BIGGA Young Greenkeeper Award

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BIGGA Young Greenkeeper Award: Talented young greenkeeper Alistair Morrison is celebrating after being crowned winner of a BIGGA Award at BTME 2018.

Alistair (25) is head greenkeeper at Durness Golf Club and was announced as the winner of the BIGGA Young Greenkeeper of the Year Award sponsored by Textron Golf at an awards ceremony held this evening.

BIGGA Young Greenkeeper Award

Alistair began his career as an apprentice at Brora, before moving back to his hometown club at Durness. As the only member of the greenkeeping team at the most north-westerly course on mainland Britain, the role requires a huge amount of dedication and commitment to personal development and the development of the course.

During his three years at Brora, Alistair volunteered at three European Tour events, including the European Masters in Switzerland.

Alistair’s award was announced by television presenter and #ThisGirlGolfs ambassador Naga Munchetty at the BIGGA Welcome Celebration sponsored by Textron Golf. He was presented with his award by Andre Andrade, director of international sales at Textron Golf. The awards ceremony is one of the highlights of BTME 2018, the premier turf management exhibition in Europe.

Alistair said: “I’m absolutely delighted to have won, I certainly never expected this! I’m from a small village of around 300 people, we rely mainly on tourists, and I do have a good relationship with my club. As a small community you get to know everyone at the club, as they’re all friends, family, neighbours, and I’m delighted to have been able to represent them on such a massive scale.”

BIGGA Chief Executive Jim Croxton said: “I’m delighted that we have been able to recognise the efforts of Alistair, who has achieved professional and personal development despite the challenges faced of preparing a course in tough economic time. The fact Alistair is able to prepare a thriving course for his golfers, despite working on his own and in such a remote location, is no mean feat and he is an inspiration to us all.”

The other finalists of the award were Angus Roberts of Roxburghe Hotel & Golf Club and Carl Sharp of Royal Mid-Surrey Golf Club.

Jim added: “Congratulations must also go to Angus and Carl who did incredibly well to reach the finals of the awards. With such outstanding candidates, it’s great to see that the future of greenkeeping is in safe hands.”

BTME 2018 runs until Thursday 25 January and features more than 150 exhibitors from all aspects of the turf management industry. Each year more than 4,500 greenkeepers, trade members, club managers and other representatives of the golfing industry come together to network and share news of the latest education and innovation.

Visit http://btme.org.uk/ for more information.

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BIGGA Award For Wentworth

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BIGGA Award For Wentworth: The Wentworth Club greenkeeping team in Virginia Water has been recognised for its incredible performance in preparing the course for the BMW PGA Championship 2017 by winning the BIGGA Championship Performance of the Year Award sponsored by Rigby Taylor.

The redesign of Wentworth’s famous West Course was conducted by European Tour Golf Design, with the support of Ryder Cup captains Paul McGinley and Thomas Bjorn and the Ernie Els Design group. But it was Director of Estates and Golf Courses Kenny Mackay and his team who were responsible for ensuring the changes were implemented ahead of the BMW PGA Championship in May 2017.

BIGGA Award For Wentworth

All 18 greens were stripped of the old turf and re-seeded with a new creeping bent, while four greens – on the eighth, 11th, 14th and 16th holes – were completely rebuilt. A sub-air system was also installed on all the greens, while new drainage and irrigation was introduced.

Furthermore, all the bunkers were redesigned and reconstructed, with 29 completely removed from play.

European Tour Chief Executive Keith Pelley said: “The greens are spectacular and aesthetically the golf course is considerably stronger. Stephen Gallacher was walking by and he said, ‘The golf course has significantly improved. It’s just absolutely fantastic and the greens are great’.”

Kenny accepted the award at the BIGGA Welcome Celebration sponsored by Textron Golf, held this evening in the Harrogate Convention Centre’s Royal Hall. The awards ceremony is one of the highlights of BTME 2018, the premier turf management exhibition in Europe.

Kenny said: “It’s a very close-knit team. The big challenge we’ve seen is preparing the greens from tournament.

“When the new owners came in we knew we had a plan together. There was a lot of work behind the scenes and all that research came off. It’s two years in the making to get to here.”

BIGGA Chief Executive Officer Jim Croxton said: “This was nothing short of a superhuman effort by the team at The Wentworth Club, who worked non-stop from the moment the 2016 BMW PGA Championship ended until the 2017 event began to ensure the course matched up to the incredible standards required when hosting the European Tour’s flagship championship.

“Well done to Kenny and to all his team on this spectacular achievement, and on being crowned winners of the Championship Greenkeeping Performance of the Year at BTME 2018.

“Congratulations also to the Dundonald Links and Moor Allerton teams, who were both worthy finalists after hosting exceptional tournaments during 2017. All are a credit to BIGGA and the greenkeeping industry as a whole.”

BTME 2018 runs until Thursday 25 January and features more than 150 exhibitors from all aspects of the turf management industry. Each year more than 4,500 greenkeepers, trade members, club managers and other representatives of the golfing industry come together to network and share news of the latest education and innovation.

Visit http://btme.org.uk/ for more information.

