Greenfingers’ New Etesia Fleet

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Greenfingers’ New Etesia Fleet: Based in Midlothian, Scotland, Greenfingers have renewed their fleet of Etesia groundcare equipment by purchasing 14 Pro 46 PHCS pedestrian mowers and a Buffalo 100 BPHP ride-on mower.

Established in 1991, Greenfingers offers professional garden and grounds maintenance and commercial soft landscaping throughout the Lothians, Borders and Fife.

Greenfingers' New Etesia Fleet

The contractor has been relying on a wide range of Etesia equipment for a number of years, and proprietor Jason McCran revealed how it all started.

“I had initially heard of Etesia through press articles in trade magazines – there were always good reviews and people seemed to rate them highly. That was a long time ago now and we’ve been buying the machines for as long as I can remember and every member of the team feels confident using them.”

As part of his fleet renewal, Jason purchased 14 Etesia Pro 46 PHCS pedestrian mowers and a Buffalo 100 BPHP ride-on mower.

Jason’s team use the Buffalo BPHP for the larger green space areas that the company maintains. Featuring a 100cm cutting deck and a 20.5HP diesel Perkins engine, up to 12,000sq.m. of grass can be cut and collected per hour. The efficiency of the unique cutting system allows professionals to work faster and operators see increased productivity as the Buffalo 100 excels when used on wet grass or in the rain. This machine is also fitted with a built-in grass collector with a capacity of 600 litres, and the hydraulic emptying system is controlled from the driver’s seat.

The Etesia Pro 46 PHCS offers extreme versatility with the ability to cut, collect and mulch without the need for an accessory. Built upon the DUOCUT concept of combining 100% collection and 100% mulching decks together, the Pro 46 PHCS delivers high performance without compromising the results of either of the functions. By crushing the grass finely, even if it is long and wet, it excels in its collection abilities. Fitted with a powerful 5HP Honda engine, the PHCS offers low vibrations with ‘soft grip’ handle bars which can fold for easy transportation.

“We predominately use the pedestrian mowers on small grass areas on grounds where we work with property managers, or around sheltered complexes for housing associations,” says Jason. “We find that by using the PHCS, we can govern the speed better because you can cut with it as quick as the operator can move”.

“The majority of our work is cut and collect and the Etesia mowers do this in wet weather better than any other mower that we’ve tried. This is what particularly drew us to them because in Scotland we are prone to rain throughout the summer months. We’ve never had any issues with Etesia equipment; they do the job to an extremely high standard and we have no reason at all to change.”

For further information, please contact Etesia UK on 01295 680120 or visit www.etesia.co.uk

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Toro A Cut Above At Cruden Bay

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Toro A Cut Above At Cruden Bay: The performance of Toro’s Reelmaster 5410-D mowers on the fairways of Cruden Bay Golf Club, the traditional Scottish links course in Aberdeenshire, is preferred over all others.

Course manager, Alister Matheson, comments: “The first thing I noticed about the Reelmaster in the demo was the way it handled the ground. The course at Cruden Bay follows the original lie of the land to great effect and as a result the fairways have a few humps and hollows. This didn’t pose a problem to the RM5410, its quality of cut was by far the best. As a result, we decided to buy two.”

Toro A Cut Above At Cruden Bay

Alister and his team are proud to present their perfect example of firm and fast undulating natural links fairways, back after five years thanks to a particularly dry end to spring. As Toro’s UK distributor Reesink Turfcare’s David Raitt says: “The game originated here in Scotland and this is the way links courses should look at this time of the year. Many foreign golfers, especially Americans, love this set up for links golf because it represents how the sports should be played in the natural environment.”

The grass looks like this when the ground is dry and there is little moisture for the plant so it goes dormant. When enough rain comes, which it undoubtedly will, the grass will come out of dormancy and its familiar green colour will return.

