Commitment To Toro With Five-Year Contract

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Pivotal Point In Club’s History Sees Commitment To Toro With Five-Year Contract. We often hear about how a new course manager or head greenkeeper introduces Toro to a club. Giving credence to the phrase quality is not an act it is a habit, when Dave King moved to Cricket St Thomas Golf Club two years ago from Sherborne Golf Club, now in the middle of its second five-year Toro exclusivity agreement, he set about turning the shed all-red. 

Pivotal Point In Club's History Sees Commitment To Toro With Five-Year Contract

Dave, who is head greenkeeper at the club, says: “You only have to use Toro for a short time to appreciate its quality. At Sherborne I very quickly came to know and trust Toro so when I moved to Cricket St Thomas which was at a pivotal point in its history, I knew I needed Toro to help the team make it a premier golfing destination.”

Up until two years ago, when Cricket St Thomas came under new ownership by a member, it was known as Windwhistle Golf Club. Along with the purchase by Steve Hill and his wife Jacqui came Dave’s appointment, a re-brand and a major investment in the future of the club. Dave says: “The club has already undergone quite the transformation since it was bought, but there’s plenty more to come. There’s an ongoing plan to redevelop and reconstruct areas of the course and new machinery was required for this. I believe in Toro and was happy to commit to the brand in a five-year rolling plan.”

Involved in stage one of the plan are a Toro Groundsmaster 4500-D bringing says Dave a “wider cut to the roughs”, a Reelmaster 3100-D “for bank work” and for a precise, fine finish on the greens courtesy of the time-tested Greensmaster 3250-D.

The agreement was negotiated by Elliot Wellman from Devon Garden Machinery who has more of an understanding of the club’s requirements than usual for a dealer, having worked at the club for 16 years as a greenkeeper! Elliot says that these machinery choices are ideal for the club and its ambitions: “Knowing the club as I do and with an understanding from Dave of its ambitions for the future, these choices are wise ones. It’s incredibly exciting watching the changes the club is making; it’s now one of the most successful clubs in the area, which is a great achievement for all involved. It was also a real thrill for me to be involved in making the deal.”

It’s not often you come across a club which has the support and backing of a member as its owner and an ex-employee as its dealer. The understanding that this combination brings to the running of the club alongside a talented head greenkeeper such as Dave will undoubtedly bring it even greater success in the next two years.

A floating football Pitch Is Being Built In Cardiff Bay

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 A floating football pitch is being built in Cardiff Bay as part of the Champions League festival, and will be open between June 1 and June 4.
A floating football pitch is being built in Cardiff Bay

Whilst there is always a football pitch built as part of the festival, this is the first floating pitch that has been built. On Friday, June 2, it will host the Ultimate Champions Match featuring footballing legends.

Over the festival, the pitch will also host community activity, including walking football, refugee teams from Cardiff, Swansea and Newport, a deaf football friendly international, learning disability and youth age groups matches.

Building of the pitch began this week and is expected to last three days. Lorries are bringing the huge pieces of the base into the Bay and then a crane is lifting them into place. The pieces are then being connected together in the water.

In total, it is understood 200 different blocks will make up the main structure, which will be attached to the wall in a similar style to a pontoon. The 3G pitch will be laid on top, with net around the side.

Marc Diaper works for Coffi Co coffee shop in Cardiff Bay. Staff have been watching the pitch being constructed all morning.

“There’s going to so many people down here for the festival as well as staff and the huge police presence. We’re really excited that we can see it coming together now. It feels like it’s real now. Until now it’s all been speculation, but it’s really nice to watch it going up”.

The free festival is open to anyone and is expected to attract 200,000 visitors over the four days. Other parts of the festival include a gallery built inside the Wales Millennium Centre, workshops, a virtual arena and stalls and stands. Fans will also be able to have their pictures taken with the trophy for free.

To read the original article from Wales Online, click here

New Instrata Elite Offers Turf Disease Control Outside And In

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New Instrata Elite offers turf disease control Outside and In. The launch of an exciting new fungicide active for turf disease control now gives a powerful combination of curative and contact plus systemic properties, for reliable turf protection outside and in the plant.

New Instrata Elite offers turf disease control Outside and In

Now approved for Microdochium control in the UK, Instrata Elite combines the new active ingredient, difenoconazole, with the outstanding performance of fludioxonil. Together, the complementary actives target different stages of disease life cycles for flexible application timing and reliable results.

