Leigh Expand Dennis Fleet

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Leigh Expand Dennis Fleet: Keith Porter, head groundsman at Leigh Sports Village in Greater Manchester, has expanded his fleet of Dennis mowers by purchasing four G860 cylinder mowers and four PRO 34R rotary mowers.

Leigh Sports Village certainly lives up to its name by comprising of a main stadium pitch – a Desso Hybrid GrassMaster, three additional soil based sand ameliorated pitches with primary and secondary drainage and irrigation; and two full size, three seven-a-side and a 5-a-side floodlit 4G synthetic pitches. The village also features an indoor sports centre and a swimming pool.

Leigh Expand Dennis Fleet

It is home to a number of professional sports teams including rugby league side Leigh Centurions and Manchester United FC U23’s, U19’s and most recently the ladies team. It is also used by local teams and organisations such as Leigh East Amateur Rugby Club, Leigh Athletic FC, Team Elite Football Academy, Pro Football Academy and various age groups of Leigh United FC and Hindley Green Juniors.

Keith has been the head groundsman at this impressive facility for nearly eleven years and in that time has excelled in improving the quality of the playing surfaces.

To cut and prepare the pitches for match days he has long relied on the Dennis G860 cylinder mower. However, with games coming thick and fast, and armed with some rather ageing rotary mowers, Keith felt the time was right to add to his Dennis armoury.

“Quite often, we will have back-to-back games and have three games in a week – so we need good equipment for a quick turn-around,” he said. “Our old rotaries were about four years old and had become unreliable. I’ve used lots of Dennis machines in my time and they have always been incredibly reliable so we decided to look at their new rotary mower.

“We had a PRO 34R on a demonstration and were really impressed with it so we decided to go ahead and purchase four. It was also the ideal opportunity to bring in more G860’s because they have always given us great results.

“They are both light machines compared to competitors, so they are lighter on the pitch and therefore there is not as much compaction.”

The new Dennis PRO 34R is a 34” (860mm) rotary mower which has been designed to help groundsmen achieve an aesthetically pleasing appearance and desired playing surface. It is ideal for sports pitches and lawns producing the enviable ‘Dennis Stripes’ while a powerful vacuum flow collects debris quickly and efficiently. The angle of the cutting deck and twin blades can be easily adjusted using a single ‘click adjuster’ ensuring the mower is suitable for changing conditions and meeting groundsmen’s requirements.

Keith believes the two mowers perfectly complement one another and that both play a vital role in his maintenance programme.

“We use the G860’s to cut the pitches for match preparation and then the day after the games the rotaries are used to clean up and present the pitches in time for the next game,” he said. “The rotaries keep it free from debris and nicely stripes them up – in fact, the presentation on the PRO 34R is very comparable to a cylinder mower.

“The rotaries also save us so much time because before we had the PRO 34R’s we used to have six rotary mowers out there at one time but now we just have four which do the job in a faster time. This is because there are two blades as opposed to one and a wider cut. A quick turnaround is essential here especially if you are going from rugby to football.

For a number of years now the Dennis G860 has been the number one choice for groundsmen like Keith. Lightweight at just 166kg; it is easy to manoeuvre and comfortable to operate. The handlebar console houses the controls for – throttle, parking brake, roller drive and cutting cylinder drive. The mower also features a large diameter front roller with an adjustable scraper which has been designed for a precise height of cut control, giving an excellent finish on every occasion. The Dennis G860 also features an interchangeable cassette system to assist with a wide range of tasks.

“What I like about Dennis as a company is that they are very interested in your opinion,” Keith continued. “They are always asking you about your experience with their mowers and ask if they could make any improvements. They then go away and genuinely listen.

“It just adds to the overall package and everything about the company is great. The mowers are British made, they have been around for a long, long time, they put a lot of thought into the machinery based on industry feedback and their main priority is their customer.”

For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact Dennis 01332 824 777 or visit www.dennisuk.com

For more news, reviews and insightful views, you can follow Dennis on Twitter @DennisMowers and like the company’s Facebook page – www.facebook.com/DennisMowersUK. You can also view the latest Dennis videos by visiting www.youtube.com/DennisMowers

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Beau Desert Invest In Toro

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Beau Desert Invest In Toro: 660 feet above sea level and hidden among Staffordshire’s Cannock Forest, the unique location of Beau Desert Golf Club means the club has its own microclimate and a specific set of challenges when it comes to course maintenance. It’s for these reasons the club has signed its first lease deal with Toro.

