Huxley Golf delivers security of play

Huxley Golf delivers security of play: All members and visitors to Royal Troon Golf Club look forward to playing what is one of the most famous holes in golf, the Postage Stamp. The par 3 eighth hole on the 19th Century Club’s Old Course might be the shortest hole on the Open rota but it is one of the most challenging and revered.

That is why Huxley Golf was honoured to be asked to create an alternative winter tee for this iconic golf destination this autumn. The installation will help to ensure continuity of the Postage Stamp experience without compromise, using Huxley Golf Premier Tee Turf 2, the closest all-weather surface to natural grass. Royal Troon had previously trialled the idea of creating a separate winter tee from natural turf, but it was unable to withstand the extraordinary levels of wear and tear, as Course Manager, Billy McLachlan, explains:

Huxley Golf delivers security of play

Huxley Golf delivers security of play

“The Postage Stamp is an important feature of our Club. Being a short hole, the impacts of wear and tear on the tee are concentrated over a small area. This not only affects play during the winter, but it also impacts the start of the golf season because natural grass takes time to recover fully.

“Our recourse was to turn to Huxley Golf to help us find the optimal solution for our precise needs: one that would look good aesthetically and critically, live up to players’ expectations. As a result, we now have a permanent feature that we can switch to with minimal interruption when the landscape demands it. Over time, this will help preserve play to this exceptional hole.”

Huxley Golf used its superior Premier Tee Turf 2 to create the 12ft x 12ft (3.6m x 3.6m) tee, and supplemented this with a fringe surround, which will enable natural grass to seamlessly marry in around it.

Hugh Fraser, Scotland and North East England Area Manager at Huxley Golf, commented: “We understand that it can be a difficult decision for historic environments to work with the new generation of all-weather turf, but most now realise that Huxley Golf Premier Tee Turf 2 offers a superb option for winter play and to relieve wear and tear at any time of year. It has benefits to both the environment, the greenkeeping team and players, as it protects natural features, requires virtually no maintenance, and yet, offers golfers an incredibly realistic surface to hit from. Its unique surface gives players an excellent experience, even in the most demanding of situations and climates.”

The Huxley name has been synonymous with premium all-weather golf surfaces and products. Endorsed by the UK’s leading golf organisations as well as many legendary golfers and celebrities and their coaching teams, the Hampshire-based company’s artificial golf surfaces are in use all around the world at top-flight courses, resorts, and training academies. Across Scotland, Huxley Golf has also recently worked with St Andrews Links, Gleneagles Academy, the Royal Burgess Golfing Society of Edinburgh, Gullane Golf Club and The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers Muirfield.

For more information visit www.huxleygolf.com or call 01730 829608.

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Binoculars at the ready

Binoculars at the ready: Twitchers are gearing up and reaching for their binoculars to scan their trees, hedgerows and shrubs as the RSPB’s popular Big Garden Birdwatch survey takes flight once more.

Avid bird watchers and nature lovers are being invited to take part in the event from 27th to 29th January, and millions of our feathered friends are expected to be spotted and recorded for the annual survey over the three-day period.

Binoculars at the ready

Binoculars at the ready

The RSPB says taking part in the Big Garden Birdwatch is fun and free for everyone and people don’t even need a garden to get involved, as counting birds can be done from a balcony or local park.

The RSPB says 38 million birds have been lost from UK skies in the last 50 years, with species such as sparrows and starlings in severe population decline.

Every Birdwatch is incredibly important. Not only does it help map birdlife and show how birds are faring across the country, but it also helps the RSPB to monitor the situation geographically in urban and rural areas.

To take part in this year’s Big Garden Birdwatch survey, all people need to do is watch the birds for around an hour, count how many of each bird species land on the patch you are observing, and then go online and tell the RSPB what you’ve seen.

Twitchers are encouraged to attract birds to their patch, ahead of the survey days, by topping up bird tables and feeders.

Whilst regular sights at Big Garden Birdwatch survey events include blackbirds, blue tits and magpies, more unexpected visitors have, in past years, included the red-flanked bluetail, redwings and the black-throated thrush. The latter was actually spotted in 2016 by a woman on a quiet residential estate in the Cotswolds.

This rare and surprising garden sighting was incredibly exciting for the bird world as this species had only ever been seen a couple of times before in the UK.

Please visit the RSPB website at www.rspb.org.uk to find out more about the charity’s work, to download a Birdwatch Guide and ID chart, to donate to this worthy cause or, become an RSPB volunteer.

Anyone wishing to learn more about birdlife can also take a certified Lantra training course to gain a mix of knowledge and practical field experience.

Lantra’s Field Ornithology training covers how to identify British birds by sight and sound, how to carry out a range of field surveys, as well as basic field skills and good practice.

For further information about this course please visit https://www.lantra.co.uk/course/field-ornithology

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Redexim’s exclusive dealer for the UAE

Redexim’s exclusive dealer for the UAE: Redexim is pleased to announce that they have entered into a strategic agreement with Delta Turf Care in the United Arab Emirates.

Effective from 1st October 2022, Delta Turf Care is appointed as Redexim’s exclusive distributor for the United Arab Emirates. This appointment is part of Redexim’s global strategy to evaluate and strengthen the route to market for the broad range of products Redexim produces. Redexim prides itself of high levels of customer service; the appointment  of Delta Turf Care ensures these levels can be maintained for Redexim’s clients in the United Arab Emirates.

Redexim's exclusive dealer for the UAE

Redexim’s exclusive dealer for the UAE

Marinus Koekemoer, Regional Manager of Delta Turf Care said: “We are honoured and excited to be selected as the exclusive distributor for Redexim Products in the United Arab Emirates. This distribution agreement strengthens Delta Turf Care’s portfolio of high-quality turf care products and solutions and further solidifies our position as a partner well placed to meet the needs of our customers. We are always looking to improve the services and products we can offer to our customers, and we believe this new partnership will significantly help to do that. We look forward to the start of a rewarding partnership with Redexim and expanding its value-added products to the region.”

“ Having worked with Delta’s sister company in Saudi Arabia for many years there is already a strong relationship between Redexim and the Delta Group. The appointment of Delta Turf Care in the United Arab Emirates further strengthens this bond and ensures that Redexim can deliver its products through the most reliable routes in the United Arab Emirates. My team and I look forward to supporting Delta Turf Care as they continue to grow the Redexim brand in the region” says Curtis Allen, Sales Manager for Redexim.

As a leading distributor of turf care solutions in the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, Delta Turf Care provides a comprehensive range of products and services tailored to the needs of each individual customer by offering only the highest quality products and after-sales services to the golf, sports, and landscape markets. For more information about Delta Turf Care visit: www.deltaturfcare.com

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