Syngenta Technical Manager, Marcela Munoz, highlighted extensive trials hve shown Instrata Elite is highly effective against key turf foliar diseases, to protect plant health and playing surface quality. Importantly, the new approval gives the opportunity for two applications per year.

“The unique properties of Instrata Elite rapidly bind the actives onto the leaf wax layer,” explained Marcela. “The fludioxonil component stays locked into the leaf wax to provide a protective contact coating that stops disease spores germinating and prevents infection of the plant.

“At the same time, the difenoconazole component immediately starts to flow from the leaf wax into the leaf. It targets disease already active in the leaf, providing early curative activity and preventing symptoms breaking out,” she added. The flow of difenoconazole from the leaf wax reservoir provides systemic protection throughout the plant, to protect new growth ad ensure lasting results.

Crucially, with Instrata Elite safely locked onto the leaf wax within 30 minutes of application it is unaffected by rain or irrigation wash-off ensuring reliable results.

Marcela highlighted that two applications of Instrata Elite per year will give greater flexibility to effectively target disease for longer through difficult high risk periods. Importantly, the new approval covers golf and amenity turf, along with sports pitches and stadia, she added.

Instrata Elite targets:

  • disease spores before they can germinate
  • disease hyphae on the surface to stop infection getting into the leaf
  • disease mycelia inside the leaf to stop disease development

The consistently reliable performance of Instrata Elite has been proven by over 60 trials across nine European countries – including STRI, Syngenta and on golf courses across the UK.

STRI has been successfully using Instrata Elite in disease trials over the last two years, reported the independent turf R&D organisation’s Research Manager, Tom Young.

“Instrata Elite has consistently shown excellent control of Microdochium nivale, especially when applied preventatively, or early curatively when used as part of a balanced fungicide programme,” he advised.

When applied as a single application in the STRI trials, either preventatively or early curatively, Instrata Elite has delivered reliable and high levels of Microdochium control, Tom added.

Furthermore, Instrata Elite achieved the outstanding performance from only 480 g/ha of active ingredient per hectare, compared to 5000 g/ha of active loading with iprodione. Instrata Elite had passed all environmental assessment tests through the approval process.

Syngenta UK Business Manager, Daniel Lightfoot, believed Instrata Elite will fit perfectly into a proactive fungicide programme. “It can be used throughout the year,” he said, “but the research and user trials experience indicate its unique properties and strengths typically match the demands for disease control from mid to late autumn and through early spring.”

He advised that for best protection of turf quality, Instrata Elite should be applied before visible symptoms are evident, through to first signs of infection. “Optimum timing will prevent disease infection getting into the leaf,” he said. “But with Instrata Elite there is still the chance for curative activity on mycelium in the leaf to stop disease before visible damage is done and minimise stress on the plant.

“Targeting disease at more points through the life-cycle gives greater flexibility in application timing to hit infection.”

Daniel advocated the use of the GreenCast website information, indicator greens and historic experience to highlight risk periods to devise an appropriate fungicide programme strategy and to tailor specific application timing.

“The advantages of Instrata Elite and the introduction of a new fungicide active for turf means it will have an integral role in every fungicide programme,” he said. “It will have a crucial function in an Integrated Turf Management approach to deliver sustainable long-term improvements in turf quality.”

Vandals Set Fire To Golf Course Twice In Four Days

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A Greenkeeper has blasted mindless vandals who deliberately set fire to a Barrhead golf course twice in four days.

Kevin Wilson hit out at the firebugs who caused two separate wildfires which left Fereneze Golf Club “scarred”. Emergency services were called to the course last Monday and Thursday to extinguish the flames, which caused smoke to billow across the Fereneze Braes.

A patch of grass at the 11th hole of the course was set ablaze in the first incident, while gorse which surrounds the greens was torched just a few days later.

Mr Wilson told the Barrhead News of the frustration he felt when he saw the damage.

He said: “It’s a very important part of the golf course they’ve burnt. Maybe it’s an act of maliciousness, I don’t know.

“The club’s got a history during the long summers of people coming up and having recreational fun.

“It only takes a match and the wind does the rest at this time of year. It just makes it looked scarred – it’s unsightly.

“They know for a fact what’s going to happen. They know when you get a dry area it will be a piece of cake to ignite.”

Although the golf club will not have to cover the costs of any damage, groundsmen will need to cut down the affected areas during the winter months – something which irks the greenkeeper, who spends each day trying to make the course look its best.

