SISIS Aer-Aid The Solution For St Ives GC

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SISIS Aer-Aid the solution for St Ives GC. Rob Duff, course manager and head greenkeeper at St Ives (Hunts) Golf Course, has praised the SISIS Javelin Aer-Aid 1500 for helping him to combat a recurring thatch issue on the greens at the stunning course in Cambridgeshire.  

SISIS Aer-Aid the solution for St Ives GC

With a history dating back to 1923, St Ives Golf Course entered a new and exciting era when it purchased a 230-acre site off the Needingworth Road in 2007. Transformation of the land began under the watchful eye of architect Cameron Sinclair and three years later St Ives boasted a stunning 18 hole Championship Links Course.

Featuring undulating fairways, strategically placed bunkers, excellent putting surfaces and sculptured surrounds; no two holes are the same and the course provides a test for golfers of all abilities. The club is making a bold statement, which includes taking an environmentally friendly approach to the way it maintains the course. Take for example the fact that they don’t use any mains water – instead the water is totally recycled.

Tasked with keeping the course to its exceptionally high standards is Rob Duff who occupies the dual role of course manager and head greenkeeper. Having been part of the greenkeeping team at St Ives for a number of years, Rob was rewarded for his hard work when he was promoted to his current position in 2015. Upon landing the top position, Rob revealed his first management decision.

“We had a problem with thatch in our greens because of the nature of the grass. It consists of velvet bent, which is naturally thatch grass and in some places we had approximately 3 inches of thick thatch. Therefore I decided that an aggressive solution was needed and this is why I starting using the SISIS Aer-Aid.”

The Javelin Aer-Aid machine is a specially designed tractor mounted vertical action aerator. Not only does it aerate with a vertical action but it also injects air into the root zone at a fast working rate, creating thousands of fissures. The cam trigger mechanism ensures that the air is always expelled at the bottom of the tine penetration, enabling treatment to be targeted precisely and consistently.

10mm diameter ‘tipped’ tines are spaced at 75mm (3ins) with depth of penetration, infinitely variable, to a maximum of 127mm (5ins). These air injection tines are specially designed to use the maximum air available from the compressor and produces clean, fresh, air at a constant rate of 88 litres per minute, while surface disturbance is kept to a minimum.

“To start with we used the Aer-Aid twice a month and now we normally use it monthly from March until the start of November. Since using the machine, we have significantly eased compaction and the main accomplishment has been the reduction in thatch from 3 inches to being practically non-existent.

“It’s always going to be an on-going battle because of the grass on the greens, so it is important that we continue to use the Aer-Aid as a preventative. It has been really good at getting the air into the surface and creating chambers for the roots. Root development has massively improved since we’ve been using it on a regular basis as has the density of the sward.

“I’ve been impressed with its versatility; I can use it as a spiker, I can change the depths of the tines, I can use solid tines or pencil tines, I can hollow core with it and I can inject air into the profile. It can do pretty much whatever you want it to do.

“It’s a very robust machine, as all SISIS products are, and the back-up I receive is excellent. A quality product combined with first-class back-up is all you can ask for.”

For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact SISIS on 01332 824 777 or visit www.sisis.com

iTurf Programme Keeps The Cod Army In Winning Form

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iTurf Programme keeps the Cod Army in winning form. A tailored iTurf Programme from ICL has signalled consistent and excellent results according to Dale Frith – Head Groundsman at Fleetwood Town FC. 

iTurf Programme Keeps The Cod Army In Winning Form

Fleetwood Town FC, nicknamed the Cod Army, currently competing in Sky Bet League One, has enjoyed six promotions in ten seasons. Spirits are high at the Lancashire based club and perhaps none more so than Head Groundsman Dale, who has seen six seasons of success on the pitch he meticulously attends to.

“I’ve been here for six years so I like to think I know this pitch pretty well, and how it reacts at various times of the year to different products. With that in mind, we developed an ICL iTurf programme and over the last few years it has remained consistent in the products we use and the approach that we take. The programme is focused on using both the controlled and slow release fertilizers which contain technologies that are proven by some of the extensive research ICL has carried out. In my opinion that is the best approach to achieving the best turf.

“No pitch or site is the same, especially in a stadium environment. We are quite an open stadium here, which can be windy at times and everything has to be tailor made to get the most benefits. This is why the iTurf Programme really benefits us – because it is specific to us and our site,” said Dale.

Dale says that using the best products in the most efficient and responsible way through the iTurf programme has been key to improving a somewhat problematic pitch. The natural soil pitch at Fleetwood’s Highbury Stadium has only 100mm of sufficient 80-20 rootzone over pipes and slit drains. Each year, extra drains are put in but Dale admits that the pitch can struggle at times during the winter period.

To help him through the colder months Dale relies on ICL’s ProTurf 12-5-20 fertilizer, which has been designed to strengthen turf through the autumn and winter and Dale insists that it delivers excellent results every time.

“ProTurf has massively enhanced what we were doing before and the colour is now stunning. I’ve found that the 12-5-20 does a tremendous job of greening up the pitch and giving it a nice trickle of consistent growth without it going crazy. Because 25% of the nitrogen is coated I get a really great release pattern and excellent longevity from it.ProTurf 12-5-20 is probably my favourite product.”

Dale also incorporates Primo Maxx into his iTurf programme, which he believes offers more than just excellent growth control.

