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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New Ventrac Package For CGM

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New Ventrac Package For CGM: The CGM Group (East Anglia) Ltd is one of the latest landscape contractors to purchase a Ventrac package from Price Turfcare. Supplied by local dealer Ernest Doe & Sons, the package includes a Ventrac 4500 compact tractor and Finishing deck.

Managing director Tim Glover and his wife Julie started the business over 35 years ago carrying out grass cutting for the local authority in West Dereham and now provides grounds maintenance, landscaping, arboriculture, facilities management and pest control services to commercial and domestic customers throughout East Anglia. The Group employs over 180 staff working on a wide range of contracts from local authorities, agricultural processors, housing associations, schools and sports clubs through to one-off hard landscaping projects. CGM Group has bases in King’s Lynn, Norwich, Cambridge and Peterborough and regularly undertake projects in Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex and Suffolk.

New Ventrac Package For CGM Group

Explaining the rationale behind the purchase of the Ventrac package, Head of Operations Marcus Glover said,

“We were in the market for a new machine for our contracts with large factories and distribution centres and saw the Ventrac at LAMMA. I spoke to Rupert Price and he arranged a demonstration, which took place in February. It performed really well and we took delivery soon after. At the moment it is used exclusively for these mowing contracts, but we’ll be looking at the Power Rake and Power Brush attachments later this year as we can see more applications that will suit our business. It’s certainly a versatile machine.”

Adrian (Ady) Seymour is the principal operator and has been with CGM for 12 years. Commenting on the attributes of the machine he said,

“This is a great machine for the operator; it’s comfortable, highly manoeuvrable and very easy to use. The hand controls are intuitive and the articulating frame means we can get into tight areas, reducing additional strimming time. A tank of fuel lasts all day and once I’ve finished, I can clean it down with a light pressure washing. The deck flips up almost vertically, so that helps with cleaning, greasing and blade changing. Under the bonnet everything on the Kubota engine is easily accessible and I can easily access the radiator to blow it clear with a compressed air line.

New Ventrac Package For CGM Group

“With its eight-wheel configuration it’s also very safe on slopes and good in wet conditions. The Finishing deck leaves a really nice finish, so much so, that I’ve been complimented by senior managers at several of our customers when I stripe up the roadside verges and entrance roads to their sites.”

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New Toro For Newlands Holidays

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New Toro For Newlands Holidays: Newlands Holidays, a family-run caravan park, has recently invested in a Toro Groundsmaster 3500-D to help maintain its 23 acres of landscaped grounds and keep customers happy and coming back.

Situated near the World Heritage village of Charmouth in Dorset and a short walk away from the stunning Jurassic Coast, Newlands Holidays is a popular vacation destination. As such, maintaining the grounds to a high standard is vital says business partner, Rex Ireland.

New Toro For Newlands Holidays

“The appearance of the park is of the utmost importance for our business,” says Rex. “It’s a significant factor in customers choosing to holiday here and it’s essential the park looks its best. That’s a major factor in keeping our customers happy and coming back.”

With that in mind, Rex was in the market for a reliable machine which could easily cope with the undulating terrain, bank cutting and general maintenance cutting around the 23-acre site.

Having briefed his local dealer on his requirements, Devon Garden Machinery brought in the Toro Groundsmaster 3500-D, amongst many, to trial and despite tough competition the GM3500-D’s performance won in the end.

“The performance of the Toro machine was just great compared to the other brands,” says Rex. “It did really well on the banks which was very important as we have a fair amount of undulating terrain. Overall, the GM3500-D showed itself to be a really reliable machine and since it will be used for the bulk of the work here, that was really important. It was clear it would provide the best fit for us.”

The combination of the machine’s ground-following design of each free-floating contour cutting deck and the unique parallel traction drive system means it can tackle the most challenging of terrain in all weathers without scalping. As a triplex rotary mower, the GM3500-D has the added benefit of producing the quality trimming you’d expect from a reel mower as well as the easy maintenance of a rotary mower, something which proved to be a key consideration for Rex.

