STM-SCAG V-Ride Earns Its Stripes

STM-SCAG V-Ride earns its stripes. The “V-Ride” stand-on mower is in the range of SCAG mowers supplied by STM Co Ltd in the UK and parts of Europe. It finds a lot of popularity for its being a small and nimble machine, ideal for intricate work.

STM-SCAG V-Ride Earns Its Stripes

Now Jamie Jones of Jamie’s Garden Services, working on domestic and commercial contracts in Llandrindod Wells, Powys, has added to its virtuosity by having a striper unit added. This was specially developed for him by STM, using a standard SCAG Turf Tiger striper unit converted to fit the machine.

He came to choose a V-Ride after much research, a lot of which was with American Lawn Care professionals, and SCAG was among the names that soon came up for serious consideration.

He likes the stand-on principle and has since found it has been a wise choice for the work he does.

Jamie Jones:    If I have a nice open piece of lawned area then I use the striping kit. I feel that it is important to stand out from other grass cutting providers and the finished product is what matters to customers. If they are paying for a service then it is important that you stand out from the rest and quality stripes on the lawn is what customers like.

Although he could have gone as wide as 61” with his deck choice, he opted for 48” for ease of access. He has found this, and the compact size of the V-Ride, has an additional benefit in fitting compactly on his trailer.

A further point is the facility for using the machine as a walk-behind as opposed to riding on it.

Again – Jamie Jones: The Scag V-Ride was also more flexible in that you have all the benefits of a Sit-On machine,  but the ability to use it as a Walk-Behind  has been beneficial on banks, and where there are low tree branches. It makes it easy to jump off and duck below them while still operating the machine.

He continued: In my opinion the Scag machine was the best unit from out of the three short listed as well as being a personal preference.  

As for choosing STM, he was complimentary about each of the three possible suppliers he finally selected, but the outcome was: In my opinion the SCAG machine from STM was the best of the three – and STM went the extra mile by fabricating the bespoke roller system for me.

The machine has earned its stripes – as, indeed, have SCAG and the team at STM.

New Ranger On Sculthorpe Moor

New Ranger on Sculthorpe Moor. A Polaris Ranger 6×6 off-road utility vehicle has proved the ideal solution for Sculthorpe Moor Community Nature Reserve in Fakenham, Norfolk.

New Ranger on Sculthorpe Moor

Created and managed by the Hawk and Owl Trust, there is no more peaceful place to observe the rich variety of wildlife in the woodland, fen and reed bed habitats across the beautiful Wensum Valley. Here you can look out for tawny and barn owls, marsh harriers, kingfishers, buzzards, bullfinches and marsh tits as well as voles, stoats, weasels and many more species.

Much of the area is marshy ground, with scrub and a high water table so it takes a special vehicle to carry out the wide variety of tasks demanded by the need to access an area with no roads. The Trust first saw a Polaris 6×6 model at Lamma, the agricultural show, and local Polaris dealers, Linstead Farm and Garden Machinery, provided a Polaris Ranger 6×6 for testing. The Ranger went up against several other machines on test.

“We needed a machine that could cope with our particular terrain, with no roads and a lot of marsh areas,” says Adrian Blumfield, Executive Director, “We have a huge number of volunteers, some more senior in years, who need to get around the site for planting, building hides, coppicing and generally looking after the habitat. In the test the other vehicles very quickly got stuck. The Polaris was the only one which did not.”

The Ranger 6×6 has six-wheel Independent Suspension with up to 9.6” of travel and 12” of ground clearance, which, coupled with its powerful 800cc engine, enables it to deliver exceptional off-road traction and a smooth, comfortable ride. Another consideration is the large amount of tools and equipment the Trust volunteers have to carry and the Ranger offers a roomy 39 gallon capacity with huge rear storage boxes. The rear dump box has a 1,250 lb capacity for larger loads and, most importantly, the 1 tonne towing strength is more than enough to manage the draw bar weight of the Trust’s large trailer.

The Hawk and Owl Trust is a registered charity and the Polaris Ranger 6×6 has been kindly anonymously donated. The Trust’s work began conserving owls and other birds of prey and now does much more, increasing knowledge and appreciation of them while creating, managing and conserving habitats that support associated species. The Ranger will have a strong role in Sculthorpe Moor’s research, conservation of the wildlife reserves, running of education centres and ongoing projects.

Ventrac Dealer Network Continues To Grow

The UK Ventrac dealer network continues to grow with the appointment of SGM Contracts in Scotland. The family-run business is one of the leading providers of both groundcare and garden machinery, offering a range of products and related services to councils, contractors, turf maintenance professionals, golf clubs and domestic home gardeners.

Ventrac Dealer Network Continues To Grow

Based on the Belleknowes Industrial Estate, Inverkeithing near Edinburgh, SGM has an established customer base, including an extensive hire business featuring equipment from a number of the major manufacturers such as John Deere, Ransomes, Jacobsen, Toro and Scag.

Rupert Price, Managing Director of UK importers Price Turfcare said,

“From my point of view, I wanted a focused dealer who could give Ventrac the best possible coverage bearing in mind the product can be utilised in a multitude of markets, ranging from golf to contractors and municipal.  The product is particularly appealing to the hire market and therefore my first choice in Scotland is SGM, who I have known for many years.”

