New lease of life at Chorley Golf Club

/in , /by

New lease of life at Chorley Golf Club: Chorley Golf Club has got its 125-year anniversary year off to a good start by updating its machinery fleet.

The course sits in 127 acres between Bolton and Preston, drawing players out of both major conurbations to be challenged while taking in prime views that extend as far as the Lake District and North Wales.

New lease of life at Chorley Golf Club

New lease of life at Chorley Golf Club

With healthy membership numbers and a high number of visiting players, Head Greenkeeper Tony Grayson and his team of four – deputy John Cottam, Chris Riley, Stuart Angus, and Daniel Woan – are working to meet expectations every day.

“I try to produce the best course I can every day, as we have so many competitions”, he says. “It’s all about the presentation of the course – people want what they see on TV.”

Living up to the manicured greens and fairways seen on televised competitions is no mean feat in the north west of England, where consistent rainfall and clay soils present major challenges.

“The ground is very quick to get wet but also quick to dry as we are on a couple inches of topsoil and thatch on the fairways,” Tony said. “The bunkers are really difficult to maintain in bad weather because the clay contaminates the sand. Others might put in liners nowadays, but we’re on a limited resource and it costs a fortune.”

Pests and diseases, particularly fusarium, anthracnose, worm casts and leatherjackets are an increasing challenge too, with many chemicals being taken off the market. Frequently warm and wet conditions make the pressure relentless.

Keeping the course in top condition takes attention to detail, and the team can afford little machinery downtime. A breakdown can threaten to overwhelm the team so when they were handed the keys to a brand-new shed just before the first covid lockdown in March 2020, the impetus was there to invest in new machinery.

Tony said: “It had been difficult to invest in machinery because of the previous sheds in terms of their security and the environment – you don’t want to be keeping machines in damp conditions.

“We had an ageing fleet and the reliability, particularly of our previous rough mower, was going down. When you’ve got the grass growing like mad and a rough mower down, it’s difficult to manage.”

The team’s new shed now stores a John Deere 7500 fairway mower, a 9009A TerrainCut rough mower, an 8000A E E-Cut Hybrid fairway mower, a XUV86SM Gator, three 220SL SL PrecisionCut walk-behind greens mower and two 2500 greens mowers.

Tony said: “Looking at other brands, I found that John Deere, as well as being at the top, was offering value for money as well. Once I demoed everything, it was obvious what I was looking for. The machines are now specific to our course and environment so we can go out with more confidence, getting a nicer cut.

“The 8000AE is so versatile and it can even act as a backup fairways mower by quickly raising the height of cut. It is our key machine and the one that players will notice in terms of the appearance of the surrounds and approaches. Now, the green-side bunkers are part of the surround and we’re able to cut around this area with the new machine, making the presentation so much better.”

For the majority of the new machines, Tony opted to use John Deere Finance. And with a strong relationship with John Deere’s specialist servicing dealer Balmers GM spanning 20 years, the team at Chorley has direct access to support to maintain the machines. For its flagship machine, the 9009A, Tony reasoned that an operating lease, whereby the team would only pay for the use of the machine, would be the best option.

“The club looked at the hours our machines were doing – and with the rough mower doing the most hours, we took it out on an operational lease as we have a lot of semi-rough, and will look to change after five years.”

Following a successful 2021 with summer on the greenkeepers’ side and armed with a new machinery fleet, Tony’s sights are now set firmly on future proofing the course – and the reliability of the new machines will be crucial to ensuring this work can happen.

“Our aim now is to make the course longer by building a few more tee zones set right back on the course’s boundaries to cater for an increasing number of golfers hitting the ball further. All this has to be done without disrupting golfers’ experience or making a mess with the heavier equipment required.

“Our industry isn’t without its challenges but investing in the machines has really given our greenkeepers more pride in their work, and the machines are doing a fantastic job at presenting the course in the best light.”

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.

Wiedenmann Terra Rake at Western Gailes GC

/in , /by

Wiedenmann Terra Rake at Western Gailes GC: One of Scotland’s finest links courses, Western Gailes GC, on the north Ayrshire coast, is three years into a long-term project to restore more of the links effect to the rough on the highly acclaimed site.

Course Manager, Stewart Brown, who took up his role in 2017, has targeted a specific area of the course to improve definition and quality. Already by harnessing the expertise of his seven greens staff, progress is being made.

Wiedenmann Terra Rake at Western Gailes GC

Wiedenmann Terra Rake at Western Gailes GC

“We’ve undertaken some fairly significant course changes. One key project has been to re-align major areas of rough back into fairways, so swathes of   long-term rough are now actively being prepared and groomed to become fairways,” said Stewart Brown.

Removing organic matter then, considerably increasing fine fescue grasses by additional seeding, is still a work in progress. However, a recently acquired Wiedenmann Terra Rake has an important role to play.

“We’ll be using the rake to thin these areas out regularly,” continued Stewart.” It is crucial be able to use the rake so we can avoid lifting the turf and re-laying it.”

Already familiar with the Terra Rake’s results having borrowed one for an extended period, Stewart was keen to purchase his own 2.3 m version from local dealer, Fairways GM, exclusive supplier of Wiedenmann UK in Scotland.

“We’ve wanted one for a while. We have a Super 500 and those two go hand -in-hand for rough management, particularly for thinning out the rough and removing dead material. Together, they speed the process.

Stewart’s plan for the Terra Rake means it will be active across Western Gailes’ heavy rough, the semi rough and on the fairways.

