Clubs turn to Toro for irrigation

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Clubs turn to Toro for irrigation: In the year the irrigation division was rebranded to Reesink Hydro-Scapes, golf clubs the length and breadth of the country made the red choice when it came to their irrigation.

With 2022 the warmest year ever, responsible irrigation has never been more of a hot topic for the UK’s golf clubs, especially when you consider the excessive dependence on potable (mains) water (the water industry puts this at around 66 percent of UK clubs) and the fact that so many irrigation systems are old (a survey by BIGGA found 74 percent of systems were more than 20 years old).

Clubs turn for Toro for irrigation

Clubs turn for Toro for irrigation

Companies like Toro have been hard at work investing in technology to ensure responsible irrigation options are available and here we look at a snapshot of customers who decided on Toro irrigation in 2022 for one of the biggest investments a club can make.

The Lynx Central Control system was a popular choice. The fact that it is designed to help customers address the unique challenges and changing priorities of their courses no doubt appealed in the face of the driest summer in 40 years and the guarantee that the country has a warming climate with extreme weather spells to come.

Clubs safeguarding the future of their club with this efficient irrigation system were Royal St David’s Golf Club in Harlech. It’s long been ranked within the top fifty British golf courses and most recently ranked second in the top 50 courses in Wales by Golf World – and it opted for Toro Lynx and Flex sprinklers for its greens, tees, fairways, approaches and pathways.

Opting for the same combination of Lynx and Flex were Perranporth Golf Club in Cornwall, one of Britain’s top links courses which had the combination installed on its greens and approaches, and Knighton Heath, a genuine heathland course in Dorset which covered its greens, tees and approaches.

Now come the clubs who picked Lynx with Infinity sprinklers. What sets Infinity sprinklers apart are their easy access to everything above the swing joint. You don’t need to dig up the sprinkler to get to the connections, decoder (LSM) or pilot valve – simply remove the lid by unscrewing three screws. Maintenance is made further easy by the fact that the pilot valve can be removed without isolating the water saving time and helping speed up fault finding.

Lilley Brook in Cheltenham, the England Golf Championship venue had the duo installed on its greens, tees and approaches, Stoneham Golf Club in Southampton which was designed by two-time Open champion, Willie Park Jnr did the same, as did Hartley Wintney in beautiful Hampshire and Ham Manor situated between the Sussex coast and the South Downs National Park. Finishing the roundup are loyal Toro customer Frilford Heath in Oxfordshire completing phase one of their project and Broadstone in Dorset upgrading their system and installing fairway irrigation.

The start of 2023 isn’t looking any quieter for Reesink Hydro-Scapes and its Toro irrigation range either. To find out more about responsible irrigation for your golf course, contact Reesink on 01480 226800 or visit reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Bobcat Sells new CT2535 compact tractor

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Bobcat Sells new CT2535 compact tractor: Anthony Atkinson of AGMS, a grounds maintenance and agricultural contractor based in Sharpness in Gloucestershire, has purchased the first Bobcat Compact Tractor to be shown in the UK on the Bobcat stand at the LAMMA Exhibition from 10-11 January 2023.

The sale was agreed at the LAMMA show with Richard Young, Sales Manager at Abingdon-based TVE Hire & Sales Ltd (TVE), the Authorised Bobcat dealer for South West England.

Bobcat Sells new CT2535 compact tractor

Bobcat Sells new CT2535 compact tractor

Anthony Atkinson operates his business in three main sectors – Pitch Management Services, Smallholding & Equestrian Services and Small Agricultural Services. He commented: “With the expansion in my business, I came to LAMMA to find a new dedicated compact tractor to replace the old compact tractor that helped me start and grow my business. I had a look at several machines at the show, but decided on the new CT2535 tractor on the Bobcat stand for the cab comfort, ergonomics and easy maintenance as well as the excellent attachment versatility.”

Excellent Tool Carriers and Choice of Attachments

Alastair Jones, UK Sales Manager for Bobcat’s new Ground Maintenance Equipment (GME) range, said: “The CT2535 is one of nine Compact Tractor models that form part of the GME range. To illustrate the variety of attachment choice for the Compact Tractor range, the CT2535 shown at LAMMA had a Front End Loader and a bucket as well as a rear Tiller attachment. To make sure all jobs get tackled, other compatible attachments include pallet forks, utility forks, utility grapples, mid-mount mowers, backhoes, box blades, rakes and seeders.

“Bobcat’s Compact Tractors can be equipped with front, mid and rear connections and power take-offs. The proven Bob-Tach system comes as standard on all front-end loader platforms, enabling users to switch attachments for multiple jobs easily, delivering greater value and versatility for their businesses.”

Bobcat Compact Tractors to Suit Every Requirement

As part of the GME range, there are three Bobcat Compact Tractor platforms – the 1000, 2000 and 4000 series – which feature nine new models designed to meet the needs of European customers. The CT2535 cabbed model purchased by Anthony Atkinson will be equipped with turf tyres and is part of the 2000 series. Each model varies in size and engine horsepower, with the option to choose between manual and hydrostatic transmissions, and open canopies (ROPS) and cabs.

As well as Compact Tractors, Bobcat’s innovative GME line-up includes zero-turn mowers and Ryan Turfcare equipment, supplemented by the company’s new MT100 mini track and small articulated loaders.

The CT2535 was one of several new products shown by Bobcat for the first time in the UK at the LAMMA 2023 exhibition, including the brand new super compact TL25.60 R-series telehandler and the new MT100 mini track loader.

Quality Service for Bobcat Customers

As well as sales of the entire Bobcat range of machines and attachments, TVE offers a full selection of genuine Bobcat accessories and parts to support customers in its area. This is backed up by a stock of both brand new and second hand Bobcat machines for sale. Customers also benefit from TVE’s on-site service network, covering everything from emergency repairs to routine maintenance.