Mr Wilson added: “We don’t mind people coming up to enjoy the views but it’s a different matter when you get some kids or grown-ups who are having a drink and decided they will start a fire, without thinking of the consequences.

“The golf course is my pride and joy.

“It’s my livelihood and I take great pride in looking after this place.”

An investigation into the arson attacks has been continuing. Police said they will be upping patrols in the area to try to prevent any further incidents.

To read the original article from Barrhead News, click here

Royal Birkdale Gets Ready For The Open

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Royal Birkdale gets ready for The Open. Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport hosts the 146th Open Championship this July, which will be the 10th time it has been held at this stunning links course north of Liverpool.

Royal Birkdale Gets Ready For The Open

Since the first Open here in 1954, the course has been, alongside Royal Lytham, the most regular venue for the Championship other than St Andrews. Royal Birkdale will also be hosting the final of the R&A Nine Hole Championship on the Saturday before The Open.

As course manager for the past 22 years, this will be Chris Whittle’s third Open at Royal Birkdale, following two more when he was course manager at Muirfield and deputy at Royal Lytham. Chris has never worked on anything but links courses, and his experience of balancing the demands of the golf course with those of the land’s SSSI status is unparalleled.

Although he says the course set-up for 2017 will be very much the same as it was for the last Open here in 2008, there have been a few recent changes to the course maintenance equipment fleet supplied by local John Deere dealer Turner Groundscare of Tarvin in Chester, whose area sales manager Ian Roberts has been looking after Royal Birkdale on both the sales and service side for over 22 years.

Eight new 180SL walk-behind greens mowers have now replaced the previous 220C models, and have been joined by two new A Series machines, an 8000AE hybrid electric five-gang cylinder mower for the surrounds and an 8800A rough mower. Additional tournament support machinery and staff will be provided for The Open as required.

“Since the last Open at Royal Birkdale in 2008, we have worked very closely with Chris and his team to provide the key greenkeeping staff with technical training at John Deere’s Langar HQ, as well as specialist onsite training. This has been designed to help them become self-sufficient in all the main aspects of machinery servicing and maintenance, and understand how to optimise machine performance,” says John Deere territory manager Marcus Morris.

“This ongoing partnership between the club, John Deere and Turner Groundscare helps us all to achieve the best possible results where they matter, out on the course.”

On the newest machines in the fleet, which also includes greens/tees and fairway mowers, Chris Whittle says: “The new 180SL walk-behinds were recommended to me by John Deere and Turners when it came time to replace the older models, so we got the dealer to send us one on demonstration and it basically sold itself.

“The narrower working width means we get very accurate contour following on our undulating greens, and at John Deere’s suggestion we’ve also had them fitted with groomers, which we’ve never used before. These help to maintain the quality of cut and finish we’re looking for.

“We only use the 8800A rough mower on the semi-rough, as we never cut the rough at Royal Birkdale,” he adds. “This is generally used to mow at two heights, one at around 35mm and the other at around 70mm – it’s a Birkdale thing! We might widen this area from five to 10m if required for tournament purposes. Other than that nothing’s really changed much at all.”

Two new electric TE Gator utility vehicles have also been added to the fleet this year, which now includes three heavy-duty Pro Gators. One is equipped with an HD200 low-profile amenity turf sprayer, one with a cargo box and one with a Dakota top dresser. Aside from the course equipment, the main aspect of running an Open championship that has changed massively in Chris’ eyes is how much bigger the tournament has become – particularly the infrastructure that envelops the event, which had already started to go up on the course in late April.

“I went to Royal Troon last year and it was a real eye opener,” he says. “We always get plenty of experienced greenkeeping support for our team behind the scenes, though, and this year will be no different. All the Open venues send a representative, plus we have a mix of local course volunteers, R&A Scholars and our own Royal Birkdale Artisan Golfers on hand to help get the extra work done. In addition, BIGGA will be providing volunteers to rake bunkers with each match during the Open.

“There’s always a real family atmosphere around the course during the tournament, probably even more so this year as it will probably be my last Open. There will be people that I’ve worked with before at other courses, and some I’ve employed – one lad’s even coming over from Pinehurst Resort in the US, he’s from Southport originally and was a trainee here. It will be hard work, as usual, but I’m really looking forward to it, and to another successful Open at Royal Birkdale.”