ICL Scholars Revealed For Continue To Learn

ICL Scholars Revealed For Continue To Learn: The British & International Golf Greenkeepers Association and ICL have confirmed the five successful recipients of the third ICL Continue to Learn scholarship.

The ICL Continue to Learn Scholarship offers five BIGGA members the opportunity to attend the Continue to Learn education programme. Taking place at BTME 2019 in Harrogate, the world-leading education programme features more than 250 hours of education, making it the most influential event in the turf management calendar within the United Kingdom.

ICL Scholars Revealed For Continue to Learn

The scholarship, worth approximately £500, comprises three nights’ hotel accommodation and a 15-hour education bundle.

The successful BIGGA members are:

  1. Blair Shearer, assistant greenkeeper, Dunbar Golf Club
  2. Dan Dooley, greenkeeper, Mount Murray Golf Club
  3. David Stewart, deputy head greenkeeper, Walmley Golf Club
  4. Jorge Manso, deputy head greenkeeper, Coombe Wood Golf Club
  5. Andrew Brown, course manager, Boundary Lakes

Sami Strutt, BIGGA’s head of member development, said: “The ICL Continue to Learn Scholarship is a great initiative, providing five BIGGA members with the chance to attend education classes that have been specifically designed with greenkeepers in mind.

“Staying in Harrogate, visiting BTME and networking with like-minded colleagues and peers is a fabulous way to ignite the passion of this great industry for the year ahead. Our thanks go to the sponsor, ICL, for enabling this desirable opportunity.”

Michael Hughes, deputy course manager at Scotscraig, was an ICL Scholar at Continue to Learn 2018. He said: “The scholarship was priceless for me because I knew my golf club couldn’t afford to send me to Continue to Learn. When you add up the cost, including a hotel for the week, what ICL and BIGGA do for anyone in my position is just priceless. Just those few days in Harrogate benefit your career immensely because you take so much away from them.”

Ed Carter, UK sales and development manager for ICL, said: “We are delighted to be involved with the scholarship for the third year running. The feedback we received from previous scholars has been excellent and we hope those chosen for 2019 get as much out of it as the previous 10 did.”

Continue to Learn at BTME will take place at the Harrogate Convention Centre, Crowne Plaza Hotel and The Majestic Hotel from Sunday 20 to Wednesday 23 January 2019. The extensive programme will run alongside BTME, the largest indoor exhibition in Europe for the sports turf industry.

The Turf Rewards loyalty scheme from ICL and Syngenta enables BIGGA members to claim Continue to Learn education vouchers with reward points for buying products that are used on golf courses. For further information visit www.turfrewards.com

For more information about BTME and Continue to Learn, visit www.btme.org.uk

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Reform Launch Metron At Galabau

Reform Launch Metron At Galabau: Revealed at the recent Galabau Exhibition in Nuremburg for green urban open spaces equipment, specialist bank tractor manufacturer Reform Werke has launched the Metron P48 RC as the first radio-controlled equipment carrier with real hybrid drive. 

Simon Richard, UK Sales Agent for the Reform range says, “Metron’s concept is based on a 48hp Kubota petrol engine powering a generator which supplies energy to the battery pack and the electric wheel motors. The generator also has a direct drive which drives the mechanical front PTO shaft allowing Metron to operate all attachments mechanically.

Reform Launch Metron At Galabau

Control is via a powerful, ergonomic radio hand-set with integrated colour display and a working range up to 400metres .The hybrid drive also allows the Metron P48 RC to operate purely electrically. If more power is required, the petrol engine can be switched on quickly and easily. Permanent all-wheel drive to four same size wheels, low centre of gravity and five different steering modes combine to give optimum slope capability.

A range of attachments such as flail mowers, rotary mowers, snow blowers and ploughs, brooms and much more can be easily mounted and Metron’s compact dimensions and 1,000 kg weight make it is easy to transport  and operate in tight conditions.”

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Ariens Winning Dealer Meeting

Ariens Winning Dealer Meeting: Ariens Company gathered all their dealers for Countax, Westwood, Ariens and ECHO at Whittlebury Hall, Northamptonshire on the 12th September for their annual dealer meeting. The theme of the meeting was ‘Shifting Gears’ and the day was led by Darren Spencer, Vice President for EMEA and Asia, beginning with talks on the new products available early in 2019. These included the Ariens Zenith, the largest zero turn in the portfolio, aimed at the commercial market. The new Countax C40 and Westwood T40 garden tractors were also launched along with an interchangeable cassette system attachment which allows customers to scarify and sweep their garden and grounds. The new range of ECHO Lithium Ion 58V outdoor power tools was also on display for dealers to try including chainsaws, brushcutters, hedgetrimmers and an innovative walk behind 21” lawn mower. The new product introductions are in keeping with Ariens Company’s policy of ‘continuous improvement’  

Following a short introduction, the day was structured to provide dealers with ample time to demo products and to introduce useful tools to help grow their business. There were various breakout sessions, which included a Marketing Update and focus on the latest innovative marketing tools available to dealers, including the announcement of the Ariens Market Hub. The Hub is a revision of Ariens highly innovative ‘Marketing Materials Site’, a system that enables dealers to order customised marketing materials, merchandise and promotional items. At the core of this is the latest multi-brand leaflet which allows dealers to customise their own catalogues.

