400 Mile Mower Journey

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400 Mile Mower Journey: Five former students who drove a Ransomes Matador mower non-stop from Edinburgh to London’s Hyde Park back in 1959, were reunited recently to commemorate their epic journey. The University of Hertfordshire in Hatfield hosted a celebratory lunch and tour of the current Engineering faculty to celebrate their remarkable achievement.

Back in 1959, Tom Hudson, Mike Smith, Mike Savage, Hugh Tansley and John Wilson, who were all apprentices at the De Havilland Aircraft Company and day-release students at Hatfield Technical College, decided they wanted to test the reliability of small petrol engines, so they hatched a plot which became known as Operation Matador, to see if they could drive a mower from Edinburgh to London.

400 Mile Mower Journey

They contacted the management at Ransomes, Sims and Jeffries, the forerunner of today’s Ransomes Jacobsen company, who quickly agreed to help them out. Ransomes provided a standard Matador walk-behind mower, slightly modified with a larger sump added to the 288cc Villiers engine to provide enough lubrication for the non-stop 400-mile trip. A team of four apprentices tested a couple of prototypes, running them around Ipswich for 90 hours, which was the estimated time it would take to travel at 3 mph down the A68 and A1.

With the trials successfully completed, the date for Operation Matador was set for Easter 1959. The five students left Edinburgh Castle with Tom Hudson driving the first leg and the others crammed into a Bedford Dormobile, which was to be their mobile home for the next four days. A gift of a haggis was placed in the grass box of the mower to be presented to the Keeper of the Royal Parks in London – a Scotsman – at the end of the journey.

Four days and three nights after leaving the appropriately named Lawnmarket in Edinburgh, the students rode into Hyde Park to be greeted by a high-powered reception committee of Royal Park’s staff, Ransomes top management and dealer representatives, a BBC television crew and the press. The haggis was handed over to the Keeper of the Royal Parks and a ceremonial strip of Hyde Park grass was mown to Ransomes perfection.

Back in 2009 Ransomes Jacobsen helped the team celebrate their 50th anniversary by organising a two-day visit to their head office in Ipswich, which included a replica of the

Ransomes Matador mower complete with the number plate and signage from 1959.

Ten years on the mower, now in the safe hands of the Ipswich Transport Museum, was parked on the lawn at the university to greet the intrepid Operation Matador team as they arrived.

Professor Quintin McKellar CBE, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University of Hertfordshire, welcomed the illustrious alumni saying,

“I am delighted to welcome you all to this amazing celebration, some 60 years on from that epic Easter weekend back in 1959. It was an incredible feat and a credit to yourselves, Hatfield Technical College as it was then, and the Ransomes company. You have entered the annals of the history of the University and it’s a pleasure to welcome you and your wives on this historic occasion, and to get a shot driving the lawn mower!”

Mike Smith, one of the ‘masterminds’ behind the ride added,

“We keep in touch with each other, but it has been 10 years since we were all together. What’s really amazing is that we are all still here to celebrate again a decade later and we are truly grateful to the Vice-Chancellor and his staff for this generous recognition.”

The celebrations concluded with a tour of the university’s Engineering department to see the recently installed driving simulator in the Automotive laboratory, various flight simulators and the latest Student Formula racing car being designed and built by the engineering students.

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Bruntsfield Links’ New Toro Fleet

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Bruntsfield Links’ New Toro Fleet: A £1.2 million investment in the 18-hole course at one of the world’s oldest golf clubs, Bruntsfield Links Golfing Society in Edinburgh, has concluded with the arrival of a brand new Toro fleet of machinery to safeguard the investment.

As course manager Neil Hogg says, you don’t create something of this quality if you don’t have the machinery to keep it at its best: “This is our first package deal and the timing coincides with the conclusion of the extensive revamp of the course by golf course architects Mackenzie and Ebert. The course has been designed around a very modern spec and reflects the way golf is played in the 21st Century. We knew we needed a package deal to take care of the course and deliver the results it deserves.”

Bruntsfield Links' New Toro Fleet

The main objective of the redesign was to keep the original Dr Mackenzie shapes and feel but bring it up-to-date. Mackenzie and Ebert follow in the footprints of past course work completed by Willie Park Jnr, Dr Alister Mackenzie, James Braid and Fred Hawtree.

“Despite being an Open qualifying venue since 2011, there hadn’t been any changes to the course since the early 1970s,” Neil says.

There are now eight new holes and more than 80 bunkers which have been redesigned and repositioned to reflect the distances club golfers are now striking the ball, plus the course has been restored to a par 71 to create longer play. The 12th & 13th holes were combined to create a challenging dog leg par five into a prevailing wind and a new signature par three hole at the 16th over a pond has been introduced.

And already Neil notes the improvements are making a big difference for the club: “The course improvements were designed to elevate Bruntsfield to be one of the top parkland courses in Scotland. The works have only recently finished, but have made such a difference and been so well received, we’ve surged up the Top 100 Golf Courses list by 69 places. Plus, we’ve seen an increase in membership too and now have an extensive waiting list in place.”

However, the equipment in the shed wasn’t quite so shiny and new, as Neil explains: “The shed was previously a mixed bag of machines. Some were getting on for 30 years old and the machinery that made up the fleet as a whole hadn’t really been considered. With Dougie, our CEO’s guidance, plus that of Reesink’s Stuart Tait and David Raitt, we looked at how we could streamline things and ensure the best for the future of the course.”

Dougie Cleeton enjoyed a successful tenure as managing secretary of Blairgowrie Golf Club before joining Bruntsfield and bringing with him sound knowledge of what to expect with the redesign of a course, says Neil: “We were lucky to get Dougie, he’d been involved in similar projects before and brought with him a wealth of experience. Together we went through the machines in the shed and planned the new fleet.”

