Versatile Ventrac at The Mere

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Versatile Ventrac at The Mere: The Mere Golf Resort & Spa in Knutsford, Cheshire, has joined an ever-burgeoning list of sports and leisure organisations that have purchased a Ventrac all-terrain compact tractor and selection of attachments. Supplied by local dealer, Cheshire Turf Machinery, the attachments include a Contour deck, a Stump grinder and Turbine blower.

The 18-hole, 6,882 -yard, par-71 course at The Mere was designed by James Braid, and created out of 150 acres of Cheshire parkland in 1934. Today, the Championship course holds the reputation as one of the best maintained and highest quality golf courses in the North of England.

Versatile Ventrac at The Mere

Versatile Ventrac at The Mere

John Quinn, a native of Donegal in Ireland, has been the Course Manager for the past 4 years, after joining the prestigious resort’s greenkeeping team seven years ago. He leads a team of 10 comprising of 8 greenkeepers and two full-time gardeners.

Commenting on the Ventrac he said,

“We are a destination resort and we pride ourselves with the visual appearance of the property and the immaculate presentation of the golf course. This Ventrac is probably the best innovation in course maintenance in the past 20 years. It will go almost anywhere and its versatility is unparalleled. It’s great in wet areas and ticks all the boxes from a health and safety point of view.

“What other machine allows you to switch out a mowing deck and attach a stump grinder, then switch again to blowing leaves? It’s an adaptable piece of equipment with an ingenious coupling system that lets you change implements in just about a minute. The eight wheels gives it a low centre of gravity, which makes it very safe on slopes, especially around tee banks and bunker surrounds.

“It’s up there with the best machines I used. It’s just a case of getting to know its capability and getting the confidence to go where no other ride-on can go. It helps us to maintain difficult areas on a regular basis and has certainly enhanced the presentation of the course.”

John Quinn began his career at his local course in Portnoo, Donegal, with an initial six-week placement that lasted four years. To further his career, he spent two years in full-time education at Elmwood college achieving an HNC and HND in golf course management as well as work placements in Sweden. He then joined Linden Hall Hotel, Golf & Spa in Northumberland and three years later migrated south to take up the position of deputy head greenkeeper at Caversham Heath near Reading. Five years on, he then moved to Davenport Golf Club in Cheshire, before taking up his latest position in 2015.

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Carnoustie apprentice becomes qualified greenkeeper

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Carnoustie apprentice becomes qualified greenkeeper: On Tuesday 4th April, Carnoustie’s first apprentice in recent years, Ross Crosbie, celebrated becoming a fully qualified Greenkeeper after a four-year apprenticeship with Carnoustie Golf Links.

The Executive Team at Carnoustie Golf Links have been extremely impressed by Ross’s hard work and dedication to his apprenticeship and have since been delighted to offer Ross a full-time, permanent position as a Qualified Greenkeeper at the world-famous Angus venue.

Carnoustie apprentice becomes qualified greenkeeper

Carnoustie apprentice becomes qualified greenkeeper

As a Carnoustie resident, Ross grew up in the town and played golf from a young age, enjoying the benefits of the junior coaching programme delivered by Carnoustie Golf Links as part of the Carnoustie Craws junior programme, which provides free group coaching to over 350 young people in the community, from age 5 to age 18.

Ross had previously undertaken work experience at the Links and having made the most out of his opportunity, looked for the next step after completing his school studies. When the Apprentice Greenkeeper position became available, Ross was keen to apply and was ultimately successful in his bid for the role.

Kevin Stott, Links Superintendent at Carnoustie Golf Links said: “From the outset, Ross has truly integrated himself into the Greenkeeping team as well as the wider organisation. Ross arrives at work every day with a great attitude to learn, an enthusiastic work ethic and is also keen to pass on his knowledge and support newer apprentices.

“Since beginning his Apprenticeship, Ross has showcased a strong commitment and passion to becoming a greenkeeper, always working to the best of his ability. He consistently looks to improve upon his skills and does so with real enthusiasm and determination.

