Montrose Invest In The Future

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Montrose Invest In The Future: Montrose Golf Links has announced details of one of the largest investments ever made in the celebrated east coast course. Completed earlier this year, the new, far-reaching irrigation project will enable significant improvements to be made across the links and coincides with Montrose receiving the most comprehensive sustainability award in golf.

The new automated irrigation system addresses a swathe of issues that have affected the presentation of the course, which twice hosted Final Qualifying for the Open Championship. It replaces the previous system that had been in situ for more than 30 years and suffered from insufficient pressure, poor and uneven water coverage and limited irrigation options.

Montrose Invest In The Future

“The new irrigation system is a significant improvement on what we had before,” said Jason Boyd, PGA professional and operations manager at Montrose Golf Links. “It addresses a lot of on-course issues and will enable our greenkeeping team to present the 1562 course like never before. This is a massive investment that will have a huge impact on golf at Montrose.”

The introduction of the £100,000 irrigation system follows the renaming of the world’s fifth oldest golf course in 2018. More importantly, it will free up the Montrose greenkeepers to present the 450-year course to the highest possible standards.

“Because so much time was spent hand-watering greens, the new system will have a number of knock-on effects, especially for the greenkeepers,” explained Boyd. “The time released by the new system will now be spent improving greens, tees, fairways and approaches as well as focussing on smaller, detailed jobs that are so important.”

Although largely unaltered, the classic Scottish links at Montrose has been adapted and tweaked by the likes of Willie Park Jr, Old Tom Morris and Harry Colt. With a run of seven spectacular cliff-face holes, it has also become a destination course for many visitors to Scotland and is widely regarded as one of the country’s most natural links.

According to Darren McLaughlan, head greenkeeper at Montrose, the addition of the new irrigation system is hugely significant. “The need for a fully functioning irrigation system was overwhelming,” he says. “The new system will not only allow greenstaff to concentrate on course improvements while reducing disruption to play, it will also provide the foundation for producing true and consistent putting conditions and a more sustainable approach due to using less water.”

Towards the end of 2018, Montrose Golf Links was awarded the Golf Environment Organisation (GEO) certificate – an accreditation the club had been working towards since 2007. Mike Wood, GEO accredited verifier, highlighted a number of key strengths during Montrose’s verification process. These included “committed ecological stewardship of an authentic setting of duneland topography and landcover, within which the high-quality playing surfaces harmoniously fit”.

McLaughlan, who has a wealth of links golf experience after holding the position of course manager at Machrihanish Golf Club, says the new irrigation system ties in perfectly with the new CEO certified status at Montrose. “We are committed to delivering a world-class golfing experience that is sympathetic to the surrounding environment and spectacular coastline,” he said. “Montrose is a special place full of history and outstanding golf holes. We want people to enjoy Montrose, but we want to achieve that responsibly. This latest investment in the infrastructure that supports the course will help us do just that.”

The Medal course was renamed The 1562 Course during the 2018 season and is the fifth oldest golf course in the world. It has hosted a number of prestigious tournaments including the World Hickory Open (2013); The Europro Tour (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018) and Final Qualifying for the Senior Open Championship held at Carnoustie (2016).

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Trime To Support Water Aid

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Trime To Support Water Aid: Trime UK, the manufacturer and supplier of advanced wash bay systems are delighted to announce that will be supporting the charity Water Aid.

Paul Hay, managing director of Trime UK explains, “Since becoming established in 2016, we have been looking to support a charity that has compatible aims with our own. As the X-SPLASH wash bay system is designed to limit the amount of water it uses through its’ recycling system, we came to a natural conclusion to approach the leading water conversation charity, Water Aid.”

Trime To Support Water Aid

Trime UK has undertaken to make regular donations to Water Aid, based around the number of X-SPLASH systems installed in the UK. There are upwards of one hundred X-SPLASH units currently in operation throughout the country.