For the latest industry news visit turfnews.co.uk

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

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You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

New irrigation controller choice at BTME

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Irrigation made even simpler by Bailoy: New irrigation controller choice at BTME.

New to the Bailoy range, and BTME, is the GTI EC irrigation control software in Pro and Lite versions. These GTI EC controllers retain many features of the GTI PC stablemate while being more economical and simple to use, making them perfect for smaller sites with modest budgets.

For those needing flow-managed irrigation with real-time email notifications, the GTI EC Pro is ideal. The automated flow-managed feature provides precise application to holes or areas in the fastest, most efficient order.

Plus its comprehensive email notification feature alerts the user if issues occur during an irrigation programme, giving access to a range of diagnostic data on programme and station issues.

If required, the GTI EC Pro can also be switched from flow management to the sequence-based system used by its sister model: the GTI EC Lite.

The GTI EC Lite is the control system for sites needing simple sequence-based irrigation. Ideal for sports venues, small to mid-sized clubs and landscape projects, the user can arrange irrigation order by area or hole and design up to 10 sequences.

Should the customer ever decide they’d like to upgrade their GTI EC Lite to benefit from flow management and email notifications, this can be done by simply requesting a feature unlock key.

As both the GTI EC Pro and Lite are available for sites using 2- or 3-core control cables, they are flexible and upgradeable from all equipment manufactured by Bailoy. This also means the GTI EC controllers will be compatible with most existing site control cables, decoders and solenoids, resulting in a seamless upgrade.

In fact, the majority of GTI EC installations are completed in a day. With guided steps for every process, you will be able to create programmes and irrigate within minutes of installation.

To learn more about these new products, call 020 8897 0125 or email info@bailoy.com.

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Agronomics in the Drone Zone

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Agronomics in the Drone Zone: All Agronomic Services customers are invited to discuss their requirements and take part in the Drone Rewards Scheme.

The scheme includes any combination of Agronomic’s soil liquid ranges, Floratine foliars and wetting agents and Agronomic’s granulars as well as Oxy RushTM.

The flexibility of the scheme allows the customer to tailor their bespoke requirements which includes soil and water analysis for an accurate road map.

Customers are rewarded with the DJI Phantom 4 Drone or Oxy-Rush Next Generation which tackles thatch, black layer and improves soil condition.

2018 sees the launch of Agronomic’s TAPs, “Turf Action Plans”. With Agronomic’s liquid cold starter which can be used in the winter months and applied to wet grass and with no irrigation required.

The TAPs are an easy to follow package that offer great value for money and qualify for the rewards scheme.

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Jacobsen Equipment At BTME

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Jacobsen Equipment At BTME: Textron Golf, the Ipswich-based manufacturer of Jacobsen commercial mowing equipment, will showcase the new AR series and TR series at the BIGGA Turf Management Exhibition (BTME) in Harrogate in January.

The new Jacobsen AR and TR series replaces the existing AR-3, TR-3 and Tri-King machines. Created with usability in mind, the new machines are built on a common platform, and are offered as standard or premium models.

Jacobsen Equipment At BTME

The AR321 (standard model) and AR331 (premium model) are 3WD rotary triple mowers featuring 24.8hp Kubota diesel engines. The AR321 is fitted with relay control and analogue gauges as standard, for ease of use and serviceability. Brand new cutting decks offer a quick height-of-cut adjustment system and eliminate the need for castor wheels. The AR331 has additional features such as a digital information display, a joy stick control for lifting and lowering decks, and a superior comfort suspension seat. The AR331 also features AdaptiShift technology, allowing the decks to glide effortlessly side-to side to mow those hard-to-reach areas.

The TR320 (standard model) and the TR330 (premium model) are triplex cylinder mowers. The TR320 has many great features including the ability to raise the cutting units to a vertical position, reducing the width of the mower to a minimum of 1.55m, making transportation, access and storage a breeze. The TR330 also features the additional benefit of AdaptiShift technology, a superior comfort suspension seat and intuitive digital controls.

As one of the groundcare industry’s major manufacturing companies, Textron Golf will also be showcasing other mowers and aeration equipment from Jacobsen, golf cars from E-Z-GO  plus Cushman utility vehicles and turf maintenance equipment from Turfco.

About Textron Specialized Vehicles Inc.

Textron Specialized Vehicles Inc. is a leading global manufacturer of golf cars, utility and personal transportation vehicles, snowmobiles, side-by-sides, all-terrain vehicles, professional turf-care equipment, and ground support equipment. Textron Specialized Vehicles markets products under the E-Z-GO®, Cushman®, Arctic Cat®, Textron Off Road™, Jacobsen®, Dixie Chopper®, Ransomes®, TUG™, Douglas™, Premier™ and Safeaero™ brands. Its vehicles are found in environments ranging from golf courses to factories, airports to planned communities, and theme parks to hunting preserves.

About Textron Inc.

Textron Inc. is a multi-industry company that leverages its global network of aircraft, defense, industrial and finance businesses to provide customers with innovative solutions and services. Textron is known around the world for its powerful brands such as Bell Helicopter, Cessna, Beechcraft, Hawker, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO, Greenlee, Textron Off Road, Arctic Cat, Textron Systems, and TRU Simulation + Training.

For more information, visit: www.textron.com

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