“Primarily, the most noticeable thing about using Primo is that it has significantly reduced clippings. We use Primo Maxx fortnightly at half the rate which we apply for the majority of the season. In winter we’ll use some of it when we spray because the other benefits of Primo Maxx are that it helps rooting and creates a denser sward.”

Helping Dale map out effective solutions for maintaining healthy turf at Highbury Stadium is ICL Technical Area Sales Manager Phil Collinson, who he believes offers invaluable input.

“It’s been great working with Phil – he knows the products incredibly well and provides me with good advice. It also helps that he was previously a Head Groundsman and he knows what we are going through – we’ve both had similar budgets to work with and have faced similar situations.”

Please contact ICL on 01473 237100 or visit www.icl-sf.co.uk

Pittodrie Pitch To Be Relaid For European Qualifiers

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Pittodrie pitch to be relaid for European qualifiers. Aberdeen will relay their Pittodrie pitch ahead of this summer’s Europa League qualifiers.Pittodrie Pitch To Be Relaid For European Qualifiers

The Dons will use the close season to rip up the current surface, which has been criticised by both players and management in recent weeks.

Time is of the essence for Derek McInnes’ men, with the last match scheduled against Celtic on May 12 before they start the 2017/18 season on June 29.

Aberdeen’s final two matches of the season are away from home to allow staff to start work on laying new turf.

The current pitch has been in place since the summer of 2013 with McInnes admitting the time is right to make a change.

He told local newspapers: “The whole surface will be dug up. We kept waiting for it to get better but unfortunately it is not going to get better now until we rip it up.

“We will have a better pitch next season just because we will be allowed the time to do the work that is needed.”

To read the original article, click here

STRI Group Bolster Agronomy Team

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STRI Group bolster agronomy team. STRI Group has strengthened its UK regional consultancy operation with the addition of two new turfgrass agronomists.STRI Group bolster agronomy team

Michael Boyes joins STRI after a distinguished career in greenkeeping where he worked in Spain, Dubai and over five years at Loch Lomond Golf Club. He’s an R&A scholar, with a BSc (Hons) in turfgrass science and will be based in Milton Keynes covering the south of England and south midlands

Meanwhile Gary Walters will be based out of STRI headquarters in Bingley, West Yorkshire. Walters arrives from Myerscough College, where he worked as a full-time lecturer. Before Myerscough he had stints at The Belfry, Norwegian Golf Clubs Miklagard and Larvik, as well as the Vail Golf Club in Colorado, USA. Walters graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Sportsturf Science and Management and as a member of the R&A’s Greenkeeping Scholarship Programme.

Boyes and Walters, join fellow new agronomy recruit Richard Wing, who started in STRI’s new Scottish office in early March.

Over the past five years, STRI has bolstered its position as a market leader in the sports surface industry. Recently joining forces with Auburn University in the USA, as well as setting up a joint venture in China. This is in addition to recent significant investments made at its facilities in the UK, Australia and Qatar.

Head of agronomy at STRI, Alistair Beggs, said: “I am delighted to welcome Gary and Michael to the agronomy team.  They bring with them a combination of practical experience and high level greenkeeping expertise which will enable them to deliver at a high level for our clients. Their recruitment gives us capacity to expand the services we offer to the market in the UK and Europe.”

Council Chooses Portable Toro T4240 For Multi-Site Use

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Council Chooses Portable Toro T4240. East Cambridgeshire District Council maintains approximately 70 hectares of open space, and having recently become responsible for even more sites across the area, has invested in the portable Toro T4240 high-output cylinder mower to manage a multitude of sites.  

Council Chooses Portable Toro T4240

The council’s team leader, Tim McCreadie, opted for the T4240 in particular because it was one of the ‘lightest’ mowers he came across, making it easy to transport between sites safely: “We decided to invest in the T4240 thanks to its transportability. As the machine is lightweight, and its outer units can fold neatly out of the way, it’s easy to tow from site to site, which is important to us as we cover a wide area geographically.”

He adds: “With a local village college, secondary school and sixth form putting their confidence in us to deliver their grounds maintenance needs, we’ve invested in the T4240 at the right time. The mower is perfect for these sites due to its wide width of cut and we’ve found its cutting cylinders provide a superior quality of cut to rotary mowers, giving a lovely finish to school sports surfaces. An added bonus is that it looks really smart and professional to our customers too.”

The machines safety features also appealed to Tim, he says: “I think it’s great that the mower protects the operator from harm by cutting out the engine when they leave the machine. The roll bar is also of good quality and easy to move up and down.”

Tim explains why he chose Toro this time round: “We explored different options but Toro came out on top for good value and high performance, as well as offering one of the lightest mowers on the market for what we wanted.”

Award-winning aftermarket support from Toro’s sole UK distributor, Reesink Turfcare, also factored into Tim’s decision to buy the machine. He says: “[Reesink representative] Danny Lake has been particularly helpful throughout the process. It’s reassuring to know that the company will go the extra mile for its customers and that its HQ is only an hour’s drive away from us.”

According to Tim, the machine has had great reviews so far: “The operator of the T4240 is really happy with it. He’s incredibly experienced and says it’s the best machine we could have got for our needs.

“We’ve had our eyes on the T4240 since SALTEX 2015 and it certainly hasn’t disappointed,” says Tim. The council invested in the machine with a view of potentially buying more in the future. With its success so far, and an ever-growing customer-base, it may not be long before another T4240 joins the fleet!

Learn more about the products included in this story by visiting http://www.reesinkturfcare.co.uk