Managing Director of SGM, Steven McInroy, commenting on the agreement added,

“We are always on the lookout for niche, but quality products to add to our portfolio from both a sales and hire perspective and we are delighted to be promoting the product.

“Having visited the Price Turfcare stand at BTME earlier this year, Ewan Peddie, our Sales Manager, and myself, were very taken with the machine and its capabilities, particularly operating on banks and inclines, which is a real issue for the majority of our clients, particularly local authorities, private contractors and golf courses.

“Rupert very kindly brought a machine to Scotland for us to look at and immediately we were taken with its operating capabilities and quality and are delighted to have secured the franchise.”

 

Pleasant Point Pitch Vandalism Leaves Coaches Frustrated

Pleasant Point Pitch Vandalism Leaves Coaches Frustrated. Vandals have torn up several sports fields and cricket pitches in the South Canterbury town of Pleasant Point, New Zealand – leaving teams upset and furious.

Police are investigating Monday’s incident, which one coach described as the worst damage he had ever seen.

Pleasant Point Cricket Club captain Cameron Lundie said a lot of people would be upset by what had happened.

“It’s just very gutting, especially the amount of work that’s gone into this new pitch, it’s had over $22,000 spent on it less than a year ago, a lot of work,” Lundie said.

The number one pitches for both the town’s football and cricket clubs, as well as the number two pitch and training pitches of the rugby club were all left with deep ruts dug into them.

Pleasant Point Constable Kris Howes said in addition to the fields being damaged part of one of the football goals was driven into, ripping netting off its fastenings.

Howes said a local resident reported hearing a vehicle between 2.45am and 3am “revving and carrying on”.

“They could see the lights coming on and off… they probably turned them on to see if they had collided with the posts.”

Howes said the football pitch had previously suffered damage on a “minor scale”.

“Even on the golf course next door they have never done this sort of damage. They might come in and do a couple of skids and then go, they have probably been here for a good half an hour.”

Howes said it could “possibly” be someone local, given the person had known to avoid the barrier of wooden logs placed around the pitches, and the car was seen heading in the direction of Pleasant Point.

The vehicle was “going to have some damage and it’s going to be filthy”.

Howes said it was “idiotic” behaviour. “It’s just brainless. The guys at the cricket field have spent weeks and months getting it sorted and up to standard.”

A piece of the vehicle was left behind at the scene. A Timaru District Council spokesman said while the vandalism was “very disappointing”, contractors had started working on fixing the sports fields.

He said the majority of the damage should not stop teams from playing sport there this week.

Pleasant Point Cricket Club groundsman Chris Murphy said the worst thing about it the damage is because it was winter the club can’t do anything about it. “We can’t touch the cricket pitch now until spring.”

Pleasant Point cricket and football coach Mike Otley decried the “absolutely senseless damage”.

“It does happen occasionally but it’s been a while since it’s happened,” Otley said.

“It’s probably the worst damage I have seen.”

To read the original article from Stuff, click here

Mid Kent GC Favours Wiedenmann Values Again

Mid Kent GC Favours Wiedenmann Values Again. Mid Kent GC Course Manager, Lee Sayers has opted for his fourth Wiedenmann Terra Spike purchase in a row. The Master Greenkeeper at the Gravesend club already has an XP8, the deepest aerator in the Wiedenmann range, and previously two others.

Mid Kent GC Favours Wiedenmann Values Again

“At the demo the quality of the GXi8 HD’s finish was exceptional so it wasn’t a difficult decision. We know first-hand that Wiedenmann aerators are strong and reliable but we wanted this one for its versatility,” said Lee Sayers.

Every six weeks or so, the greenkeeping team of six at Mid Kent has a planned maintenance day. Until now their XP8 has been deployed everywhere, including tees and greens. At 2.1 m wide, weighing 1200 kgs and going down to 400 mm it has been hugely productive. However, the addition of the GXi8 HD means the heavier machine will be allowed to concentrate mostly on fairways while the new one does both fine turf and fairways.

“We’ve managed well with the 65 hp tractor but ultimately a smaller tractor (50 hp) and aerator (900 kg) will get in and around the tees and greens more easily,” he continued. “Now every 5-6 weeks definitely on our green we’ll be doing some kind of aeration. Three different sets of tines have been delivered so I will use all three regularly. It might be a 8 mm tine going 60-70 mm deep or 12 mm tine going 250 mm or on occasion a side eject hollow tine. I could have gone for something even smaller or lighter but 1.8m is a decent working width to cover ground fast and make the most of our window of opportunity so we get through all the greens in a day and a bit more elsewhere. When maintenance time is as precious, it suited me the best.”

John Bignell, Groundcare Area Manager from dealer, Ernest Doe & Sons, Dartford, who have supplied and serviced machines for Mid Kent GC for many decades, said:

“Lee and his team purchased a Wiedenmann Whisper Twister blower last autumn so they know build quality is a given with any type of Wiedenmann and not just Terra Spikes.  This was all about speed and coverage and an absolute requirement for the neatest of finishes so the GXi8 HD was the machines for purpose.”