Ariens Winning Dealer Meeting

“This year’s dealer meeting has been a great success with excellent attendance,” says Darren Spencer, “our dealer network is at the heart of our business, so it is imperative that we provide them with a new generation of products, services and sales tools to best serve the end user.”

During the afternoon session dealers were given the opportunity to test a range of machinery including the new C40 and T40 garden tractors, the Zoom, Ikon, Apex and Zenith zero turns and the complete range of ECHO outdoor power tools.  As the UK distributor for ECHO, this was the ideal opportunity for Ariens to showcase the new 58V Lithium Ion battery series comprising hedgetrimmer, power blower and  brushcutter. Each dealer was also encouraged to show off their driving agility by entering the Zero Turn challenge for a chance to win a Supercar Driving Experience track day and the prestigious ‘Zero-turn Cup’!

During the day the Ariens Dealer Advisory Council (DAC) led a closed discussion with dealers exploring industry issues and ideas to support the dealer network. The DAC will work with Ariens Company over the coming 12 months to devise action plans to counter these issues.

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Rigby Taylor’s Interactive Experience

Rigby Taylor’s Interactive Experience: Rigby Taylor will be announcing a number of exciting new product launches at SALTEX on October 31 and November 1 – to be viewed both on the stand and in the outside demonstration area:

  • The TinyMobile – a next generation, fully autonomous pitch line marking GPS robot that’s faster, lighter, more flexible and more economical than anything available;
  • The Armaline GPS multiple pitch marking machine that is operated from a multi-purpose utility vehicle;
  • A range of Carbon4Grass environmentally responsible grass seeds.

Rigby Taylor's Interactive Experience

Visitors will also be able to discuss Rigby Taylor’s leading range of turf fertilisers, turf fungicide tank mixes and water management products…and more!

A cup of freshly made coffee will be available to all visitors to the stand and company personnel will be on hand to offer information and advice, and provide on-stand presentations through the use of touch-screen TV monitors.

For the first time, too, Rigby Taylor is linking with the industry charity Perennial as sponsor of a football simulator where prizes will be awarded on each day of the show in a penalty shoot-out competition.

Rigby Taylor will also feature at the IOG Industry Awards evening as sponsor of the Young Groundsman of the Year Award.

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‘Precise’ Sherriff Amenity At SALTEX

‘Precise’ Sherriff Amenity At SALTEX: Visitors to stand E060 at SALTEX 2018 will get the opportunity to find out how they could significantly improve their turf through Sherriff Amenity’s range of unique products and some new dedicated apps.

Sherriff Amenity, the UK’s leading turf and amenity suppliers, have announced the launch of two new apps, which are set to increase efficiency and improve operations for sports turf managers.

‘Precise’ Sherriff Amenity At SALTEX

PrecisionPro is a dedicated app for sports turf to measure any area, guide you in calibrating your spreader for any granular product and also help you apply fertilisers as accurate as ever. The slogan for the app is Measure. Calibrate. Apply – and in just three simple steps accuracy and precision is guaranteed.

The misjudgement of green size often results in over application or under application of fertilisers and both will have a negative effect on performance, disease and budget.

PrecisionPro allows turf managers to have an accurate measured area by simply opening the app and walking the perimeter of the green. Calibrating spreaders has always been a difficult task but with the Calibrate feature in the PrecisionPro app, users are guided through each step of the process. Furthermore, its advanced GPS functionality informs you when to start and stop the calibration process.

Accurate application is taken to the next level and no more guesswork is required. The app features a function to ensure that every operator walks at the same speed – if someone is walking too fast or too slow then they are alerted by colour coded screens. As well as calculating your g/m2 and your walking speed, the Apply feature ultimately ensures that you are applying the correct amount of product to your turf.

Also being showcased on the stand is Sherriff Amenity’s all new ParryMeter football app – which is the world’s first dedicated measurement device to accurately measure the ball roll performance of football pitches using a real football. The ParryMeter football app records thousands of measurements per run ensuring absolute accuracy of readings. Additional data can also be entered into the app and all measurements are saved and easily shared however the user wishes to.

Sherriff Amenity will be joined on the stand by Carbon Gold – the world’s leading biochar company. Sherriff Amenity are the exclusive UK distributors of Carbon Gold’s Enriched Biochar Turf Improver and visitors will be able to discover more about Biochar, which is a highly porous, high carbon form of charcoal used to improve soil nutrition, growing conditions and turf health. It is made from untreated waste woody biomass that has been charred at a low temperature with a restricted supply of oxygen, a process called pyrolysis.

Carbon Gold’s Turf Improver enriches biochar with optimum levels of beneficial fungi, bacteria and trace minerals for optimum soil and sward health. Where prevention rather than cure is key, adding enriched biochar to soil provides the foundation on which to build resilient, attractive, playable turf, as recent sports turf trials have shown.

One lucky visitor to the stand will also walk away with a free Accupro spreader as well as a Lenova tablet, which comes pre-loaded with the PrecisonPro app.

For further information, please contact Sherriff Amenity on 01638 721 888 or visit www.sherriffamenity.com

For more news and insightful views, you can follow Sherriff Amenity on Twitter @SherriffAmenity

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