Campey Turf Care Systems Conquer Europe

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Campey Turf Care Systems conquer Europe with 2017 Renovation Tour: The Campey Turf Care Renovation Tour ended in Rotterdam, Holland, with the highly successful 7 week event educating turf professionals on renovation best practise.

Campey Turf Care Systems Conquer Europe

There was an average of 60 groundsmen and greenkeepers across each event, giving Campey a strong platform to educate using cutting edge technology to demonstrate the difference a well-executed renovation can make on all sports surfaces.

The tour wouldn’t have been the success it was without the participation of the Campey dealers, who put in a great amount of effort to organise each day, including the newly appointed dealer for Holland and Belgium, Jean Heybroek, who participated in their first tour.

Campey product specialist, Brian O’Shaughnessy, oversaw the dates in Poland and the Czech Republic for the company, and outlines the importance of visiting countries who may otherwise miss out on the opportunity to see this machinery at work.

He said: “There’s increasing pressure within the industry for teams, regardless of size, to have a high quality pitch. All you have to do is watch games on television and look on social media to see the scrutiny these men are under.

“So, by touring the machines around Europe as well as the process of renovating, we can demonstrate the difference that can made over the course of a season by starting in the right way. The events across Europe have been well received and we had a great response from the attendees.”

The demonstrations were delivered using a host of machines including the Koro® FIELD TOPMAKER® with Universe® and Terraplane® rotors, the award-winning GT Air Inject Air2G2, the Imants ShockWave and Rotoknife, the Koro® Recycling Dresser, Raycam Speedresser and Dakota range of spreaders as well as the Vredo Compact seeder.

The date in France, arranged with the help of dealership Hydraparts, also featured presentations from grounds manager at Stade de France, Tony Stones, and grounds manager at Southampton Football Club, Andy Grey. Both men gave an extensive insight into the renovation programmes at their respective venues, making the presentations the perfect accompaniment to the live demonstrations.

These events are fantastic at educating through demonstrations, but they also give participants the chance to learn from each other through networking and presentations, something that product specialist, Ben Taylor saw during the days in Belgium and Holland.

“Getting turf professionals together has led to a great exchange of ideas,” Ben explained. “As much as the demonstrations provide a linear plan for renovation, speaking to others who are local to that area can also give valuable insight on specific issues.

“Increasing knowledge and developing understanding is the whole point of the tour and I’m very proud to say that we’ve been able to do that, and as a result I’d like to think we will see the pitches in these areas improve in the near future.”

For more information, visit: www.campeyturfcare.com

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‘Phenomenal’ SISIS Osca Works Wonders For The Potters

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‘Phenomenal’ SISIS Osca works Wonders for the Potters: Andy Jackson, grounds manager at Stoke City FC, has reported ‘phenomenal’ results since incorporating the SISIS Osca tractor mounted oscillating brush into his synthetic surface maintenance programme.

‘Phenomenal’ SISIS Osca Works Wonders For The Potters

It is safe to say that Andy Jackson is a one-club-man. Having started as an apprentice at Stoke City FC in 1994, he has since worked his way up the ladder and now sits in the hot seat as grounds manager in which he oversees the maintenance of the pitch at the bet365 Stadium and all of the facilities at Clayton Wood training ground.

Clayton Wood boasts a multitude of state of the art facilities including two and a half Desso Grassmaster pitches, five soil based pitches and two full size synthetic surfaces.

“Getting the right equipment for all the different textured pitches we have here is big task, and it’s key to how we go about our business,” says Andy. “The use on our synthetic pitches has become incredibly high so I needed to look at something which would combat that. I wanted a machine that was going to be effective and quick but to get a machine to do those two things I felt would be a hard task.”

Fortunately, Andy came across the SISIS Osca while attending the STMA Conference and Exhibition in San Diego last year and arranged for a demonstration to be undertaken as soon as he returned to home soil. The demonstration quickly revealed that Andy had found the machine he had been looking for.

The SISIS Osca is a tractor mounted powered oscillating brush with a 1.9 meter working width and is equally effective when used on synthetic turf with sand or rubber infill. The two oscillating brushes stand the carpet fibres up and redistributes the infill evenly, minimising compaction on the surface and improving its performance – giving consistent playing characteristics while preventing pile damage caused by reduced infill levels.

A contributory factor to the reduction of compaction is that the Osca’s working width will use fewer passes than other more conventional drag brushes to complete a pitch. Its aggressive brushing action agitates the upper infill level of the surface from side to side as well as brushing forward, helping reduce surface compaction and encourage the fibres to stand up straight which reduces the risk of contamination, drainage problems and leaves a consistent playing surface across the whole pitch.

“The Ocsa had everything we were looking for and the beauty is that it is extremely versatile. You can go deep into the pile or just take it lightly over the top – everything is adjustable to enable the machine to do exactly what is required.”

“The Oscillating brushes are the best feature for me because they get rid of any compaction problems and they provide a fantastic finish. Players at all levels, from seven year olds up to the first team, play on these pitches, so for me it is just important to have the synthetic surfaces as well presented as the natural pitches.”

Andy sets an hour aside each day to use the Osca and designates a fortnightly three hour time slot to carry out a more intensive clean. Since using the Osca he has noticed a significant improvement and he is not the only one.

“The Osca has brought our synthetic pitch to a new level and the feedback we’ve had from the staff, the coaches and the players has been really positive.”

