Leigh Expand Dennis Fleet

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Leigh Expand Dennis Fleet: Keith Porter, head groundsman at Leigh Sports Village in Greater Manchester, has expanded his fleet of Dennis mowers by purchasing four G860 cylinder mowers and four PRO 34R rotary mowers.

Leigh Sports Village certainly lives up to its name by comprising of a main stadium pitch – a Desso Hybrid GrassMaster, three additional soil based sand ameliorated pitches with primary and secondary drainage and irrigation; and two full size, three seven-a-side and a 5-a-side floodlit 4G synthetic pitches. The village also features an indoor sports centre and a swimming pool.

Leigh Expand Dennis Fleet

It is home to a number of professional sports teams including rugby league side Leigh Centurions and Manchester United FC U23’s, U19’s and most recently the ladies team. It is also used by local teams and organisations such as Leigh East Amateur Rugby Club, Leigh Athletic FC, Team Elite Football Academy, Pro Football Academy and various age groups of Leigh United FC and Hindley Green Juniors.

Keith has been the head groundsman at this impressive facility for nearly eleven years and in that time has excelled in improving the quality of the playing surfaces.

To cut and prepare the pitches for match days he has long relied on the Dennis G860 cylinder mower. However, with games coming thick and fast, and armed with some rather ageing rotary mowers, Keith felt the time was right to add to his Dennis armoury.

“Quite often, we will have back-to-back games and have three games in a week – so we need good equipment for a quick turn-around,” he said. “Our old rotaries were about four years old and had become unreliable. I’ve used lots of Dennis machines in my time and they have always been incredibly reliable so we decided to look at their new rotary mower.

“We had a PRO 34R on a demonstration and were really impressed with it so we decided to go ahead and purchase four. It was also the ideal opportunity to bring in more G860’s because they have always given us great results.

“They are both light machines compared to competitors, so they are lighter on the pitch and therefore there is not as much compaction.”

The new Dennis PRO 34R is a 34” (860mm) rotary mower which has been designed to help groundsmen achieve an aesthetically pleasing appearance and desired playing surface. It is ideal for sports pitches and lawns producing the enviable ‘Dennis Stripes’ while a powerful vacuum flow collects debris quickly and efficiently. The angle of the cutting deck and twin blades can be easily adjusted using a single ‘click adjuster’ ensuring the mower is suitable for changing conditions and meeting groundsmen’s requirements.

Keith believes the two mowers perfectly complement one another and that both play a vital role in his maintenance programme.

“We use the G860’s to cut the pitches for match preparation and then the day after the games the rotaries are used to clean up and present the pitches in time for the next game,” he said. “The rotaries keep it free from debris and nicely stripes them up – in fact, the presentation on the PRO 34R is very comparable to a cylinder mower.

“The rotaries also save us so much time because before we had the PRO 34R’s we used to have six rotary mowers out there at one time but now we just have four which do the job in a faster time. This is because there are two blades as opposed to one and a wider cut. A quick turnaround is essential here especially if you are going from rugby to football.

For a number of years now the Dennis G860 has been the number one choice for groundsmen like Keith. Lightweight at just 166kg; it is easy to manoeuvre and comfortable to operate. The handlebar console houses the controls for – throttle, parking brake, roller drive and cutting cylinder drive. The mower also features a large diameter front roller with an adjustable scraper which has been designed for a precise height of cut control, giving an excellent finish on every occasion. The Dennis G860 also features an interchangeable cassette system to assist with a wide range of tasks.

“What I like about Dennis as a company is that they are very interested in your opinion,” Keith continued. “They are always asking you about your experience with their mowers and ask if they could make any improvements. They then go away and genuinely listen.

“It just adds to the overall package and everything about the company is great. The mowers are British made, they have been around for a long, long time, they put a lot of thought into the machinery based on industry feedback and their main priority is their customer.”

For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact Dennis 01332 824 777 or visit www.dennisuk.com

For more news, reviews and insightful views, you can follow Dennis on Twitter @DennisMowers and like the company’s Facebook page – www.facebook.com/DennisMowersUK. You can also view the latest Dennis videos by visiting www.youtube.com/DennisMowers

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Beau Desert Invest In Toro

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Beau Desert Invest In Toro: 660 feet above sea level and hidden among Staffordshire’s Cannock Forest, the unique location of Beau Desert Golf Club means the club has its own microclimate and a specific set of challenges when it comes to course maintenance. It’s for these reasons the club has signed its first lease deal with Toro.

Course manager Steve Mucklow explains that with colder temperatures for longer periods of the year, the risk of cutting the turf of the 18-hole 6,458-yard course too short, resulting in damage or stress, increases. Having equipment that provides a precise cut and great finish without damaging the grass is vital, hence the deal with Toro.

Beau Desert Invest In Toro

“Having a high-quality fleet to deal with the demanding maintenance of the course is incredibly important and I’m confident Toro will be able to deal with that and at the same time improve the course, raising the standards and making it easier for the team in the process.”

Steve continues: “I’ve been course manager for 25 years and our fleet has always featured Toro equipment. We’d been wanting to invest in a full Toro fleet for a while, but the timing hadn’t been right. As soon as it was, we turned to Redtech Machinery and Reesink Turfcare and set about discussing the best combination of machines for what we wanted to achieve.”

And aeration was a priority meaning the ProCore 648 made the list, as Steve explains: “I’ve been looking to try out the ProCore 648 for a few years now, and although we haven’t been using it for long, it’s now a firm favourite of mine. It’s going to be really exciting to really put it through its paces here and see what it delivers.”

In addition, the club’s new fleet also includes a Greensmaster 3400 TriFlex, Groundsmaster 4100-D, Reelmaster 3100-D Sidewinder, RM3555-D and Workman GTX.