Trime UK have a large advance order book for all of the four X-SPLASH systems. In particular, they have repeat orders from a national equipment hire firm to install X-SPLASH wash bays into all of their depots. In addition, a separate tool hire firm has given Trime the go ahead to replace all their old wash bays with the new X-SPLASH system. This could result several hundreds of pounds being donated to Water Aid.

The X-SPLASH is an ecological, flexible cleaning system for plant and machinery. The system prevents soil pollution and contamination of drains, from oil, grease, and similar chemical contaminants.  It has an inbuilt recycling process to ensure that all the water is contained and reused. The filtering system that also ensures no contaminates are discharged accidently, resulting in an overall water usage reduction. The X-SPLASH is relocatable and features a modular section drainage base with a micro-switch in the rear solids collection tank set to activate the drainage pump when the water reaches a pre-set level.

Water Aid is a globally operating charity with a strategy to make water, toilets and hygiene normal for everyone, everywhere. Their mission is to transform the lives of the poorest and most marginalised people by improving access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene.

Trime UK Limited is an environmentally conscious company that supplies many of the leading UK firms with eco-sensitive LED site lighting equipment. The Trime Group is regarded as one of the leading suppliers of powered LED lighting sets to the worldwide construction and event markets. The company is now extending its line of equipment to encompass a range of environmentally sustainable equipment built specifically for industry. The X-SPLASH is their flagship product in this expanding range.

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BLEC Host Press Update Event

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BLEC Host Press Update Event: Three years on since the announcement was made that BLEC was to become a division of the Redexim Group, the press were recently invited to an update event at BLEC dealer Acorn Tractors in Derby. Hosted by Division Manager Curtis Allen, they heard in more detail how the new and enhanced range of specialist landscaping and turfcare equipment is creating quite a stir.

A busy few years under the guidance of the Redexim Group has seen the streamlining of product ranges and manufacture, along with the appointment of a network of dedicated dealers nationwide. Amongst the machines shown on the day were the Blecavator, Laser Grader and Multi-Seeder where key developments were discussed. Of particular note was the number of mechanical adjustments made to the renowned Laser Grader range including new twin Danfoss proportional valves and heavy-duty finger tines, that both now come as standard. The all-new Power Box Rake 1800 was another highlight as the first Redexim designed and engineered addition to the BLEC offering. Whilst following the ethics of the previous versions of the PBR, this machine has been built from scratch to be the perfect tool for cultivating, earth-moving, grading and raking.

BLEC Host Press Update Event

During the presentation and subsequent working demonstrations, it was evident how machines from across the BLEC range can be used in conjunction with one another, in the process of converting bare earth into a surface ready for seeding. With a comprehensive selection of pedestrian and tractor-mounted units, each available in a variety of working widths, they’re suited to applications from landscape gardeners, golf course construction, sports pitch preparations to large-scale groundworks.

The press were also treated to a talk from Sean Goodwin, Director of Talbot Farm Landscapes and Talbot Sports Turf, and long-standing user of BLEC machinery. Sean has a vast selection of BLEC units on his machinery fleet. He adds, “The BLEC range demonstrates an understanding of what we, the commercial landscaper/sports turf contractor, really need. The build quality is one thing that has always impressed me but the new Multi-Seeder I have purchased through Redexim is even better – well engineered and attention paid to every detail. With the resources available to Redexim, the manufacturing prowess and the ability to stock a wider range of parts through their dealer network, they have the potential to take BLEC to the next level.”

BLEC Host Press Update Event

Curtis summarised, “Despite its best efforts, the rain didn’t dampen spirits on what was a fantastic opportunity to update the media on all of the improvements we have worked hard to deliver across the portfolio. We have come a long way with the range already and with further innovations in the pipeline we’re entering a very exciting period in the BLEC story. A big thank you must also go to Julian Simpson at Acorn Tractors for providing the host venue and coordinating such a positive day.”

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