“Ross has supported the Greenkeeping team by acting as a representative at Careers Days, showcasing the apprenticeship programme and now, on completion of his apprenticeship, Ross continues to showcase his great attitude to work, his passion for greenkeeping and fantastic attention to detail and we believe that he is a great ambassador for Carnoustie.”

The four-year apprenticeship works in conjunction with Elmwood College in Cupar and upon completion, the apprentice is awarded with a Sports Turf Greenkeeping SVQ Level 2 award. The benefits of being an apprentice at Carnoustie are many and include the opportunity to earn whilst you learn from one of the best Greenkeeping teams in the world.

Ross has had the chance to work alongside some of the most skilled and knowledgeable greenkeepers whilst at Carnoustie and has expanded his awareness by travelling further afield to learn about course management in warmer climates. In the fourth year of his apprenticeship, he travelled to the USA where he undertook work experience at Pinehurst Golfing Resort in North Carolina. He gained new experiences and learnings which he has brought back with him to Carnoustie, enriching his own knowledge and development, and even experienced working with the Greenkeeping team to present the US Women’s Open in 2022.

Ross Crosbie said: “Ever since I was young, I’ve played golf at Carnoustie, and I know how highly regarded Carnoustie is in the industry, because golf has pretty much been my life. So, to be able to work on a Championship golf course, my home course, to me, that’s the best thing about working at Carnoustie. But also, I’ve had great opportunities working here. I’ve been off to America, I spent three weeks at Pinehurst. That’s something that I never, ever thought I would do in my life. The amount of people that I’ve met, the things that I’ll take with me for the rest of my life, it really is something incredible.”

Carnoustie Golf Links strives to employ apprentices and local young people as it continues to connect with the community in an aim to support development of the young work force. Carnoustie Golf Links aim to train and mentor eager, motivated young people, providing hands on training and offering the best start to any young person joining the company.

Michael Wells, Chief Executive at Carnoustie Golf Links said: “As a strategic employer, the Links is dedicated to the training and development of new generations. At Carnoustie, we provide a four-year apprenticeship to our trainee Greenkeepers – they finish their apprenticeship with a qualification in Greenkeeping plus four years’ experience working at one of the world’s best golf courses.

“We want to provide our apprentices with every opportunity to succeed and excel, plus allow trainees to access all areas of learning which will help them reach this ambition. Our strategic partner, John Deere, have been hugely supportive of our apprenticeship programme providing opportunities for additional development training through their international venues.

“Our aim is to provide as thorough an education into greenkeeping as possible, moving away from the antiquated apprenticeship style in favour of a dynamic and modern approach. We trust our apprentices and give them responsibilities that they feel comfortable with, which will challenge them whilst allowing natural progression to take place.”

At a celebratory lunch on Tuesday 4th April, hosted in The Rookery restaurant and bar within Links House at Carnoustie Golf Links, Ross was presented with a certificate of completion of his apprenticeship from Carnoustie Golf Links and a gift from John Deere presented by Nikki McKenzie from John Deere.

In attendance from Carnoustie Golf Links was Michael Wells – Chief Executive, Adair Simpson – Deputy Chief Executive, Kevin Stott – Links Superintendent, Duncan Cairnie – Championship Course Manager, Mark Reynolds – Burnside and Buddon Course Manager, Tracey Riley – HR Manager. In attendance from John Deere, one of Carnoustie’s strategic partners, was Nikki McKenzie. In attendance from Carnoustie High School was Russell Brown.

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Gary puts his best foot forward

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Gary puts his best foot forward: An employee from The GGM Group has swapped his work boots for dance shoes last weekend, to raise money for Bolton Hospice as part of a prestigious dancing competition.

Gary Taylor, a key member of the after sales team, along with his partner Jacqui Brown, were one of 20 couples to take part in Strictly Learn to Dance which took place at Bolton Stadium last Friday (31st March).

