Singapore (August 1): World renowned turfgrass experts Bruce Williams and Elizabeth Guertal will lead the list of speakers at September’s Asian Golf Industry Federation (AGIF) and Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) events in the Philippines and Vietnam.
Confirmation of the participation of Williams and Guertal comes just days after the announcement of a strategic alliance agreement between the AGIF and the GCSAA to share educational resources with a view to raising the profile and standard of turfgrass maintenance in the Asian region.
GCSAA speakers will keynote educational programming at a series of four forthcoming turfgrass management education seminars and expositions across the region.
Williams and Guertal will grace the first two of those events with their presence – at Manila’s Orchard Golf and Country Club in the Philippines (September 5-6) and Vietnam’s Danang Golf Club (September 9-10).
Two more events are scheduled to be held in China, in November.
Richard Walne, Chairman of the AGIF’s Education Committee and Toro’s Managing Director, Australia & Asia Pacific, said: “We are delighted to begin this series of turfgrass management education seminars and expositions with such high quality GCSAA-affiliated speakers.”
A Certified Golf Course Superintendent (CGCS), a past President of the GCSAA and principal of Bruce Williams Golf Consulting, Williams has been a regular visitor to Asia in recent years.
 

He has taught workshops and seminars internationally for the last 30 years. During his career, Williams has trained more than 140 individuals who are currently golf course superintendents or assistants.
Meanwhile, Guertal, Ph D, is a professor at Auburn University, having earned her BS and MS from The Ohio State University and her Ph D from Oklahoma State University.
Guertal’s research interests and areas of focus include soil fertility, turfgrass management and the flux of fertiliser nutrients in the turfgrass environment.
Guertal has also taught various turfgrass and educational subjects in Cuba, Argentina, Spain, England, Mauritius, China, New Zealand and Canada. She has been a GCSAA faculty member since 2001.