“We’ve rough to manage throughout the course on every hole. In places the terrain is quite undulating. I like that the Terra Rake comes with an adjustment so you can lessen or increase the intensity of the tine vibration.

“Our heavier rough will be tackled twice a year. The rake, operating in both dry and wet conditions means I’ve a flexible tool to deploy when other work can’t go ahead.  As we go through the season. we will use it for the semi roughs to stand the grass up before we cut, to make the task of cutting easier and, of course, to benefit presentation.”

“Some other fairway areas will also benefit from more attention. A couple of drought periods in the last two years, has weakened them, so the rake will go in to pull out organic matter; then we’ll blow the dead matter to the side to be picked up and collected with the Super 500. The spring tines on the Terra Rake help create space and a receptive seed bed before we follow on with the Wiedenmann Terra Float seeder.

“We made a healthy start in February and March. The bulk of the overseeding works tends to take place at the end of the year but we will still be using it to remove dead material earlier on in the season.”

The arrival of their own Terra Rake gives Stewart and his team an impressive fleet of Wiedenmann machines, all purchased from Fairways GM.

“When I joined, we had a Super 500 and a Terra Float. We added a Terra Spike GXi8 HD for aeration; a Terra Brush which we use throughout winter for brushing our fairways and now, the rake. Just about a full Wiedenmann set, so not bad at all,” concluded Stewart.

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.

Greenkeeper delivers supplies to Ukraine

/in , /by

Greenkeeper delivers supplies to Ukraine: BIGGA member Bryn Roberts and a small team are travelling to Chelm to deliver medical supplies, goods and a 4×4 vehicle. 

Read the full article from Golf Magic here

Greenkeeper delivers supplies to Ukraine

Greenkeeper delivers supplies to Ukraine

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.

Jack Fairhead wins John Deere X127 mower

/in , /by

Jack Fairhead wins John Deere X127 mower: When Jack Fairhead heard he’d won a brand new John Deere X127 ride-on mower worth £3500, he couldn’t believe his luck.

With approximately half an acre of garden and lawns to maintain, Jack had previously relied on neighbours to help cut the grass and was considering what type of ride-on mower he could buy when he entered the John Deere competition in the spring.

Jack Fairhead wins John Deere X127 mower

Jack Fairhead wins John Deere X127 mower

“I’ve never won anything before, and now I’ve got one of the best mowers on the market,” said Jack. “I’m going to enjoy many seasons of mowing with my new John Deere.”

Jack will now be mowing his lawn in comfort. His John Deere X127 ride-on mower features cruise control as well as a hydrostatic transmission and side-by-side pedals which enable the operator to change direction without raising a foot. The car style dashboard also makes the mower very straightforward to operate.

The mower has been delivered by Shropshire based John Deere dealership Rea Valley Tractors. Dan Brown, RVT Gardening & Groundcare Territory Sales and Paul Roberts, RVT Workshop Manager at RVT Newport depot carried out a professional handover, showing Jack how to gain the optimum use out of the mower for his lawn. Paul also explained how the RVT service team is available to support the lawn mower for any maintenance and servicing requirements.

John Deere Territory Manager Marcus Morris added: “Mr Fairhead is clearly delighted at taking delivery of his new lawn tractor. We’re very pleased that our competition has found such a worthy winner.”

The competition involved visiting the John Deere website www.deere.co.uk and correctly answering questions about the X127 lawn tractor.

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.

The Agrovista Amenity Academy

/in , /by

The Agrovista Amenity Academy: The Agrovista Amenity Academy, which is free to sign-up to, is an online learning resource providing in-depth Knowledge courses on subjects such as turf disease, chemicals, product application, turf pests, managing moss, frost, weeds, and thatch as well as courses for all products sold by Agrovista Amenity. 

The Product courses have been designed so that the individual can fully understand and get maximum benefits from the products they purchase. With knowledge and product courses being added on a regular basis, Academy students are guaranteed to have a wide variety to choose from.

The Agrovista Amenity Academy

The Agrovista Amenity Academy

The Academy has already shown significant growth with over 11,000 CPD points awarded so far. Furthermore, many greenkeepers and course managers are benefitting from a CPD partnership with BIGGA, which enables BIGGA’s members to embark on any course they choose without having to go through an employer. BIGGA allocates up to 4 points for all successfully completed courses and can vary depending on content and length.

The Academy website also boasts a highly sophisticated weather system which helps people make better decisions for the week ahead. Understanding the effects of weather when managing sports turf surfaces is a key skill required by all turf managers and CPD points are awarded for studying the weather report and passing a short test.

“It has grown bigger than we ever expected it to,” said Karl Parry, the founder of the education platform. “The amount of CPD points we have awarded really is quite phenomenal.

“I think that the product and knowledge portfolios that we can build is endless. Agrovista has an incredible number of resources combined with highly knowledgeable and experienced professionals. Both sections will continue to expand and will push the amenity standard forward.”

As the Agrovista Academy continues to grow, so too does the number of positive reviews.

“I spent some time to refresh the mind on the subject of thatch in sports turf. Very useful knowledge.” – Michael Williams, Whitgift School.

“Thank you so much for the Agrovista Academy. I have found it to be a great saviour during lockdown times to keep me occupied whilst learning and gaining CPD credits at the same time.” – John Milne, Dufftown Golf Club.

“I am finding them very informative. Having recently got back into the industry they are great for extra education.” – Andy Burrell, Garmouth and Kingston Golf Club.

“Please keep the Academy running – it is a great learning tool.” – Andrew Hatcher, Coed-Y-Mwstwr Golf Club.

You can visit the new Amenity academy here: www.amenityacademy.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 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.