Sherriff A Hit At Budleigh Salterton

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Sherriff A Hit At Budleigh Salterton: Richard Quelch, groundsman at Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club, has seen an improvement in the health of the eleven fantastic lawns at the club in East Devon, thanks to a tank mixture from Sherriff Amenity.

Founded in the late 1860s, Budleigh Salterton is one of the premier croquet clubs in Europe and is situated in a beautiful location with wonderful views looking over the town of Budleigh Salterton.

Sherriff Success At Budleigh Salterton

Richard maintains the lawns to a very high standard, so much so that the club is regularly chosen to host major British and International Tournaments, including the European Golf Croquet Championships.

Although the venue is considered by many to be the ‘Wembley of Croquet’, that doesn’t stop Richard from continuing to make improvements and finding new ways to take the lawns to another level.

“I’m trying to boost the overall health of the lawns and I would like to get more roots into the ground,” he said. “The more roots I have, then the better the lawns can withstand a dry season and stresses. Plus, we are recently starting to have a few issues with leatherjackets and there are not many chemicals available on the market to solve this.

“Ultimately it is a case of trying to make the grass as strong as possible to combat the hot summers and any disease.”

Richard felt that he needed a nice ‘cocktail’ of nutrients which he could apply to the lawns on a regular basis and after speaking to Sherriff Amenity’s David Chammings, he found the ideal solution.

He now applies a monthly tank mix consisting of E2Pro Liquid 12.0.12 (at 60 l/ha), E2Pro PhosRite (at 10 l/ha) and SeaVolution seaweed liquid (at 20 l/ha) and noticed an immediate improvement.

“I trialled a few different products to see which would be the best for this site,” said Richard. “I felt that these products from Sherriff Amenity were the best for me and I was particularly keen to include the PhosRite, because it encourages a deeper, healthier root and relieves stress.”

As Richard says, Sherriff Amenity’s E2 Pro PhosRite can bring dramatic improvements to turf. Results from trials have shown improved turf quality and enhanced rooting. The benefits come from the plant’s improved ability to withstand stress conditions, allowing stronger, healthier grass to develop.

It is rapidly absorbed into the plant leaves where it translocates as phosphite within the plant cells. This stimulates strong, healthy growth and plants with a better root structure that are more able to withstand stress. The phosphite in E2 Pro PhosRite is rapidly distributed throughout the plant using both upward and downward transport systems (xylem and phloem) ensuring that all parts of the plant are quickly affected.

The addition of E2Pro Liquid in the tank-mix works to provide rapid leaf penetration and quickly relieves nutrient deficiency symptoms while Seavolution encourages disease infected areas to recover, optimising turf quality.

“It appears to be the perfect tank mix for me and it has already created a good thickness of grass,” said Richard. “Very soon, we are set to host the European Championships and I’m confident that the lawns will be of a good enough standard to cater for some of the very best players in this sport.”

For further information, please contact Sherriff Amenity on 01638 721 888 or visit www.sherriffamenity.com

For more news and insightful views, you can follow Sherriff Amenity on Twitter @SherriffAmenity.

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Corvus – The New UTV On The Block

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Corvus – The New UTV On The Block: Corvus is a new name in 4×4 off-road utility vehicles and one to look out for when its UTV’s arrive on our shores. Europe’s first manufacturer of 4×4 Side by Side vehicles has the strongest pedigree and states an aim to offer technologically superior and highly capable, pioneering vehicles.

A new British company, BOSS ORV, has been formed to introduce, distribute and support the Corvus brand in the UK. BOSS will officially launch three models at the outset: TerrainDX4 EPS, TerrainDX4 PRO EPS and TerrainDX4 CAB EPS.

Corvus – The New UTV On The Block

“When you first look at the Terrain you can see immediately it’s a well-designed and tough, professional UTV.” Says Phil Everett, BOSS ORV’s Managing Director. “Look deeper and it stands out for environmental and technological advancement, a powerhouse engine and a great payload capacity. We’re proud to be able to offer the Corvus range in the UK.” All the above mentioned Terrain models are homologated to T1b tractor regulation and have a top speed of 40mph/65kp/h.

The Corvus main construction facility is in Murcia, Spain with an area of 25,000m² dedicated to manufacturing and assembling, using their own parts and components: gear box, transmission, chassis and technology systems. The company is part of the Tuxton/Yanmar group so it’s a natural fit to marry up the normally aspirated, inline 3-cylinder 993cc Yanmar Diesel engine which gives excellent fuel efficiency and range. The engine is Euro 6 compliant which puts it right at the forefront of the market, leading the Corvus programme of designing systems for reducing emission levels. All the above mentioned Terrain models are homologated to T1b tractor regulation.

Corvus is building the Terrain for work primarily in agriculture, livestock, forestry, turf care and construction but they are highly adaptable vehicles ready for any demanding off-road workout. Boss ORV will launch the Terrain UTV’s in early September but there will be an opportunity for a preview on the Ace ATV stand at the Royal Three Counties Show on 14th -16th June and the ATV Services (Scotland) stand at the Royal Highland Show on 20th – 23rd June.

“In the meantime,” says Phil “we will be building a small, specialised dealer network throughout the UK to offer customers the highest level of service and support.”

For more information about the Corvus Terrain range you can call 01597 810188

E-mail: sales@bossorv.co.uk  Web: www.corvus-utv.co.uk

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Toro At Peterborough Golf Clubs

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Toro At Peterborough Golf Clubs: The family-managed duo of golf courses, Thorpe Wood Golf Course and Orton Meadows Golf Course in Peterborough, continues its joint ambition to switch to Toro with the arrival of its latest fleet.