Included in the deal are two Reelmaster 3575-D fairway mowers, two Reelmaster 3100-D mowers with Sidewinders, five Greensmaster 1000 pedestrian mowers, two Greensmaster 3250-D ride-on greens mowers, a Workman MDX utility vehicle and a TYM 503 heavy-duty tractor.

“The new fleet is delivering on our expectations. All the staff love using the machines, the fairway mowers are so nimble and light, and the pedestrian mowers in particular are a big hit. Plus, maintenance and servicing are a lot easier.”

Neil finishes by saying: “It’s the perfect end to a successful project. We started out with quality and longevity in mind and we conclude with it too. The machines will respect the course and bring out its best for years to come.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Ipswich GC Purchase Terra Rake

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Ipswich GC Purchase Terra Rake: Graham Brumpton, Course Manager at Ipswich Golf Club, has a sizeable list of duties earmarked for his new 2.3 m Wiedenmann Terra Rake.

“In all honesty we’ve wanted this machine since the day it was released. We purchased a rival machine literally weeks before the Terra Rake launch and had a severe case of machine envy ever since. Now we finally have one,” he said.

Ipswich GC Purchase Terra Rake

Graham Brumpton’s first trial of the machine was actually on the Suffolk  course’s Purdis Heath 18th fairway on the day it was delivered.

“I couldn’t believe its productivity and speed. My team were looking on impressed… the more momentum, the better the results.”

An immediate project for the Suffolk club, which comprises both an 18 hole and a 9 hole course, is thatch and moss removal.

“Off the back of the drought last summer – and bearing in mind we are a heathland course – we applied generous amounts of iron. Now we want to remove all organic matter that we can from the surfaces to open up the turf, letting moisture and light back in. We also drilled seed last year.  With such a dry autumn we didn’t get much of a take on germination. Then a very dry winter followed. I’m hoping despite everything, the seed bed is still in there.  The Terra Rake is exactly the kit to open it back up to return water and light.  There’s a still a hope to get germination from the seed.

“All fairways were terra-raked in March with a double pass.  It really rips into remove the organic matter but it also helps stand up the grass.  We’ve followed on behind with our blowers and collecting units and it’s made a real difference.  Like many greenkeepers in this part of the country we in the lap of the gods praying for significant rainfall to reap rewards of hard work done.”

Graham joined the club straight from school in 1990 and became course manager in 2012.  He now heads a team of eight.  Ipswich GC also purchased  a  Wiedenmann Terra Spike GXi8 HD at the same time, the club’s third Terra Spike to speed up greens aeration and micro-tining.

Co-ordinating the delivery and set up of both machines was Eddie Jack, Field Sales Manager from dealers Ernest Doe & Sons at North Walsham.

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The Worker Is King: GKB Renovator

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The Worker Is King: GKB Renovator: Encountering problems with a compacted synthetic or hybrid turf pitch? Is the compacted infill layer responsible for reduced water permeability?

GKB Machines, the company behind sustainable, reliable and robust maintenance machinery for natural, synthetic and hybrid turf are able to provide you with the solution thanks to the GKB Renovator.

The Worker Is King: GKB Renovator

Adaptable for scarifying hybrid and natural turf pitches, the GKB Renovator’s interlocking five brushes that form the foundation of the machine can easily be removed and replaced with a set of rotating spring tines. Available in 1.6 and 2m working widths, the circular oscillating movement of the spring tines removes unwanted material from around the plastic fibres and in turn improves the quality and effectiveness of the pitch.

Not only a method for in-season hybrid maintenance, the GKB Renovator can also be used subsequently with the GKB Combinator as an important part of the renovation method. Using the GKB Renovator and GKB Combinator together is an ideal combination for stitched and non-stitched hybrid pitches. Through vigorous testing in The Netherlands, UK and Belgium, this method has been developed over the past 2 years.

In addition, you are able to adjust the operating depth of the GKB Renovator by turning two adjustable legs, in or out, and the rubber wheels ensure the GKB Renovator will softly roll across the synthetic turf pitch. The machine is driven by a power-take off shaft (PTO) and the entire powering system is executed in a robust manner.

For more on GKB Machines and their reliable and robust range of machinery for natural, hybrid and synthetic turf, please visit www.gkbmachines.com or contact Tom Shinkins on 07495 883617.

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The Worker Is King: GKB Infiller

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The Worker Is King: GKB Infiller: Are you looking for a way to infill in the construction of your sports field? Or do you have other material such as cork that you want to apply accurately?

GKB Machines, the company behind sustainable, reliable and robust maintenance machinery for natural, synthetic and hybrid turf are able to provide you with the solution thanks to the GKB Infiller which can perform these different actions.

The Worker Is King: GKB Infiller

Equipped with a rotatable driver’s seat, the innovative GKB Infiller can be driven in both directions and has the ability to efficiently apply several types of infill material like sand, SBR rubber, TPE rubber and cork in two directions.

The precision control valve can be set from 0 to 100mm to determine how much infill material is sprinkled which is manually adjustable as well as hydraulically operated. This flap in the front of the bunker gives you the possibility to regulate the amount of sand that is distributed whilst there are specially designed agitators in the bunker to break up rubber crumb infill and guarantee an even spreading pattern.

The GKB Infiller is also provided with aluminium extensions to enlarge the bunker capacity of the bunker mounted on top of the chassis. The bunker is increased by these extensions from 1.06m3 to 3m3.

For more on GKB Machines and their reliable and robust range of machinery for natural, hybrid and synthetic turf, please visit www.gkbmachines.com or contact Tom Shinkins on 07495 883617 to enquire about the GKB Infiller ready for next season.

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