Course manager Steve Mucklow explains that with colder temperatures for longer periods of the year, the risk of cutting the turf of the 18-hole 6,458-yard course too short, resulting in damage or stress, increases. Having equipment that provides a precise cut and great finish without damaging the grass is vital, hence the deal with Toro.

Beau Desert Invest In Toro

“Having a high-quality fleet to deal with the demanding maintenance of the course is incredibly important and I’m confident Toro will be able to deal with that and at the same time improve the course, raising the standards and making it easier for the team in the process.”

Steve continues: “I’ve been course manager for 25 years and our fleet has always featured Toro equipment. We’d been wanting to invest in a full Toro fleet for a while, but the timing hadn’t been right. As soon as it was, we turned to Redtech Machinery and Reesink Turfcare and set about discussing the best combination of machines for what we wanted to achieve.”

And aeration was a priority meaning the ProCore 648 made the list, as Steve explains: “I’ve been looking to try out the ProCore 648 for a few years now, and although we haven’t been using it for long, it’s now a firm favourite of mine. It’s going to be really exciting to really put it through its paces here and see what it delivers.”

In addition, the club’s new fleet also includes a Greensmaster 3400 TriFlex, Groundsmaster 4100-D, Reelmaster 3100-D Sidewinder, RM3555-D and Workman GTX.

With plans in the making to further improve the club, including restructuring the bunkers, Steve is confident that “Toro will deliver on every aspect” from course maintenance to course improvements. “It’s a very exciting time to see the club taking its next steps to progress and move forward, especially with Toro on board.”

Jon Lewis, area sales manager at Reesink Turfcare says: “I am extremely delighted that Steve and Beau Desert Golf Club have chosen to enter a partnership with Reesink Turfcare and Toro. With the addition of a new Toro fleet, it will only help the team here to enhance a great course even further! Particularly when it comes to managing the challenges created by its unique climate.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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New TYM Mower At The Game Fair

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New TYM Mower At The Game Fair: A new TYM mower with the capabilities of a tractor is set to change the way customers maintain their land and will be on TYM’s stand at The Game Fair in Hatfield in July.

The innovative T194 is generating acclaim in the market because it means customers can have a product that has the features of a ride on mower, with the additional functionality of a tractor.

New TYM Mower At The Game Fair

TYM sales manager Steven Haynes says: “As the nation’s largest celebration of the Great British countryside, The Game Fair is a perfect fit for the new T194. It appeals to the woodland and forestry, estate management and gardens sectors with its ability to maintain lawns and gardens to an excellent standard, as well as comfortably dealing with the clearing, carrying, transporting and towing jobs you’d associate with a tractor.”

Equipped with a 54-inch mid-mounted deck, mowing height can be adjusted from the seat via the onboard height-of-cut lever which is easy to use and intuitive to set. Its tractor credentials hinge on the category one three-point linkage and 540 rpm rear PTO which allows for many rear-mounted attachments to be fitted and enabling it to be used for numerous tasks around the garden, orchard, woods and fields.

It can just as easily handle the tasks of summer and autumn, as well as winter sweeping and clear-up, and spring aeration (among many!). This is what gives it its reputation as an all-season machine.

Joining the T194 on stand will be a selection of tractors all suited for rural countryside applications. The TS25, T293, T353 and T433 and T503 will be representing the subcompact and mid-duty ranges from TYM.

Also returning to the show is a selection of SICMA attachments including flail mowers and rotary tillers, which launched at The Game Fair in 2017 to great success, plus 1st Products’ UA40 AERA-Vator which features a unique oscillating tine system that simultaneously prepares the soil surface while aerating up to a depth of 9cm. All will be displayed attached to a TYM tractor to show how versatile these machines can be and what a perfect match they make with these attachments. TYM Tractors, SICMA and 1st Products are all distributed in the UK by Reesink Turfcare.

Steven concludes: “The Game Fair is a key event in our calendar. We have a broad product line which is perfectly suited to customers who visit the show. We have products to meet and exceed their needs and expectations and are delighted to be bringing the T194 which only serves to strengthen our standing in this market.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Corvus – The New UTV On The Block

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Corvus – The New UTV On The Block: Corvus is a new name in 4×4 off-road utility vehicles and one to look out for when its UTV’s arrive on our shores. Europe’s first manufacturer of 4×4 Side by Side vehicles has the strongest pedigree and states an aim to offer technologically superior and highly capable, pioneering vehicles.

A new British company, BOSS ORV, has been formed to introduce, distribute and support the Corvus brand in the UK. BOSS will officially launch three models at the outset: TerrainDX4 EPS, TerrainDX4 PRO EPS and TerrainDX4 CAB EPS.