“The results have been phenomenal and personally I think the Osca ticks all the boxes in getting synthetic turf to a level where it needs to be.”

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

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Bobcat Introduces All New XRZ & XRZ Pro Zero Turn Mower

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Bobcat introduces all new XRZ & XRZ Pro Zero Turn Mower: To ensure Bobcat and its customers are competitive in the Utility and Budget Priced zero turn market Bobcat have introduced the XRZ & XRZ Pro models.

Bobcat introduces all new XRZ & XRZ Pro Zero Turn Mower

Built for lawn mowing professionals who put affordability high on their shopping list without compromising quality. Price range XRZ- £6800-7150.  XRZ Pro £7350-7800. ROPS £338. All plus vat.

Equipped with 22” rear Drive Wheels for a smooth ride over undulating terrain also giving increased traction on slopes and overall stability. Available in deck sizes 48”,52” and 61” there is a model for most needs. Adjustable deck from the sitting position with cutting heights from one and a half inch to four and a half inch.

Powered by reliable Kawasaki FR engines with Hydro Gear ZT3100 Transaxles that allow operators to mow at groundspeeds of up to 8 mph, coupled with a large 6 gallon fuel tank the XRZ has plenty of cutting hours in the tank. With operator comfort a priority some models are equipped with a premium high back elastomeric vibration control (EVC) seat to ease out the vibrations on undulating terrain.

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Sri Lanka’s Cricket Board Apologises To Groundsmen

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Sri Lanka’s Cricket Board Apologises To Groundsmen: Dozens of groundsmen at Sri Lanka’s Hambantota cricket stadium have complained that they were ordered to give back their uniforms before being paid — even though they were wearing them at the time.

Lanka Board Apologises To Groundsmen

Sri Lanka’s cricket board was forced to apologise after social media reports that some workers had to leave the ground in their underwear at the end of the fifth One-Day International between Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe on Monday.

“Whilst stern action will be taken against those responsible, Sri Lanka Cricket wishes to apologise to those subjected to this ignominy, and will take steps to ensure they are compensated,” the board said in a statement made available to the media.

The workers had been told that they would not be paid until they returned the uniforms provided by the Board.

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Souters Sports Bring Architect’s Vision To Life

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Souters Sports bring architect’s vision to life: After successfully completing a huge bunker renovation project at the prestigious West Kilbride Golf Club in Ayrshire, Souters Sports have been widely praised by both the club’s secretary and architect.

Souters Sports Bring Architect’s Vision To Life

The West Kilbride Golf Club, established in 1893, is situated on the Ayrshire coast, with spectacular views across the Firth of Clyde to the beautiful island of Arran. As host to regular national events, West Kilbride is the most northerly of Ayrshire’s true links courses and the entire course is exposed to even the slightest breeze.  With the strongest of winds coming from the South West and North West, the 6523 yard course offers players the experience of links golf at its most demanding.

West Kilbride has a committed membership base and its motto is “Gaudio Cedat Cura” – which translates to “Care gives way to joy,” which is perhaps testament to the club’s recent decision to rejuvenate over 30 bunkers.

“We essentially wanted to make them look and play a lot better,” says managing secretary Graham MacKenzie. “On some of the older bunkers the drainage had suffered and over time had developed a poor shape. We also wanted natural looking bunkers – to give the course more of a links feel and after a few members had commented on them we decided to go ahead with the project.”

The club called upon Scottish Golf Course Architects Rennie Design Ltd to undertake an analytical study of the facilities and following an in-depth report, plans for the renovation works were soon put in place.

“The next step was to put the job to tender, and myself and Stuart Rennie (managing director of Rennie Design) invited three different contractors to come in and pitch. It was at this point that we chose Souters Sports because we were most impressed with what they had done at other courses and with their overall portfolio. They came across incredibly well and we also thought that their proposal offered good value for money,” said Graham.

With the architect’s vision in place and the Souters team briefed, construction commenced in late October and was complete by the end of February allowing time for establishment in advance of the season ahead. The works incorporated the strategic repositioning of bunkers, building bunkers in similar positions, shaping support mounding and landform, drainage installation, irrigation alterations and finishing. The final piece of works was carried out on the 18th hole where the entire hole was re-bunkered to create improved strategy and deliver a visually impressive finishing hole.

“Between the architect and the club, we had a few different ideas throughout the project which changed the process but Souters were very accommodating,” says Graham. “The feedback has been extremely good, not only from members but also from visitors who come to play on open days. The appearance is most notable and they look a lot tidier than they previously did and they also play a lot better.

“I’m very happy with the work and would absolutely recommend Souters Sports and Rennie Design. We built up a good relationship throughout the project and I would absolutely work with them again in the future.”

With such a potential complex project, Stuart was pleased that Souters were able to flawlessly bring his vision to life.

“Souters Sports worked tirelessly throughout and carried out all aspects of the works in a professional manner. They were a joy to work with and Scott Maclaren and his site team pulled out all the stops to deliver the architects vision to the satisfaction of the client,” he said.

For further information, please contact Souters Sports Limited on 01236 453030 or visit www.souterssports.co.uk. Souters Sports are also on Twitter @SoutersSports.

For further information about Rennie Design please call 07977715 382 or visit www.renniedesign.co.uk / email stuart@renniedesign.co.uk.

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