Amenity Sprayer Operator of the Year open for entries

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Amenity Sprayer Operator of the Year open for entries: The search is on to recognise the UK’s most professional sprayer operators in the sports turf, amenity and landscape management industries. The Amenity Sprayer Operator of the Year (ASOOTY) Awards highlight best practice and experience in the challenging role of ensuring accurate application on all amenity surfaces.

The Amenity Forum competition, supported by ICL and Syngenta, seeks to share guidance and advice that will raise the standards of spray application across the amenity industry.

Amenity Sprayer Operator of the Year open for entries

Amenity Sprayer Operator of the Year open for entries

The Awards’ finalists will be announced at the Amenity Forum Conference on 10 October, with the overall winner presented at the prestigious BIGGA Awards ceremony at BTME in January 2025.

All ASOOTY applicants will also be entered into a competition to win one of five Syngenta Sprayer Calibration & Application Kits.  BASIS CPD points for participating in the awards have been applied for.

Along with assessing operators’ skills of spray application and use of products, the ASOOTY judging panel also now incorporate the importance of an integrated pest management (IPM) approach to any issues involving turf and landscape maintenance.

Announcing the opening of the ASOOTY 2024 Awards, Amenity Forum Chairman, Ian Graham, announced: “This competition seeks to highlight the remarkable talent that exists within our sector, and I encourage as many spray operators as possible to engage with the process.

“Our industry has many highly skilled spray operators working within it, using a diverse range of products accurately applied through a huge range of complex application equipment. The environments in which these applications take place can also be varied and are often challenging.”

Amenity businesses and sports turf managers are urged to actively encourage their sprayer operators to enter the awards this year. “Past winners have ably demonstrated the professional approach to meeting  these challenges, and I very much look forward to meeting the finalists at the Amenity Forum Conference.”

Syngenta Technical Manager, Sean Loakes, highlighted: “The skills of sprayer operators to make efficient, effective and above all safe applications is essential for the future sustainability of the amenity and turf care industry.

“The ASOOTY awards are a welcome way to recognise and reward the leading individuals and to learn from their experience,” he says.

“For the best possible results, today’s professional sprayer operators must also fully understand the wider aspects of why an application is being made, and what other integrated options they can also employ for better long-term management of potential problems.”

Last year’s winner, Dan Waring, professional spray technician at JCB Golf and Country Club in Uttoxeter, encourages all sprayer operators to get involved and enter the ASOOTY Awards.

A keen advocate of the Awards, Dan would urge all sprayer operators to take every opportunity to gain more knowledge on the products being used and the latest application technology. “That will enable people to be more confident in what they are doing, and give the spray tech’s role the credit it deserves,” he says.

ICL Landscape & Industrial Business Manager, Lewis Blois, added: “We are delighted to support such an important cross-sector industry initiative, with a continued commitment to raise standards and improve results.

“Importantly it provides a unique and vitally important resource for all involved in spray application across the amenity sector,” he points out.

This year the entry process aims to test sprayer operators’ broader knowledge of issues and solutions faced across the amenity sector through an initial on-line question form, including questions to assess an individual’s experience and approach to dealing with challenges.

“We’re looking to find operators that can make those important proactive decisions with every application.”

Entries to the ASOOTY Awards 2024 closes on Friday 13 September. The on-line entry form is available at:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CTF76GD

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Newmachar Golf Club turns to Toro

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Newmachar Golf Club turns to Toro: A premier destination for golf in North East Scotland, Newmachar Golf Club has turned to Toro to level up its two historic – but very different – courses. 

As Newmachar’s Course Manager, Christopher Lamb, notes, this variety requires a strategic and dynamic greenkeeping approach: “What’s interesting about our Hawkshill and Swailend courses is that, although they’re right next to each other, they’re completely different – both in terms of their topography and what they’re like to play on.

Newmachar Golf Club turns to Toro

Newmachar Golf Club turns to Toro

“For us as greenkeepers, this represents a unique challenge,” he adds. “We have to work as efficiently as possible, which is why we’ve brought in a huge new fleet of 24 Toro machines to ensure we’re covering each course’s unique maintenance needs.”

Recently ranked as one of the Top 100 Scottish golf clubs by Today’s Golfer, Newmachar’s Hawkshill Championship Course and Swailend Course were designed by renowned architect Dave Thomas and built during the 1990s. 

One of the toughest courses in the area, Hawkshill is an idyllic heathland course with USGA specification greens; while Swailend, a birch- and pine-heavy parkland course built through farming land, is more forgiving – yet still a challenge.

Newmachar’s new fleet includes the ever popular Toro Greensmaster Triflex Hybrid 3420 and Toro Groundsmaster 4000-D, as well as lightweight fairway mowers, utility vehicles, renovation equipment, and a Toro Sand Pro 3040 bunker rake. In short, everything the club needs to maintain and enhance its two historic courses.

“Toro is renowned for its quality – how the machines are built and the quality of cut they deliver,” comments Christopher, who joined Newmachar as an apprentice in 2014 and has since worked his way up to course manager.

“But perhaps more importantly for us, they’re also dynamic in their useability, making them just as effective on a parkland course as on a heathland one. That’s something the team is really loving – and, for that, the Groundsmaster 4000-D in particular.

“We’ve all noticed significant improvements in the quality of cut, especially tee-side, and with Toro, you know you’re investing in a reliable, trusted brand. Without a shadow of a doubt, the new machines will be instrumental in not just maintaining the standard of play our members have come to expect, but also in making improvements to both courses year-on-year, as we look to raise our profile even further.”

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Syn-Pro by SISIS at GroundsFest

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Syn-Pro by SISIS at GroundsFest: Syn-Pro by SISIS is gearing up for GroundsFest 2024, set to take place at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, on September 10 and 11. You can find Syn-Pro by SISIS in Outdoor Area A on stand OSA170, where a wide range of advanced synthetic turf maintenance products will be on display.

This year, the spotlight will be on three main products: the SVR1500, the SSS1000, and the Osca.

SVR1500: Deep Cleaning and Decompaction

The SVR1500 is a dual-purpose machine designed for deep cleaning and decompaction of sand or rubber-filled surfaces. Its large rotating brush lifts contaminated infill, removes fine dust and debris, and returns cleaned infill back to the surface, improving water permeability and reducing bacteria and moss.

Syn-Pro by SISIS at GroundsFest

Syn-Pro by SISIS at GroundsFest

SSS1000: Essential Sweeper for Synthetic Surfaces

The SSS1000 sweeper is vital for regular cleaning of synthetic surfaces. It features a spiral rotary brush that sweeps debris into a mesh hopper, allowing pitch infill to be returned to the surface. It’s designed to efficiently remove organic debris and litter, ensuring a clean and safe playing area.

Osca: Dual Purpose Brushing System

The Osca is a versatile brushing system ideal for both sand and rubber crumb maintenance. It features oscillating brushes for aggressive brushing to reduce compaction and encourage fibres to stand upright. It can also be used as a conventional drag brush for regular light brushing, helping maintain an even playing surface and reduce moss and algae.

Discover the SVR1500, SSS1000, and Osca, and explore other advanced solutions from Syn-Pro by SISIS at GroundsFest 2024.

For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact Syn-Pro by SISIS on 01332 824 777 or visit www.synprobysisis.com

For more news, reviews and insightful views, you can follow Syn-Pro on Twitter or Instagram @synprobysisis and like the company’s Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/SynPro-by-SISIS.

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

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