Corvus – The New UTV On The Block

“When you first look at the Terrain you can see immediately it’s a well-designed and tough, professional UTV.” Says Phil Everett, BOSS ORV’s Managing Director. “Look deeper and it stands out for environmental and technological advancement, a powerhouse engine and a great payload capacity. We’re proud to be able to offer the Corvus range in the UK.” All the above mentioned Terrain models are homologated to T1b tractor regulation and have a top speed of 40mph/65kp/h.

The Corvus main construction facility is in Murcia, Spain with an area of 25,000m² dedicated to manufacturing and assembling, using their own parts and components: gear box, transmission, chassis and technology systems. The company is part of the Tuxton/Yanmar group so it’s a natural fit to marry up the normally aspirated, inline 3-cylinder 993cc Yanmar Diesel engine which gives excellent fuel efficiency and range. The engine is Euro 6 compliant which puts it right at the forefront of the market, leading the Corvus programme of designing systems for reducing emission levels. All the above mentioned Terrain models are homologated to T1b tractor regulation.

Corvus is building the Terrain for work primarily in agriculture, livestock, forestry, turf care and construction but they are highly adaptable vehicles ready for any demanding off-road workout. Boss ORV will launch the Terrain UTV’s in early September but there will be an opportunity for a preview on the Ace ATV stand at the Royal Three Counties Show on 14th -16th June and the ATV Services (Scotland) stand at the Royal Highland Show on 20th – 23rd June.

“In the meantime,” says Phil “we will be building a small, specialised dealer network throughout the UK to offer customers the highest level of service and support.”

For more information about the Corvus Terrain range you can call 01597 810188

E-mail: sales@bossorv.co.uk  Web: www.corvus-utv.co.uk

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Toro At Peterborough Golf Clubs

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Toro At Peterborough Golf Clubs: The family-managed duo of golf courses, Thorpe Wood Golf Course and Orton Meadows Golf Course in Peterborough, continues its joint ambition to switch to Toro with the arrival of its latest fleet.

Golf is in Simon Fitton’s blood. Not only is he a fourth-generation golf professional, he’s also the third generation of the Fitton family to be managing the two courses. Simon assumed the role of managing director of Nene Golf Ltd, the company managing both sites, in 2010 and has been adding more Toro to the shed on an annual basis – and has also added a rescue dog called Toro to the ranks!

Toro At Peterborough Golf Clubs

Simon says: “I took over the company from my dad in 2010, but the first Toro arrived a decade before me. Since then, we’ve been on route to becoming all Toro and I foresee that being achieved in three to four years. Every year we switch more out and get one step closer.”

The reason for this, Simon says, is the service from Reesink Turfcare and rep Julian Copping is “surprisingly good” and the quality and reliability from Toro is “sound”.

“I met Julian pretty much as soon as I joined and the relationship was there straight away. It was all good, actually surprisingly good – very natural – and as a result it has easily developed into what it is today. Julian continues to help us sort out what we need and makes the process very easy.”

The machines delivered in this most recent order includes, among others, a Reelmaster 3100-D with Sidewinder, Workman HDX utility vehicle, ProPass 200 topdresser and an ex-demo SandPro 5040, which, with up to 17 attachments all of which can be changed in under a minute, is the perfect addition for two busy clubs.

So, with the machinery replacement programme taken care of, Simon can concentrate on the recent developments across both courses driven by the changing industry: “We’re already unusual in that we’re a business comprising two courses, in two locations offering our customers two great challenges. But the industry is changing and we’re making updates to both courses to make sure we don’t get left behind. These include a 23-bay covered floodlit driving range, the building of which meant we had to adjust parts of the course to accommodate it, a large putting green by the first tee and a chipping tee by the 10th. Meanwhile, Orton Meadows has an updated 12-hole Pitch and Putt course to introduce more people in the area to the game and provide somewhere for players in the area to perfect their shots.”

With two 18-hole courses and all these new additions to the clubs, it is probably quite a challenging role for Toro? “You’d never notice,” says Simon. “Toro takes everything we throw at it, whether it’s course maintenance or more challenging build projects, in its stride. And you can really notice the difference as we get more Toro – you see how the quality cut, finish and care spreads to cover more of the course.”

So how about Toro the dog, how does he fit into the story? “That’s a story that was just meant to be,” says Simon. “I already had a dog called Welly and although I wasn’t looking for another, I’d heard of a rescue dog that needed a home. His name was Toro and as soon as I saw him I knew he was coming home with me! I don’t know why he was given the name of Toro but it certainly suits us – he arrived and in the same week so did a new arrival of Toro machines!”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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