Golf is in Simon Fitton’s blood. Not only is he a fourth-generation golf professional, he’s also the third generation of the Fitton family to be managing the two courses. Simon assumed the role of managing director of Nene Golf Ltd, the company managing both sites, in 2010 and has been adding more Toro to the shed on an annual basis – and has also added a rescue dog called Toro to the ranks!

Toro At Peterborough Golf Clubs

Simon says: “I took over the company from my dad in 2010, but the first Toro arrived a decade before me. Since then, we’ve been on route to becoming all Toro and I foresee that being achieved in three to four years. Every year we switch more out and get one step closer.”

The reason for this, Simon says, is the service from Reesink Turfcare and rep Julian Copping is “surprisingly good” and the quality and reliability from Toro is “sound”.

“I met Julian pretty much as soon as I joined and the relationship was there straight away. It was all good, actually surprisingly good – very natural – and as a result it has easily developed into what it is today. Julian continues to help us sort out what we need and makes the process very easy.”

The machines delivered in this most recent order includes, among others, a Reelmaster 3100-D with Sidewinder, Workman HDX utility vehicle, ProPass 200 topdresser and an ex-demo SandPro 5040, which, with up to 17 attachments all of which can be changed in under a minute, is the perfect addition for two busy clubs.

So, with the machinery replacement programme taken care of, Simon can concentrate on the recent developments across both courses driven by the changing industry: “We’re already unusual in that we’re a business comprising two courses, in two locations offering our customers two great challenges. But the industry is changing and we’re making updates to both courses to make sure we don’t get left behind. These include a 23-bay covered floodlit driving range, the building of which meant we had to adjust parts of the course to accommodate it, a large putting green by the first tee and a chipping tee by the 10th. Meanwhile, Orton Meadows has an updated 12-hole Pitch and Putt course to introduce more people in the area to the game and provide somewhere for players in the area to perfect their shots.”

With two 18-hole courses and all these new additions to the clubs, it is probably quite a challenging role for Toro? “You’d never notice,” says Simon. “Toro takes everything we throw at it, whether it’s course maintenance or more challenging build projects, in its stride. And you can really notice the difference as we get more Toro – you see how the quality cut, finish and care spreads to cover more of the course.”

So how about Toro the dog, how does he fit into the story? “That’s a story that was just meant to be,” says Simon. “I already had a dog called Welly and although I wasn’t looking for another, I’d heard of a rescue dog that needed a home. His name was Toro and as soon as I saw him I knew he was coming home with me! I don’t know why he was given the name of Toro but it certainly suits us – he arrived and in the same week so did a new arrival of Toro machines!”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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New Ventrac Package For CGM

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New Ventrac Package For CGM: The CGM Group (East Anglia) Ltd is one of the latest landscape contractors to purchase a Ventrac package from Price Turfcare. Supplied by local dealer Ernest Doe & Sons, the package includes a Ventrac 4500 compact tractor and Finishing deck.

Managing director Tim Glover and his wife Julie started the business over 35 years ago carrying out grass cutting for the local authority in West Dereham and now provides grounds maintenance, landscaping, arboriculture, facilities management and pest control services to commercial and domestic customers throughout East Anglia. The Group employs over 180 staff working on a wide range of contracts from local authorities, agricultural processors, housing associations, schools and sports clubs through to one-off hard landscaping projects. CGM Group has bases in King’s Lynn, Norwich, Cambridge and Peterborough and regularly undertake projects in Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex and Suffolk.

New Ventrac Package For CGM Group

Explaining the rationale behind the purchase of the Ventrac package, Head of Operations Marcus Glover said,

“We were in the market for a new machine for our contracts with large factories and distribution centres and saw the Ventrac at LAMMA. I spoke to Rupert Price and he arranged a demonstration, which took place in February. It performed really well and we took delivery soon after. At the moment it is used exclusively for these mowing contracts, but we’ll be looking at the Power Rake and Power Brush attachments later this year as we can see more applications that will suit our business. It’s certainly a versatile machine.”

Adrian (Ady) Seymour is the principal operator and has been with CGM for 12 years. Commenting on the attributes of the machine he said,

“This is a great machine for the operator; it’s comfortable, highly manoeuvrable and very easy to use. The hand controls are intuitive and the articulating frame means we can get into tight areas, reducing additional strimming time. A tank of fuel lasts all day and once I’ve finished, I can clean it down with a light pressure washing. The deck flips up almost vertically, so that helps with cleaning, greasing and blade changing. Under the bonnet everything on the Kubota engine is easily accessible and I can easily access the radiator to blow it clear with a compressed air line.

New Ventrac Package For CGM Group

“With its eight-wheel configuration it’s also very safe on slopes and good in wet conditions. The Finishing deck leaves a really nice finish, so much so, that I’ve been complimented by senior managers at several of our customers when I stripe up the roadside verges and entrance roads to their sites.”

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The ClearWater Cup 2019

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The ClearWater Cup 2019: Bishopswood Golf Club was the venue for this year’s CourseCare Cup held recently when the South Coast Greenkeepers played the Wessex Managers.

Bishopswood, a challenging 9 hole par 72 course receives very good reviews and 9 holes is certainly no indication of it being easy! Lee James and his greenkeeping team had ensured that this pleasant course was at its best. With an ideal day weather-wise for play, both teams set off with the Managers keen to prise the trophy away from the Greenkeepers.

The ClearWater Cup 2019

The Managers, captained by Burley’s Jane Harfield, did prevail and enjoyed an emphatic three matches to one win! Congratulations to them and commiserations to the Greenkeepers.

Matthew Mears, General Manager of Acumen’s ClearWater Division presented the ClearWater Cup to Jane Harfield and the day was rounded off by drinks and a meal for all with thanks given to Acumen for their sponsorship for this popular event.

The ClearWater Cup 2019

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