Not that any of this has been a problem for the Reelmasters brought in for the fairways, as Alister confirms: “They can cope with all conditions.” The fact that the RM5410-D is designed with improved operator comfort in mind, did not go unnoticed by Alister either: “This machine is so much nicer to the driver,” he says. Alister’s right: tilt steering, a deluxe suspension seat, improved visibility and lower operating noise, all go a long way to enhancing the operator experience and helping to reduce fatigue.

Alister completed the order by selecting the Multi Pro 5800-D sprayer for the Championship course, which is ranked 24th in the country by the Top 100 Golf Courses, and primarily chose the machine for its increased tank capacity: “We had a tank capacity of 700 litres before, whereas the Multi Pro 5800-D can hold 1136 litres. This will be far more cost effective, and productive to use.” But it was in the demo that Alister realised just how “robust and reliable” the Multi Pro is too, and that sealed the deal.

Alister has a formidable CV with many of the golfing greats on it. Before his ten years at Cruden Bay, he spent five years at one of the best clubs in the world, Royal Dornoch, and before that was at the club that needs no introduction, The Wentworth. However, it could be said that Cruden Bay is the club delivering some of his biggest challenges, due, mainly, to the club’s location.

Alister explains: “Here at Cruden Bay we have true Scottish light and dark seasons. In the summer, we can have up to 21 hours of sunlight a day, in the winter, only seven hours. Plus, the growing season is much reduced here to just five months of the year. We have a sharp easterly wind to deal with and the usual challenges of being a sandy links course; we’ve been known to have sand dunes as high as three-story buildings! And all this against the backdrop of the North Sea.”

But with a team of nine full-timers and a machinery replacement programme which sees machines selected on their individual merit, it’s easily handled by the team and fleet.

So, what’s next for the top Scottish club? Alister is working towards a new Toro irrigation system for installation this winter on the greens, tees and approaches, which will ensure precise irrigation of the course even in its windy, exposed location. Until then, we leave Alister, the team and the club’s members enjoying improved fairways, thanks to Toro.

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Graden CSI Helps St Augustine’s GC

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Graden CSI Helps St Augustine’s GC: At more than 100 years old, Kent’s St Augustine’s Golf Club has changed a lot over the last century and is now far from the grazing land that once occupied its 60 acre site. However, the pop-up greens, on original clay soil, used to cause Head Greenkeeper Gary Kennington and his team a headache when it came to topdressing and drainage. That was until the club discovered the benefits of the Graden Contour Sand Injection (CSI) unit, which has helped to improve water dispersal and greens speed, all with minimum surface disruption.

“Though we’re not strictly a links course, as there’s a road between the club and the Kent coast, we do still have to deal with the climatic challenges our location brings” explains Gary. “One year in particular, going back now 7 years, the weather meant the usual tactic of tining and topdressing wasn’t getting sand down into the greens as well as the team hoped.  At the time the Graden CSI was a relatively new concept in the UK so we hired a unit and quickly realised that it could really help.”

Graden CSI Helps St Augustine’s GC

The Graden CSI is a 3-in-1 verti-cutter with the ability to aerate, scarify and remove thatch to any depth between 1mm-40mm, whilst simultaneously backfilling the grooves with either sand or a combination of sand and seed. Its ability to conduct multiple jobs in one pass reduces play downtime without causing any detrimental effect to the firmness of the ground. “With this CSI you’re getting the sand into the green, rather the putting it on the top, allowing you to get greens back into play in as little as half an hour.”

Gary and his team now use the CSI on all 18 greens twice a year and continue to see marked improvements. “From the very first use we reduced the thatch content of the greens and worked the sand down into the soil profile which helped with drainage and greens speed. With it being a pedestrian unit, we have great manoeuvrability and it means we can still go out and use it in conditions that may not always be ideal. Should we need that little extra advice or support we now have John Fitzpatrick of Charterhouse Turf Machinery who is great to have at the end of the phone.”