“We’ve had cylinder mowers before, but they’ve proved to be quite high maintenance,” Rex continues. “With the GM3500-D we’ve been able to move away from that and I can already see that it’s going to save us a lot of time on maintenance.”

“When it came to finding a new machine, Devon Garden Machinery provided us with a range of options and simply put, we chose the best,” Rex concludes. “From Toro, we’ve got a good machine that does the job well and will make sure we’re in the best position for the start of the season.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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New Importer For Energreen Units

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New Importer For Energreen Units: Stuart Taylor International is delighted to announce the official appointment of UK importers for the renowned Energreen remote controlled power units, previously marketed in the UK under the McConnel brand.

The range consists of four different machines the RoboECO, RoboGREEN evo, RoboMAX and RoboPower. These models have been developed to offer customers different solutions in order to address different needs of work and equipping themselves with a wide range of attachments designed to be implemented and managed by these machines.

New UK Importer For Energreen Units

All machines are designed to be used in a variety of areas including slopes, land difficult to reach, swampy areas and forestry conditions whilst making the operators safety paramount.

Stuart Taylor International will be covering the Northern half of the UK and are now offering the full range of pre and post sales services on the Energreen Robo range and attachments. This also includes post sales services on the previously McConnel branded Energreen machines and attachments.

If you would like to discuss the Energreen range of machines and how they can help your business, please contact us on 01254 813175.

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TM1000 Tackles Golf Course Thatch

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TM1000 Tackles Golf Course Thatch: Normanby Hall Golf Club Head greenkeeper Michael Burgin has reported hugely successful results from using the SISIS TM1000 tractor mounted heavy duty scarifier to combat high levels of thatch on the greens.

This delightful golf course in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, adjoins the picturesque Normanby Hall country park and is set in 117 stunning acres of mature woodland and parkland. The 18 hole, par 72 course is widely considered to be one of the toughest courses to play in the area, providing a challenge for players of all abilities.

TM1000 Tackles Golf Course Thatch

Michael, who has been in the greenkeeping industry throughout his entire career, has been at Normanby Hall for eleven years. Two years ago, he was promoted to the position of head greenkeeper and one of his first tasks in charge was to tackle an abundance of thatch which had occurred on the greens.

“We established that we had a large layer of thatch on the top of our greens; it was on all of them throughout the whole course. This resulted in some drainage problems and I knew that we desperately needed a new piece of equipment which could help us solve the problem.

“I did a lot of research and came across a number of videos online of greenkeepers using the TM1000. I then read an article about the course manager at Greetham Valley Golf Club using it and what he said about the machine pretty much persuaded me to buy it.”

The SISIS Rotorake TM1000 is a tractor mounted heavy duty scarifier and linear aerator and is un-rivalled when it comes to removing and controlling thatch. It includes a collector box and floating unit to follow ground contours and its contra-rotating reel throws debris forward ensuring a clean, consistent groove resulting in an excellent finish. The TM1000 also features interchangeable blades and a quick, simple depth setting without tools.

The fact that the TM1000 collects debris was a key factor in his decision and also something which was incredibly important to the greenkeeping team according to Michael.

“There were other machines on the market but the ones we looked at didn’t collect. This would mean that you would require two or three guys going behind the machine clearing up.

The hydraulics on the back of the TM1000 means that the operator doesn’t have to keep jumping in and out to empty the grass box – which would be very time consuming. For a small team, if you can get one man to do this job then it is a massive benefit.

TM1000 Tackles Golf Course Thatch

“I also like the fact that the TM1000 can go down to 50mm deep. The SISIS TM1000 runs straight through the turf – like a knife through butter.

“We have found that the time of year doesn’t really matter when it comes to using it. The first time we used the TM1000 was mid-February in winter conditions and we found that it did not phase the machine whatsoever.

“No matter what the weather you can’t even tell that the TM1000 has been across the greens and that has really impressed me. It’s a reliable machine with very little maintenance required.

“Overall it is just a fantastic piece of kit. There has been a big improvement in the greens and our soil samples have proved that the thatch levels have dropped dramatically since using the TM1000.”

For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact SISIS on 01332 824 777 or visit www.sisis.com

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

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