Reesink Appoints Mike Turnbull

/in , , /by

Reesink Appoints Mike Turnbull: Mike Turnbull has taken the role of the recently retired Nigel Lovatt and assumes responsibility for Reesink customers, the dealer network and retail partners located from the north east to the north west of England, or as Mike refers to it “from the Wash to the Wirral”.

Mike is no stranger to the geographical area spanning from Nottingham to North Wales, having covered the same in his 20-year role with Toro Spellbrook.

Reesink Appoints Mike Turnbull

Mike says: “I was over the moon to accept this role. It is a great position, a great area and I am stepping into the role of a great colleague. Nigel did some fantastic work here and I am really looking forward to continuing and adding to that.”

As we all know this is an area that is home to some of the best and most high-profile golfing and sporting venues in the country, as well as many councils, local authorities and landscapers perfect for the comprehensive grounds machinery range from Toro and Reesink. Mike’s role will focus on both, and will see him working closely with Jeff Anguige, national sales manager.

Mike continues: “I know this area well as it’s one I used to cover in my position working with Toro for Spellbrook, so to some I will be a familiar face. My background and experience with Toro means I bring with me a lot of knowledge and expertise of the brand, and my two years working with Reesink puts me in good stead too.”

Jeff Anguige, national sales manager at Reesink Turfcare, agrees: “Mike was not only the logical choice for the position, he was also the best. He understands the Toro brand and knows how Reesink works as a company. He has big shoes to fill left by Nigel, but there’s no question he will carry on the good work.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Toro At Blairgowrie Golf Club

/in , , /by

Toro At Blairgowrie Golf Club: Managing secretary Steven Morgan says every day is tournament day at Blairgowrie Golf Club, and for that reason the club has invested in a partnership agreement with Toro.

As the latest Toro machinery delivery arrives at the club in Perthshire in Scotland, Steven explains: “We decided to invest in Toro to ensure we constantly improve the playability of our courses. We believe that every day at Blairgowrie Golf Club is a tournament day and the time, effort and attention to detail when setting up the courses reflects this belief, as do the machinery choices we make.”

Toro At Blairgowrie Golf Club

Three Greensmaster 1000 pedestrian mowers, two Reelmaster 5410-D ride-on mowers, a Greensmaster TriFlex 3400 and a Multi Pro 5800-D sprayer join the fleet, which Steven calls “very good and very versatile”, and which the team of 16 say they “love, because it is easy to set, maintain and use, and leaves a fine finish to give great job satisfaction.”

The new additions join a fleet which already includes three Toro Groundsmaster 3500-D mowers and ProCore 648 aerator, and the performance of these machines is yet another reason as to why Blairgowrie continues to choose Toro. Steven says the ProCore in particular is “flawless”: “The design of the ProCore allows us to aerate any part of the course in a clean and tidy manner with ease no matter the terrain. We’ve had it for a long time, and it still performs flawlessly.”

Blairgowrie hosts a large number events and in 2018 sees the Scottish Amateur Championship, European Amateur Golf Tour and the PGA Lombard Pro Am arrive at the three course, 45-hole club.

Steven says: “We’ve a lot of golfers and competitors who expect the highest of standards. We knew that by choosing Toro and Reesink, we were ensuring a proactive relationship to consistently provide great course conditions while managing costs at all times.

“Plus, it was the right time to invest. We have recently spent a great deal of money on our greenkeeping sheds to allow us to maintain our assets much more professionally, making sure we get the best from them for longer.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Precision Pruning From Cutting Specialists

/in , /by

Precision Pruning From Cutting Specialists: There is no one size fits all for perfect pruning. However, Wilkinson Sword, with more than 100 years of cutting expertise, knows just how to deliver what gardeners need, which is why it has launched a new Precision Pruner Twin Pack to provide gardeners with the exact product they need to get the job done. With maximum precision.

The new twin set consists of two pruners in one set. The first pair has a bypass blade and the other a straight edge, each to serve its own specific purpose. With a 6mm cutting diameter these Precision Pruners are ideal for those with more delicate hands, with Wilkinson Sword placing intricacy at the forefront of gardener’s needs to ensure precise pruning.

Precision Pruning From Cutting Specialists

The bypass blade is the perfect partner when pruning flowers, as well as for general pruning when a delicate touch is needed. Alternatively, for more intricate work and particularly dead heading in dense flowering shrubs where a firmer cut is required, without damaging other plants, then the straight blade pair are more suitable. These are easy to use in dense growth where the head can be snipped without disturbing other flowers.

Both pruners are lightweight with a cast aluminium construction and soft touch non-slip grip handles for maximum comfort. They also boast high quality blades that operate via a smooth spring action which opens and closes the pruners to minimise strain on hands, allowing you to garden for longer! They also have a central safety catch for safe transport and storage.

There really is something for every gardener within the Wilkinson Sword range of garden tools, and each one carries the reassuring Wilkinson Sword 10 year guarantee.

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Dennis & SISIS Prepare For Waterloo

/in , , /by

Dennis & SISIS Prepare For Waterloo: Mark Audin is preparing the green at the Waterloo Hotel, Blackpool, for the biggest national tournament in the crown green bowling calendar, with the help of the Dennis FT510 and SISIS Dart.

