Murrayshall visit proves inspirational

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Murrayshall visit proves inspirational: Students in Golf Course Management from Scotland’s Rural College based at the Elmwood Campus in Cupar, Fife, were recent visitors to the Murrayshall Country Estate in Perthshire to learn more about the transformation of its two golf courses into US-style challenges.

As part of a vocational training program set up by SRUC to emphasise the importance of the wider ecology of golf course property rather than focus on traditional fine turf areas, a group of ten students and their lecturers spent time with Murrayshall’s Head Greenkeeper Darrin Urquhart and five members of his team to gain some useful insight into the workplace. “It was the first time that the group had been to Murrayshall and we were all impressed by the high standards of turf care being achieved with relatively limited members of staff,” said Ian Butcher MBA, the Program Leader & Senior Lecturer in Golf Course Management at the SRUC’s Elmwood Campus.

Murrayshall visit proves inspirational

Murrayshall visit proves inspirational

“Darrin explained how he and his team are producing surfaces that combined playing quality with presentation, as well as meeting the diverse expectations of club members wanting different levels of difficulty or features from the course. And in additional to the playing areas, they undertake specific developments such as walkways and viewing spots for non-golfers to enjoy. This wider
perspective of the estate as whole was very useful to share with our students and every member of Darrin’s team was on the same page regarding the Murrayshall brand.

“I’ve been fortunate to play Murrayshall before and from a Scottish landscape experience, it’s hard to beat. But with the attention to detail and refinements now being seen, these qualities will only be enhanced into a truly memorable round of golf and a first-class parkland experience in a true Scottish setting,” he added.

According to Darrin Urquhart, who has been at Murrayshall over the past 14 years, the visit also served to give college graduates an insight into the work needed to transform a conventional parkland course into a US-style layout with white sand bunkers, smaller greens and surrounding rough. “They won’t have seen courses like these in this part of Scotland before and it’s one of the distinguishing features that sets Murrayshall apart, so we were really pleased to show them all around,” said Darrin.

The 365-acre Murrayshall estate offers golfers a challenging 18-hole Championship course and the nearby 10-hole Lynedoch course, ideal for those wanZng to play a quick round, or juniors and those new to the game. It also features one of the most picturesque driving ranges in the country.

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Prevention is better than cure

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Prevention is better than cure: There will be enough to do this summer with El Niño on its way, so don’t let water quality be another problem to deal with, especially when prevention is so much easier than cure, says Otterbine, a leading water management specialist.

Thanks to the warming effects of the climate phenomenon El Niño, when temperatures in the Pacific Ocean rise or fall beyond the norm and influence weather patterns across the globe, the UK can expect the summer of 2023 to exceed that of 2022 and turn out to be the fifth or sixth hottest on record.

Prevention is better than cure

Prevention is better than cure

And with the sun comes dangers for lakes and ponds. Left unattended, water can quickly deteriorate creating problems such as algae, aquatic weeds and odours, and while the repercussions are laborious and costly to fix, preventing them isn’t.

It all comes down to aeration, as Simon Powell, Otterbine business development manager at Reesink Hydro-Scapes explains: “Higher levels of sunlight and heat, generated by summer sun, can lead to excess nutrients in water bodies. When combined with low oxygen levels and limited circulation, the natural ecosystem tips out of balance, causing algae, weeds, odours and sludge to build up, which can even kill off aquatic life.

“Once a water body reaches this point the costs of trying to restore it increase dramatically. As well as often being more expensive to implement, reactive solutions tend to be less friendly to the environment too.”

The easy, sustainable solution is to add air with a surface and subsurface aerating system and Otterbine has some of the best in the business, confirms Simon: “Otterbine’s range of products has some of the highest oxygen transfer and pumping rates in the industry, adding as much as 3.3lbs or 1.5kg of oxygen per horsepower hour into the water and pumping over 920GPM or 199m3/hr per horsepower.”

With that kind of power and efficiency behind them, plus an average lifespan of 15 years, acting now in preparation for an El Niño summer means no more water worries whatever the weather for the foreseeable future.