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Dutch Stadium Praises INFINICUT

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Dutch Stadium Praises INFINICUT: A renovation of stands at Holland’s De Adelaarshorst in 2015, saw the start of new opportunities for Go Ahead Eagles FC and its Head of Operations Ronnie Janssen. With its new capacity of just under 10,000, the stadium was one of the host venues for the 2017 UEFA Women’s Euro Tournament, which is also where Ronnie had his first experience with the Cub Cadet INFINICUT® mowers. With the generous backing of the supporters club, they were able to purchase their own fleet of two INFINICUT® 34’s at the end of 2017.

Founded in 1902 and currently playing in the Eerste Divisie, the club has produced a number of notable players through its academy programmes, as well as giving a number of ex-players their first opportunities as trainers and managers. “When we were in preparation for the Women’s Euro’s, UEFA strongly recommended we mow by hand so we looked around at the world of pedestrian mowers” explains Ronnie who has been in his current role for 16 years. “Our club advisor had seen the INFINICUT® mowers in action at FC Utrecht so we hired two units for the duration of the tournament and our grounds team, lead by our Field Manager Branco, were very impressed.”

Dutch Stadium Praises INFINICUT

“With the fantastic results we achieved on the pitch, we were keen to buy our own following the event but didn’t have the money at the time. Our fantastic Supporters Association, who do a lot of great work for us, then came together and paid for two INFINICUT® 34” mowers” which were delivered in November 2017. “The battery powered operation is something we particularly like, as well as the fact you can also get a cassette system to fit, for a variety of turf applications.”

Ronnie, Branco and his team of volunteers achieved fantastic results with the mowers throughout the 2017/18 season, receiving top marks in the league for their pitch multiple times. “Since using the INFINICUT® we have not looked back – the machine operates in a new way to any other mower and has improved the quality of our pitch. We couldn’t have achieved this without the generosity of our Supporters Club so it’s really a big thank you to them.”

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New Makita Launches

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New Makita Launches: Makita continues to expand the range of cordless tools designed for the professional grounds maintenance industry, introducing new technical features and enhancing performance.

The new Makita DUR189Z 18v LXT linetrimmer, which replaces the popular DUR184L model, has a 240 watt output Brushless motor providing capacity to run the head at three selected speed settings.  Having the motor at the drive head improves the balance of the machine and eliminates the loss of power through the traditional drive shaft where the motor is at the operator end of the machine.  The DUR189Z linetrimmer has the benefit of the innovative Automatic Torque Drive Technology (ADT), where the revolutions per minute are automatically increased from between 4,000, 5,000 and 6,000rpm according to the density of the weeds and foliage being cut.  This allows for greater and improved energy saving, lower noise levels, optimum operation and user comfort.  A speed indicator is conveniently positioned on the control panel.

New Makita Launches

The lightweight design of this model has an operating weight of 3.3kg, including the LXT battery, soft grip handle and forward loop handle for maximum machine control.  The bent pipe shaft is adjustable in length and the foldable wire guard helps to reduce risk or damage to foliage, fences and ornaments.  The smaller protector allows a better view of the 300mm cutting circle.  Soft start, electric brake, reverse rotation and overload protection add to the efficiency of this new linetrimmer, which is available as a body only model.

Makita’s new DUR188LZ linetrimmer has all the features of the DUR189Z model, including ADT, with the additional advantage of a 2-part shaft so this model can be split in two for easy transportation and storage; a trigger switch with lock-off lever and a multi-functional control panel with speed and power indicators.  Again, this is a body only model.

Makita’s new DUM604Z 18v LXT grass shears will be a favourite too and replaces the hugely popular DUM168 model.  Fast, powerful and brilliantly handy, a compatible hedge trimmer attachment is also available that has a tool-less blade change.  The shear has a double blade action, a cutting width of 160mm, and a 3-stage cutting height adjustment from 15 – 25mm for really fine work.  With an ergonomically designed soft grip handle and light in weight at just 1.8kg, including the battery, user comfort is guaranteed while low noise emissions will ensure Sunday morning peace and quiet for family and neighbours.  This model is available as a body only.

The Makita range of outdoor maintenance and grounds care equipment continues to expand with innovative tools that excel technically, and are equally enjoyed by professional users and keen gardeners.

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