Published on October 5, 2015

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: As the Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club (KLGCC) prepares to play host to the world’s best female golfers this week, Mohd Nizam Othman and his team have once more found themselves working overtime.
The KLGCC’s Course Superintendent, Othman is responsible for presenting the club’s two courses in pristine condition. It’s a high pressure position.
During the past three years, the KLGCC, a Golf Facility Member of the Asian Golf Industry Federation, has become known as Asia’s foremost venue for professional tournaments having staged the Maybank Malaysian Open, CIMB Classic and Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia. It also copes with 50,000 member rounds annually.
Othman, who is on course to become a fully Certified Golf Course Superintendent – Class A next year, says the scope of a superintendent takes in four main areas – agronomy, horticulture and landscaping, irrigation, and workshop and machinery.
KLGCC has a team of 160 staff; 90 of whom are involved in golf course maintenance and a further 70 looking after the grounds and landscaping.
Othman and his team work closely with the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour and European Tour Agronomists and Tour Directors.
“Each Tour has a different and strict set of specifications for golf course conditions. We do not compromise on any of them.
“After every tournament, we work against time and often the weather to bring the golf course back to normal conditions. This involves remedying the stress on the greens, replanting work on the marquee areas, bringing down the rough height to name a few,” said Othman, who has been with the club for eight years.
“It’s challenging to sustain the quality of turf grass, every day of the year, considering such humidity, cloudy conditions and rain all year long. These factors are a breeding haven for grass diseases, parasite activities and a lack of photo-synthesis.”
To illustrate the pampering extent of KLGCC’s grass, four units of giant turf fans have been brought in from the US to cool and de-stress the grass on hot days.
At the KLGCC there is an underground network of irrigation system that stretches over 130 kilometres throughout the 36 holes to irrigate and quickly drain away rainwater after every downpour.
Meanwhile, specialised machinery is deployed to cut, mow, roll and trim the grass to the exact specifications of international tournament standards.
KLGCC’s soil and grass health are consistently monitored with a thorough record-keeping of all data collected on ground. Every six months, soil samples are sent to an independent science laboratory for testing.
Othman is one of the new generation of professional Asians who is spearheading golf in the region.
He has been engaged in golf course management since 1995 after completing a degree from the Malaysian Agriculture Institute and a Turf Management Course at the New Zealand Sports Turf Institute.

Othman, aged 44, had the opportunity to be a participant of the famed John Deere Volunteer Programme during the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Florida last year.
Othman was one of six superintendents given the privilege to get an insider view of happenings behind the scene.
Adding on to his credentials, Othman, who hails from Johor, is a member of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of Malaysia and Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, golf’s foremost facilitator of best course-maintenance practices.
Othman says his motivation comes from his wife, a physics lecturer, and four children. He said: “Being a husband and a father made me a better man.”