Simon concludes: “In a world of ever-changing weather patterns, Otterbine provides an element of control. Being able to combine Otterbine’s range of quality products which are built to last and keep water clean, clear and healthy, with Reesink Hydro-Scapes’s warranties ranging from three to five years, means a water management solution that’s guaranteed to last, removing a significant potential problem from the to-do list for years to come.”

To learn more about the Otterbine range of aerators and fountains, contact Reesink Hydro-Scapes on 01480 226800, email info@reesinkturfcare.co.uk or visit reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Battery power from Toro for The Open

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Battery power from Toro for The Open: The Open returns to Royal Liverpool Golf Club for the 13th time in July and helping prepare the course for the world’s golfing greats is Toro turfcare machinery.

While most of the machinery fleet at the famous links at Hoylake on the west coast of England is Toro, leading the charge on the greens, tees and surrounds are the Toro eFlex 1021 lithium-ion battery-powered pedestrian greensmowers and Greensmaster eTriFlex 3370 all-electric ride-on greensmowers.

Battery power from Toro for The Open

Battery power from Toro for The Open

A dedicated team of greenkeepers under the watchful eye of links manager James Bledge are making the final preparations to the course and Toro has been there every step of the way. In fact, the last time the club hosted the world’s oldest and most popular golf event in 2013, it had just taken delivery of six eFlex 1021 greensmowers and while plenty has changed since then, what’s stayed the same is the machine still entrusted to look after the greens and tees.

James explains: “We have a new par 3 which will be the biggest change since The Open was last hosted here – it is a very short but challenging hole with stunning views of the estuary and Wales. What hasn’t changed is the club’s commitment to sustainable course management in that we’re always looking for the best carbon-neutral options. And when you find a pedestrian greensmower that provides this level of precision and quality, powered by a battery, you don’t look anywhere else.

“The weather will dictate the greens speed for the week and the work we have done in the last year will ensure we have more control over this. For us that’s six teams of two out doing single and double cuts with the Toro eFlex 1021 pedestrian mowers.”

Joining the pedestrian mowers on the frontline is Toro’s Greensmaster eTriFlex 3370 all-electric ride-on greensmower. While this was the machine of choice for the greens at St Andrews at last year’s championship, at Royal Liverpool Golf Club it’s being used on the tees and surrounds.

James continues: “The eTriFlex 3370 is more than capable of achieving the standard required on the greens, as we saw so masterfully demonstrated at St Andrews last year. It is quite literally one of the best machines made and it’s a great greens choice, but with the acute run-offs on our course, hand cutting is the best bet.”

Despite the reliable machinery choices, that’s a lot of trust to put in the greens team to ensure a consistency of cut across the board for the eyes of the world surely. James agrees: “The greenkeepers are the heroes here. They’re the ones out there putting in the hours and miles; they are an extremely talented team.”

When James accepted the role of links manager in December 2021 the first thing on his to-do list was to prepare for The 151st Open and what could have been a baptism of fire for many was a dream role for James.

“I’ve been waiting for an opportunity like this,” he says. “Creating the most diverse volunteer team handpicked from all the best places, bringing together someone from every championship venue, having mentors from across the world to turn to and having the best brands and businesses to work with has been rewarding and will be an incredible opportunity for everyone involved. It’s great to see everyone come together with the common goal to put on the best event possible.”

Machinery dealer Cheshire Turf Machinery who has worked with Royal Liverpool for over 20 years and Toro’s UK distributor Reesink Turfcare will be providing extensive championship support and a fleet of Toro machines for the duration of the historic event.

Steve Halley, managing director of Cheshire Turf Machinery, says: “It really has been striking how enthusiastic and excited James and his team are about staging The Open. We are delighted to support their efforts to make the event as successful as possible.”

Jon Cole, divisional business manager at Reesink Turfcare, comments: “It’s a privilege to be a part of The 151st Open and supporting the team at Royal Liverpool throughout the Championship again. We have worked with at least 30 of the 40 host venues of The Open that have taken place in our 40 years as Toro distributor and to be involved is always an honour.”

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