Golf course architect and 10-major championship winner Annika Sorenstam has announced a new partnership with Capillary Concrete through the purchase of shares. She will help promote the company’s revolutionary bunker liner technology and new environmentally friendly sports turf system.
 |
Capillary Concrete is an easy to apply, homogeneous and pervious bunker. The system’s capillary properties keep sand moist and playable. At the same time, it promotes improved drainage to ensure sand remains in place after rain, avoiding costly washouts even on severely flashed bunker faces.
The system has also shown great potential when it comes to reducing irrigation of sports turf. Water savings of up to 90 percent and improved plant quality have been documented.
“We’re extremely honored to team with Annika,” said Martin Sternberg, CGCS, founder of Capillary Concrete®. “Her global brand, personal integrity, and experience playing and designing courses around the world make her an ideal spokesperson for our company as we ramp up our visibility in the marketplace.”
“Martin has developed a groundbreaking system that is transforming how bunkers are built and maintained,” said Sorenstam, 2014 recipient of the Golf Course Superintendent Association of America’s Old Tom Morris Award. “The patented Capillary Concrete material has proven itself in bunkers in the toughest climates around the world. The possibilities of this application are endless, and I am very excited to now be part of the company.”
Capillary Concrete will exhibit at this week’s PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Fla. (Booth #1993), and simultaneously at the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association show in Harrogate, England (Booth C4).
Two major orders totaling 115 bunkers are also being announced this week. The first is Dolce Fregate Provence, a luxury resort and golf course on the western Côte d'Azur, France designed by Ronald Fream from Golfplan. It will undertake a full renovation of all bunkers starting Feb. 2, 2015. The second is the very exclusive, Golf Digest Top 100-ranked Canyata Golf Club in Marshall, Ill., designed by Michael Benkusky of Michael Benkusky Golf Course Design. It is similarly set for a complete bunker upgrade, to be overseen by golf course Superintendent Stephen Hope. Both clubs have selected Capillary Concrete as the best material on the market to produce perfect bunker conditions and free up time for grounds crews to further enhance grass quality.
Major championship venues like Atlanta Athletic Club are among the many courses worldwide benefiting from Capillary Concrete. The club installed Capillary Concrete to firm up all bunker faces and avoid plugged-ball lies in advance of last year’s U.S. Amateur Championship. Distributors carrying Capillary Concrete worldwide include:
- Australia - Renworx
- China - Jinnan Huaqing Golf turf Co.,Ltd
- France - GreenMix
- Germany - Course Support
- Ireland -Cropcare
- Japan - Toyo Green Co.,Ltd
- Korea - Daejung Golf Engineering Co Ltd
- Norway - PGM A/S
- Sweden - Svensk Jordelit AB
- United Kingdom - Border Sports Services Ltd
- United States - Ewing Irrigation
ANNIKA Course Design has completed three courses globally: the ANNIKA Course at Mission Hills Golf Club in Shenzhen, China; Euphoria Golf Estate & Hydro in the Waterberg region of South Africa’s Limpopo Province; and Golden Bay Golf Resort in TaeAn, South Korea. Sorenstam’s credits also include The 27 Club in Tianjin, China where each hole is designed by a different major champion; Estonian Golf & Country Club in Tallinn, Estonia, which will be her first design in Europe; and Olivion in Belek, Turkey, which is slated to follow.