With plans in the making to further improve the club, including restructuring the bunkers, Steve is confident that “Toro will deliver on every aspect” from course maintenance to course improvements. “It’s a very exciting time to see the club taking its next steps to progress and move forward, especially with Toro on board.”

Jon Lewis, area sales manager at Reesink Turfcare says: “I am extremely delighted that Steve and Beau Desert Golf Club have chosen to enter a partnership with Reesink Turfcare and Toro. With the addition of a new Toro fleet, it will only help the team here to enhance a great course even further! Particularly when it comes to managing the challenges created by its unique climate.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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New TYM Mower At The Game Fair

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New TYM Mower At The Game Fair: A new TYM mower with the capabilities of a tractor is set to change the way customers maintain their land and will be on TYM’s stand at The Game Fair in Hatfield in July.

The innovative T194 is generating acclaim in the market because it means customers can have a product that has the features of a ride on mower, with the additional functionality of a tractor.

New TYM Mower At The Game Fair

TYM sales manager Steven Haynes says: “As the nation’s largest celebration of the Great British countryside, The Game Fair is a perfect fit for the new T194. It appeals to the woodland and forestry, estate management and gardens sectors with its ability to maintain lawns and gardens to an excellent standard, as well as comfortably dealing with the clearing, carrying, transporting and towing jobs you’d associate with a tractor.”

Equipped with a 54-inch mid-mounted deck, mowing height can be adjusted from the seat via the onboard height-of-cut lever which is easy to use and intuitive to set. Its tractor credentials hinge on the category one three-point linkage and 540 rpm rear PTO which allows for many rear-mounted attachments to be fitted and enabling it to be used for numerous tasks around the garden, orchard, woods and fields.

It can just as easily handle the tasks of summer and autumn, as well as winter sweeping and clear-up, and spring aeration (among many!). This is what gives it its reputation as an all-season machine.

Joining the T194 on stand will be a selection of tractors all suited for rural countryside applications. The TS25, T293, T353 and T433 and T503 will be representing the subcompact and mid-duty ranges from TYM.

Also returning to the show is a selection of SICMA attachments including flail mowers and rotary tillers, which launched at The Game Fair in 2017 to great success, plus 1st Products’ UA40 AERA-Vator which features a unique oscillating tine system that simultaneously prepares the soil surface while aerating up to a depth of 9cm. All will be displayed attached to a TYM tractor to show how versatile these machines can be and what a perfect match they make with these attachments. TYM Tractors, SICMA and 1st Products are all distributed in the UK by Reesink Turfcare.

Steven concludes: “The Game Fair is a key event in our calendar. We have a broad product line which is perfectly suited to customers who visit the show. We have products to meet and exceed their needs and expectations and are delighted to be bringing the T194 which only serves to strengthen our standing in this market.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Dennis & SISIS Seminar Success

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Dennis & SISIS Seminar Success: Dennis & SISIS have completed another successful season of  seminars, with the insightful events welcoming over 500 attendees at various venues throughout the UK.

Dennis & SISIS have, for a number of years, hosted free-to-attend educational seminars designed to educate groundstaff on a variety of topics associated with sports turf maintenance. High quality speakers and interesting subjects have ensured these seminars have a reputation as ‘must-attend’ events with groundstaff travelling considerable distances to be in attendance.

Dennis & SISIS Seminar Success

While the seminars continue to go from strength to strength, Dennis and SISIS continue to evolve the seminars with the people of the industry in mind, and this year, the British manufacturers launched a new multi-sport groundcare seminar which featured a number of high quality speakers discussing subjects such as renovations, sports-turf construction, drainage, winter sports pitches and the future of groundcare maintenance.

This new event, which took place at St. Albans School, Woollam Trust Playing Fields, saw an incredible 220 delegates in attendance and attracted grounds staff from all over the UK including volunteers and professionals representing schools, sports clubs, local authorities and contractors.

Nick Lockhart, cricket professional and head of grounds and gardens at Felsted School in Essex, attended the event and claimed that the Dennis and SISIS seminars are essential for anyone who wants to take their sports surfaces to the next level.

“It has been thoroughly enjoyable, informative and thought provoking,” he said. “I would go as far as saying that it is a must-attend event for people in this industry. It has been incredibly interesting listening to all of the speakers who have all raised great points that we can take away with us and put into practice. Speakers aside, the networking opportunities are also important because it gives us a chance to speak to other delegates, find out what they might be doing differently to us and hopefully learn from them too.”

The ever popular Dennis and SISIS bowls seminars, which have been credited for improving the greens at numerous bowls clubs throughout the country, offered tips on topics such as early spring maintenance of bowling greens, grant funding support, and choosing the correct grass seed, chemicals and fertilizers.

Kev Brazier, a contract greenkeeper working in partnership with Harpenden Bowls Club, attended the seminar at the Herts Bowling Club in Watford and felt that it was a great opportunity to enhance his greenkeeping knowledge.

“It was an excellent and really informative seminar,” he said. “The speakers had great knowledge and they presented it in a way in which everyone could understand. It was great for networking and there was a broad range of subjects. They were all incredibly relevant and I took a lot away from seminar.”

As well as hosting their own events, Dennis and SISIS are committed to supporting sports turf education wherever possible and this year they also offered their expertise at eight Rugby Football Union (RFU) Pitch Maintenance seminars.

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

For more news, reviews and insightful views, you can follow Dennis on Twitter and Instagram @DennisMowers and SISIS @SISISMachinery. You can like the Facebook page – www.facebook.com/DennisMowersUK and www.facebook.com/SISISMachinery. You can also view the latest Dennis videos by visiting www.youtube.com/DennisMowers and www.youtube.com/SISISMachinery

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