other roughs, ProTurf 12-5-20+2CaO+2MgO, a slow-release mini-fertilizer, rich in polyhalite. https://icl-sf.com/uk/products/turf_amenity/proturf-12-5-20-2cao-2mgo/

Cutting Heights
Greens 5mm
Approaches 12mm
Tees 12mm
Fairways 15mm
Semi-Roughs 38mm
Roughs 76mm

“On greens, the grass seed was L93, a superior creeping bent grass so with the first cutting height at 10mm and with intensive top dressing each week, we achieved a good playing surface ready for the grand opening. For the approaches, we started with a cutting height of 15mm, reducing to a final 12mm. Similarly on tees, the first cut was 15mm, reducing to 12mm. On the fairways, we started with a first cut at 15mm, staying at this height right up to opening. Semi-roughs were cut at 38mm and roughs at 76mm and again remained at these heights until the new nine opened.”

“To keep the greens in the best condition over the coming months, we will scarify deeply this autumn, and spray with a contact fungicide, leaving the surface open for the winter. We won’t top dress as that encourages disease and snow mould (Microdochium nivale). Next spring, we will simply fertilize again, apply a light top dressing and the course will be good to go.”
Arne is understandably very proud of what’s been achieved by the team at Kazan Golf.

“Just two and a half months from seeding to playing surface is outstanding and that happened as a result of hard work and a brilliant team effort. ”With only13 golf courses in the whole country, Arne is also keen to see Russian greenkeeping professionals sharing their ideas, knowledge and good practice so in May 2015, he established a new greenkeeping Association, The Tatarstan Golf Greenkeepers Association, (T.G.G.A)


• For more information about ICL Products please contact the local ICL-Specialty Fertilizers technical adviser or visit www.icl-sf.com/
• For more about Arne van Amerongen see http://www.qualitywithoutlimits.com/
• For more about Peter Harradine see http://www.harradine-golf.com/
• To contact the Tatarstan Golf Greenkeepers Association, email golftranslators@gmail.com

NewsMay 9th, 20160 comments