Gary puts his best foot forward

Gary puts his best foot forward

The pair, who have no previous dancing experience, have followed a gruelling 12-week programme, spending many hours learning some classic dance routines.

Their efforts culminated in a glittering and glamorous event which was attended by over 700 people and in total raised over £50,000 for Bolton Hospice and Gary and Jacqui were supported by friends, family and colleagues from the GGM team as they took part in the Salsa and the Foxtrot.

Gary said:

“Jacqui has always wanted to take part in this event and so when the opportunity arose it was too good an opportunity to miss. Neither of us have ever danced before and to say we were nervous was an understatement – but the atmosphere on the night was electric, and the immense support we have had definitely spurred us on.”

Bolton Hospice is close to the heart of both Gary and Jacqui, having supported two of their friends through the end of their illnesses, and they wanted to give something back to this fantastic cause.

GGM Groundscare is a specialist supplier of tractors and high-quality professional land-based equipment for commercial and domestic use. Servicing the North West and Yorkshire, it supplies a range of products from leading franchises including Kubota, Baroness and Amazone.

Chris Gibson, GGM Managing Director said:

“The team and I are hugely proud of what Gary and Jacqui have achieved for this wonderful cause. We know from staff Christmas parties that they have some great moves on the dancefloor – but to do this in front of 700 people is a completely different level and takes real guts.”

“It’s a key part of our ethos at The GGM Group to give something back to the local community, last year raising over £10,000 for our company charities. We’re delighted to support Gary and Bolton Hospice in this great event and to match the amount they had raised themselves ahead of the event”.

Donations can still be made via the link:

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jacqueline-brown29

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Safeguard surfaces from drought with 4turf®

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Safeguard surfaces from drought with 4turf®: With drought-like conditions becoming more common, turf managers can begin future-proofing their surfaces now with deep-rooting, drought-tolerant grasses such as 4turf® tetraploid perennial ryegrass from DLF.

Research conducted at DLF’s RadiMax root-screening facility has shown 4turf® to deliver deeper rooting and a better visual appearance when starved of water, compared to the performance of traditional diploid perennial ryegrasses.

Safeguard surfaces from drought with 4turf®

Safeguard surfaces from drought with 4turf®

Where most plants or trees form new shoots at the top of the plant, grasses develop new shoots very close to the roots – highlighting the unique and important role that roots have in helping the grass to survive in stressful conditions. In situations of drought, soil always dries out from the top. As drought progresses down the soil, the first line of defence will be its deep root mass, which needs to be strong enough to enable the plant to continue taking up required water and nutrients.

In the trials, plants were assessed based on the root profile and above-ground tolerance. Roots were compared on their depth and how much colour the plant retained when starved of moisture. The results showed that 4turf® varieties had quicker root growth and a higher root mass in deeper soil layers, outperforming the diploids under the same trial conditions. Incorporation of the highest performing varieties into a spring overseeding mix aids in the establishment of a deeper rooting sward, better equipped to cope with spring drought – where some moisture remains in the deeper profile – and summer drought – where water is used up throughout the profile.

During prolonged periods of severe drought, the risk of restrictions or bans on drinking water being used to irrigate amenity grass becomes a real threat. That is the reason why many turf managers are looking to alternative water sources like reclaimed or recycled brown water but, in these situations, salt tolerance then becomes a major consideration. Foreseeing the issue, DLF also conducted screening of turf cultivars for salt tolerance where, again, 4turf® tetraploid perennial ryegrass came out on top.

Safeguard surfaces from drought with 4turf®

Safeguard surfaces from drought with 4turf®

Choosing 4turf® also means you are assured of the highest disease resistance and quickest establishment – helping to keep weed ingress at bay.

It is also important to note that sustainable solutions don’t have to mean a compromise in quality. The latest 4turf® cultivars from DLF, like Fabian, are fine, dense and have excellent wear tolerance providing an attractive sward with fantastic environmental credentials. With the economic and climatic challenges ahead switching to 4turf® means that, come the next drought, the one thing you won’t be sweating over is your turf!

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