Regarded as the ‘Wembley’ of crown green bowling, The Waterloo Hotel has been hosting tournaments for well over 100 years. In particular, The Waterloo Championships has been in existence since 1907 and this year it sees a phenomenal 512 entries from all over the country. Qualifying starts in July and concludes with the final 8 competing to get their hands on the famous trophy on 26 September.

Dennis & SISIS Prepare For Waterloo

Mark Audin has been working at The Waterloo for 10 years and for the last 5 he has held the position of bowls manager. He has a number of tasks under his remit but Mark’s main priority is to focus on the fabulous green at The Waterloo – which is a year round job, as he explains.

“Out of season when the green isn’t being played on, I cut down to about 7-8mm and during the winter we can leave it slightly longer at 10mm. From May onwards I like to keep it at around 7mm and that will gradually go down to about 6mm and possibly 5mm depending on how it is playing towards the end of the season. There is a misconception that you need to take the grass on a bowling green right down and scalp it, but that really isn’t the case as long as you regularly verticut and generally look after it all year.”

For the essential task of verticutting, Mark relies on the Dennis FT510, which is an interchangeable cassette cylinder mower. It offers the operator ultimate versatility by having the option of fitting twelve different cassettes including scarifiers, verticutters, brushes, spikers and slitters as well as 5 or 10 blade cutting cassettes.

“In the lead up to the Championships we will verticut with the FT510 once every four days in four different directions so that the playing surface will be completely smooth. Therefore, going into the Championships the green will become quicker and quicker to play on.

Dennis & SISIS Prepare For Waterloo

“We’ve got the sorrel roller cassette, the 10 bladed cylinder, the scarifier and verticutter Tungsten tipped cassette and it is all we really need here – it’s my complete maintenance tool. The FT510 is fantastic and it is so easy to use – one cassette out, one cassette in and off you go. In the past we have had machines which take half an hour just to change one cassette.

“I also really like the click adjustment on the FT510 for the height of cut, it is easy to set-up and is adjusted by 0.25mm with every click. Again, with other machines you will have to get a spanner out but on the FT510 it is adjusted in seconds. The fuel consumption also seems to be better than any others I have used in the past too.”

For reducing turf compaction at The Waterloo, Mark uses the SISIS Dart – which is an independently powered vertical action aerator. This popular bowling green aerator has a working depth of up to 100mm (4 inches) which can be easily adjusted from the operator’s position using the balanced depth control lever. Powered by a 6.5hp engine, the unit can also be fitted with a wide range of interchangeable tines to meet the operator’s requirements making it ideal as a bowling green aerator.

“We normally start using the SISIS Dart in July when the ground starts getting hard. We have a number of various interchangeable tines and we tend to go about 3 inches deep into the surface. It does a brilliant job at breaking the surface up, enabling you to get some moisture in and it really helps to reduce thatch and compaction. We’ve always had a bit of an issue with compaction because we have so many people on the green throughout the year,” he said.

“I would say that it is arguably the most used green in bowls and with all the games throughout the season, the green stands up remarkably well. That is, in part, due to the quality of the machines – I’ve tired others in the past but none are nearly as good as the Dennis and SISIS equipment.”

Dennis and SISIS are proud supporters of the Waterloo Championships and have a long history of supporting the sport of bowls. The British manufacturers of turf maintenance equipment host an annual series of free educational bowling green seminars throughout the UK, which have significantly grown year on year.

Further information about the range of bowls maintenance products available can be found by visiting www.dennisuk.com / www.sisis.com.

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Rigby Taylor Commemorates WWI

/in , /by

Rigby Taylor Commemorates WWI: To commemorate the centenary of the end of World War I, Rigby Taylor has introduced a number of Euroflor Commemorate wildflower mixes, with each of the six new mixes having special meaning:

  • Honour – a combination of red, white and blue flowers; the three colours of the Union Jack symbolising patriotism;
  • Souvenir – 100% Red Poppies – the Poppy in Great Britain, Commonwealth countries and the USA symbolises the blood spilled by the allied forces;
  • Bleuet – predominantly blue but also with white, pink and crimson Cornflowers; Cornflowers originally represented young French soldiers arriving on the battlefield and wearing new, grey/blue uniforms thereafter symbolising those who died for France;
  • Alliance – a mixture of Red Poppies and Cornflowers; the combination mix of the red and blue symbolises the alliance of British and French soldiers;
  • Peace – a white flower mix including Gypsophilia elegans, to symbolise the armistice and ending of hostilities; and
  • Hope – a mix of bright colours, including perennial species for longevity to symbolise hope.

Rigby Taylor Commemorates WWI

The mixes are available either as a Discovery boxed sets of 10 x 50 gm sachets (any combination) or as individual 1 kg sachets. Each 50 gm sachet will cover 10-15 m2; I kg will cover 150-350 m2. Colour brochures describing these and other Eurflor mixtures are available from a Rigby Taylor area representative or via Freephone 0800 424919.

For more information, visit: www.rigbytaylor.com

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.