A Growing Product Range

The Bobcat R-Series telehandler range for agriculture provides a choice of eight models with Stage V engines. The new telehandlers cover maximum lifting capacities between 2.5 and 4.3 tonne with lifting heights from 6 to 8 m. Bobcat R-Series telehandlers offer a premium workspace with a new cab design.

The Bobcat range also offers 10 skid-steer loaders including the brand new R-Series S86 model, complementing these wheeled machines with a selection of five compact track loaders, including the latest R-Series T86 top-of-the-range model.

Bobcat offers an extensive portfolio of mini-excavators from 1.0 to 8.9 tonne, including two electric models, a full range of construction telehandlers and a full range of light compaction machinery.

For more information about Bobcat and Bobcat products, visit the website www.bobcat.com

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After the flood

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After the flood: The long, hot summer of 2022 made the year the second warmest on record in the UK and led to drought in many areas. With the ground dried out and continued heavy footfall, amenity areas, sports fields, parks, other tree lined spaces and even domestic back gardens suffer heavy soil compaction.

When the rains come, water is unable to penetrate the soil and sports grounds in particular turn into quagmires, stopping play and resulting for many in lost revenue. Exceptionally heavy rainfall leading to flooding has a number of other knock-on effects for turf and trees. Flood waters are heavy enough to force the oxygen out of the soil structure, leading to dead or dying turf and trees showing signs of severe stress, leaf fall and rotting roots. No amount of normal aeration, spiking or decompaction of the topsoil is going to solve a problem that goes much deeper. That is where deep aeration specialists are called for and one company, Terrain Aeration, has been solving these problems for well over thirty years.

After the flood

After the flood

Take some typical examples. A bowling green in Wales that has seen over ninety years of play. Built on shale, like so many, even with regular Vertidraining, the ground had become compacted at depth. The club treasurer remembers well the day in 2018.

“The green was filling with water before my very eyes,” he says, “and after the heavy showers it remained quite sodden and unplayable. It seemed no amount of work could get it back into shape.” This left fifty or so members without playing facilities until it dried out. One contractor working with London councils has among the sites under their watchful eye many of the city’s sports pitches, of which there are ninety-five football pitches, ten cricket squares, bowling greens and running tracks.

“A lot of the sites are on made up ground and experience major problems with drainage,” says their parks officer. “We have carried out aeration down to 300mm, but it’s not enough to get to the pans.”

So what’s the answer? Terrain Aeration has a range of machines with the ability to send a probe to a depth of one metre. It penetrates the ground with the help of its built-in JCB road breaker, reaching the pan. Here it injects compressed air, working on a grid system and fragmenting the ground into fissures. These interlink to help restructure the soil and let in vital oxygen. Turf roots will grow stronger and uniquely the soil structure is kept open by Terrain Aeration’s Terralift machine process, which has proven itself over the past 30 years. With the Terralift’s probe reaching 1m depth, it’s also the perfect way to help move excess water away from stagnating around tree roots. By going deeper than the growing roots, excess water can percolate away and save the roots from rotting. Again, vital oxygen is injected into the soil along with other products to help with the root system in re-establishing itself. The results being a healthier and stronger root growth, a visibly stronger canopy and even more fruit on the trees. Diseases such as Phytophthora (water borne problems for Yew trees) can be stopped as opening the soil structure and injecting oxygen back into the soil is beneficial to the health of the tree. In the above examples Terrain Aeration’s system has come to the rescue after the flood for sports grounds, parks and even new-build gardens for major housebuilders’ developments.

Terrain Aeration www.terrainaeration.co.uk  01449 673783

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Spalding GC go into winter clear of compaction

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Spalding GC go into winter clear of compaction: A Deep Tine Aerator (DTA) from GKB Machines was delivered and put straight to work by the team at Spalding Golf Club, as part of their pre-winter maintenance programme.

Delivering impressive aeration down to 12”, the DTA 160 has already completed passes on both the greens and the fairways since its arrival in October 2022 and will be pivotal in keeping the course clear of compaction in the wetter months.

Spalding GC go into winter clear of compaction

Spalding GC go into winter clear of compaction

Head Greenkeeper Kevin Goude took charge just five months ago, and together with the greens team of five, was delighted to learn he’d inherited an order for a new GKB DTA 160 placed by his predecessor and due for delivery from local distributor Russells Groundcare. “We’ve got a pedestrian aerator in the shed which is ideal for summer work at depths of 4” but we needed something to replace an ageing machine that could penetrate much deeper to really help drainage and root growth” explains Kevin.

The GKB DTA is deep by name and deep by nature, offering easily adjustable depth and heave angle of up to 25o for effective compaction relief. At 1.6m wide, the DTA 160 at Spalding GC is well suited for tasks around the golf course – from fairways, tees and aprons to intensive aeration on the clubs 18 greens.

“We took delivery of the DTA 160 at the end of October and went out immediately on the greens, before switching to ¾” tines working at a depth of 10” on the fairways due to the dry summer. One thing we really like about the GKB aerator is the tine blocks which make switching between sets really quick and easy compared to having to replace each tine individually. There’s a whole range of tine options available with this machine as well so we can really make the most of it with operations throughout the maintenance calendar.”

“Alongside the tine system, another thing we’ve been particularly impressed with is the build quality of the DTA – well engineered and robust to handle some of the more challenging ground conditions we have on the fairways.” Kevin concludes, “Beside the machine itself, the support and back-up service we’ve had from Russell’s Groundcare and Tom Shinkins at GKB has also been excellent. We can now look to aerate deeper as we go into winter and be best placed to cope with whatever the weather can throw at us!”

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