Scottish turfgrass demo day a success

/in , /by

Scottish turfgrass demo day a success: More than 100 greenkeepers, groundsmen and grounds maintenance contractors from across Scotland attended an amenity demonstration day at Falkirk Tryst Golf Club on 11th March, with those who braved the day’s stormy weather able to see some of the latest golf and sports pitch specific machinery and turf renovation equipment in action.

Featuring a range of machinery demonstrations from a wide selection of industry-leading suppliers, the maiden ‘Scottish Amenity Demonstration Day’ was jointly organised by Germinal GB, Allgrass Turfcare and Campey Turf Care Systems. The event was also sponsored by Cub Cadet, Seddon, Fairways GM, Fleet Line Markers and Steadfast Site Supplies and was kindly hosted by Falkirk Tryst Golf Club.

Scottish turfgrass demo day a success

Scottish turfgrass demo day a success

“Despite the weather’s best efforts to disrupt proceedings, the inaugural Scottish Amenity Demonstration Day was a great success,” explains Alan Thomson, Technical Sales Representative for Germinal in Scotland. “As a group of like-minded suppliers, we recognised that there are no amenity specific events in Scotland where greenkeepers, groundsmen and turf care professionals can talk to multiple manufacturers and suppliers in a single location.

“We therefore worked together to organise the free-to-attend event to give visitors the chance to talk freely with a range of manufacturers about the latest golf and sports-specific grass seed mixtures and to see a selection of cutting-edge turf maintenance machinery – including the latest electrical and emissions-free equipment – in action.”

John Rushforth of Allgrass Turfcare extended a special thank you to Falkirk Tryst Golf Club for hosting the event: “Head greenkeeper, Gary McCandless and his team worked miracles to ensure that, despite heavily waterlogged ground conditions and torrential rain in the days prior to the event, the majority of demonstrations were still able to go ahead.

“Unfortunately, the wet conditions did prevent some machines from operating, but the sheer number of attendees proved there’s a clear appetite for this type of event in Scotland and we are already discussing the potential for future events.”

“Feedback from the event has been extremely positive,” added Richard Heywood of Campey Turf Care. “It was genuinely very gratifying to see so many faces from within the Scottish amenity sector coming together to learn about new developments within the industry and to try out the latest amenity-specific kit. This type of event is as much about networking on a semi-social basis as it is about promoting the latest machinery, and we look forward to organising similar open days in the future.”

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 and Instagram 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.

New seed blend for golf greens

/in , /by

New seed blend for golf greens: Germinal has introduced a new seed mixture to its Grade ‘A’ portfolio of golf-specific grass blends: containing two top-performing perennial ryegrasses and a high-ranking creeping bentgrass, A8 Ultrafine Ryegreens is the perfect ‘rescue’ mixture for the eradication of early season scarring.

A8 Ultrafine Ryegreens contains a blend of three of the very best cultivars: 45% Cabrio (ultrafine perennial ryegrass), 45% Escapade (perennial ryegrass) and 10% 007 DSB (creeping bentgrass).

New seed blend for golf greens

New seed blend for golf greens

Conceived specifically for greenkeepers who want to overseed their golf greens with a blend containing ryegrasses, the new mixture produces an exceptionally fine-leaved sward which is tolerant of low cutting heights (down to 3mm). It also delivers rapid germination and establishment in cooler conditions and boasts the added advantages of good disease resistance and excellent winter colour.

Cabrio was first introduced as a new cultivar in 2016 and went straight to the top of the BSPB’s Table L1 in 2017 with a fineness of leaf score of 8.8. It subsequently retained this position in 2018 (8.8) and 2019 (8.7) and holds the top spot again in 2020 thanks to another score of 8.7: a rating which puts it half a point clear of its nearest rivals at 8.2. Cabrio also ranks highly on Table G4 (perennial ryegrasses mown at 4-7mm) where it’s 8.4 score for fineness of leaf is the highest.

Escapade also boasts exceptional fineness of leaf (8.1 in Table L1) and offers superb resistance to Red Thread (6.1). It also displays excellent shoot density (7.7) and visual merit (7.6) as well as strong winter and summer greenness scores (5.8 and 6.0 respectively).

Meanwhile, 007 DSB, which was bred in the US using 24 parent plants to produce a single cultivar with a prostrate growth habit, high shoot density and good wear tolerance in a wide range of climatic conditions, has won plaudits wherever it has been used including at Ryder Cup and US Open courses and at the PGA Masters at Wentworth.

“By combining two top-performing perennial ryegrasses with a modern ‘superbent’, A8 Ultrafine Ryegreens creates a contemporary blend of seeds which is suitable for all greens renovation works, but especially when making good damaged areas: the ryegrasses provide initial rapid cover but will not persist in the long-term once cutting heights are consistently lower than 4mm – but by then their job will have been done and the creeping bentgrass will take over,” explains Richard Brown, Germinal Amenity Sales Manager.

“Cabrio is still the number one choice for greenkeepers who want to produce an exceptionally fine-leaved, hard wearing and aesthetically attractive sward that can not only tolerate a close mowing regime, but which will also give good ball roll or bounce. Similarly, Escapade provides added sward resilience, whilst the addition of 007 DSB, which has a lower water and nutrient requirement than older creeping bent varieties, is the ideal companion as it adds useful sward density to complement the bunched growth habits of Cabrio and Escapade.”

A8 Ultrafine Ryegreens is suitable for cutting down to a height of 3mm and has a recommended sowing rate of 20g/m2 (200kgs/ha) and overseeding rate of 10-15g/m2 (100-150kgs/ha). It is also suitable for sowing and overseeding tees and collars.

For more information contact Germinal on 01522 868714 or visit www.germinalamenity.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 and Instagram 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.

Woodland Management made easier for Wildernesse GC

/in , /by

Woodland Management made easier for Wildernesse GC: A CM220TMP woodchipper from GreenMech has transformed the woodland management programme for Wildernesse Golf Club.

The heavily tree-lined woodland/parkland course in Sevenoaks, Kent, requires year-round thinning, pruning and felling. The new 9” machine has significantly improved the productivity for Course Manager Mark Todd and his team.

Woodland Management made easier for Wildernesse GC

Woodland Management made easier for Wildernesse GC

With classified ancient woodland, Chance Wood, at the very heart of the course, the scale of the task at hand led Mark to look for an upgrade to their existing machinery at the end of 2019. “I spoke with our local dealer Burden Bros who suggested we upgrade from a 6” to a 9” machine and demonstrated the GreenMech CM220TMP. You could see straight away how it was going to be so much more effective at dealing with the large quantities of material we have to process.”

The course woodland predominantly consists of beech, birch and oak, however it’s the holly in the understory of the canopy that causes a real issue. “Some areas are smothered in it and the awkwardly shaped branches used to be really difficult to get into our old chipper unless you spent time snedding all the branches off. The CM220TMP’s large hopper means we can take down holly trees up to 20-foot-tall and get them straight into the chipper – reducing handling and stopping backlogs. Thinning this out improves not only the aesthetic and playability qualities, it also allows extra air and light to get down to the playing surfaces.”

“Being tractor mounted means we can take the chipper wherever it is needed, with the chip we produce dispersed in the woodland, used in some of the decorative beds or given to the members for use in their gardens. One of the really great things is GreenMech’s round disc blade chipping technology. Not only does it process more efficiently but when they blunt you simply turn them to the next sharp edge which means that, compared to traditional straight blades, you get three times the life out of each set.”

Mark was also thankful for having the chipper at their disposal during the recent storms, where the course experienced strong winds and fallen trees. “The chipper disposed of these without a problem” Mark explains. “While it comes into its own over the winter months, we have projects to work on throughout the year and with the CM220TMP, these have now become much easier.”

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 and Instagram 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.

Planning for a brighter future

/in , , /by

Planning for a brighter future: These are challenging times for us all. First and foremost, everyone at SALTEX hopes that you, your colleagues, businesses, and your families are keeping safe and well. Recognising the challenges in front of us, we wish to assure you that planning for SALTEX 2020 continues to be in full swing.

After recent consultation with our strategic partners we are hopeful that the situation we face today will have passed and that SALTEX will take place on 4 and 5 November. We understand though that this is an evolving situation. Recent exhibitions at the NEC that were scheduled to take place this March and April have already promoted the fact that they have rescheduled for October and November this year. This provides us with added confidence to continue preparations for SALTEX 2020.

Planning for a brighter future

Planning for a brighter future

SALTEX has faced many challenges in its 74-year history and everyone associated with the exhibition – organisers, exhibitors, visitors – the groundscare industry, has always shown resilience. It is this strength and unity that defines this fantastic industry.

We are ever mindful of the government advice and guidance. We live in hope that after this period of darkness, SALTEX and the groundscare industry will be a shining light as we plan for a brighter future and return to better days ahead.

SALTEX 2020 will be a great opportunity for the industry to come together, to re-unite and to look ahead to the future. It is our hope that we can all gather as one and that SALTEX’s 75th anniversary will be the most vibrant and celebrated event in its long history.

In the meantime, we have already taken the necessary measures to ensure that our team can continue the work required to deliver SALTEX this November, while at the same time planning for every eventuality.

Of course, it is necessary to adapt to the uncertainty we are all experiencing, as government advice can change at any time. We are committed to keeping you up to date every step of the way.

Please take care of yourselves and loved ones and remember to offer extra support to those most vulnerable. Try and maintain a positive outlook and we look forward to brighter days ahead – because they will come.

If you have any questions, please email in the first instance:

Matthew Knight – matthewknight@rabdf.co.uk

Charles Neale – charlesneale@rabdf.co.uk

Luke Perry – lperry@iog.org

Geoff Webb
Chief Executive Officer
The Institute of Groundsmanship

For more information visit www.iogsaltex.com

Follow SALTEX on Twitter & Instagram @IOG_SALTEX and Facebook – www.facebook.com/IOGSALTEX

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 and Instagram 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 and SISIS join AGIF

/in , /by

Dennis and SISIS join AGIF: Dennis Mowers and SISIS Equipment, leading British manufacturers of innovative professional sports grounds maintenance equipment, have become a member of the Asian Golf Industry Federation (AGIF).

Divisions of the Howardson Group, Dennis and SISIS have more than 90 years of experience helping people create their desired end result and have invested heavily in the future with new products, new facilities, latest machine tools, people skills and design technology.

Dennis and SISIS join AGIF

Dennis and SISIS join AGIF

Synonymous with reliable, high-quality equipment and after sales service, Dennis and SISIS offer a wide range of cylinder mowers, scarifiers, aerators, slitters, sweepers and brushes that enable groundsmen, greenkeepers and gardeners to create their perfect surface.

“Our machines are used at high profile international stadia around the world, many top football, cricket, golf and bowling clubs as well as local authorities, schools, colleges and universities,” said Toby Clarke, the company’s International Business Director.

“Our reputation is built not only on the quality of our products but also on the high level of customer and technical support provided by our experienced field and office-based teams and our professional dealership network. We are committed to exceeding expectations by the loyalty customers place in our brand, products and people.

“I’ve been working here for 26 years and all I’ve seen is growth. To see the company develop in this way and to be a part of it now at a more management and strategic level is fantastic,” added Clarke.

Dennis and SISIS have been long-time supporters of industry associations and are corporate members of the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA), STRI (formerly the Sports Turf Research Institute), the Federation of European Golf Greenkeepers Associations (FEGGA), the Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) and Sports and Play Construction Association (SAPCA).

Clarke said: “We’re delighted to expand our reach by becoming a Full Business Member of the Asian Golf Industry Federation. From tee-to-green, Dennis and SISIS provide a full range of equipment for all golf course maintenance requirements. Superintendents, owners, technicians and other golf management professionals can look forward to seeing a great line-up of products at forthcoming events around the region, including November’s AGIF Expo in Bangkok.”

Eric Lynge, the AGIF’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “Dennis and SISIS have long been respected and trusted names in the turf maintenance industry in the United Kingdom and Europe. We look forward to working with Toby and his colleagues and helping them to enhance their businesses in Asia.”

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 and Instagram 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.