Active Investment In Middlesbrough Golf

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Active investment in Middlesbrough golf: Middlesbrough Golf Centre has invested in a package of new golf course maintenance equipment supplied by Cramlington based John Deere dealer Greenlay, to further improve its pay & play and membership offering to golfers in the region.

Active Investment In Middlesbrough Golf

The John Deere Financial contract lease deal included a John Deere 2500E hybrid electric greens mower, 2653B tees & surrounds mower, HPX Gator utility vehicle and 220SL walk-behind greens mower, plus a Wiedenmann Super 500 multi-purpose sweeper/verticutter/flail mower and a Team Club tractor-mounted sprayer.

The centre has been run by Sports and Leisure Management (SLM) since 2016, through its national consumer brand Everyone Active. SLM is the longest established leisure management company in the UK, since 1987, and currently runs 150 leisure and cultural facilities in partnership with 45 local authorities.

“SLM has taken on the responsibility for managing a number of these sports and leisure facilities all over the country, as local councils find different ways of coping with increasingly limited budgets,” says general manager Andy Hill. He was appointed to run the centre in January 2017, having been involved in golf for 30 years.

“This is the one of the organisation’s few golf facilities, and coming in was a bit of a challenge,” he adds. “This is the first time I’ve had to fully manage my own centre, and Everyone Active is very leisure centre focused, so golf is quite a new departure for the business.”

The centre includes an 18-hole, 6330 yard parkland course set in 160 acres in south Middlesbrough, now featuring newly installed academy tees, plus a nine-hole pitch and putt course, a floodlit driving range and a retail shop with golf simulator. A new footgolf course was also opened in April this year.

“Since I arrived, Everyone Active has been very supportive and agreed a budget to bring about the further improvements that were needed,” says Andy Hill. “Really, managing a golf centre is no different to managing a leisure centre. We just needed the right management team and structure in place to justify the investment.

“Our experienced course manager John Grey had already done much of the necessary groundwork over the past seven years since he arrived at the centre, but we quickly agreed he needed an additional greenkeeper/mechanic and new machinery to bring the course to where we wanted it to be, which I’m pleased to say has resulted in this new fleet deal with John Deere and Greenlay.”

“We needed to focus on the finishing touches around the course, and the new machinery will go a long way to helping us achieve this,” says John Grey. “A major factor for me in choosing John Deere equipment is the level of service and aftercare from the dealership team at Greenlay, as well as the company’s reputation and product range.

“I’ve always had that consistently throughout my 35-year career in the industry, wherever I’ve worked – every John Deere dealer I’ve dealt with, including Double A Trading in Scotland, has always been superb in that respect.”

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Polaris UK & Ireland Star Prize At NGO Draw

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Polaris UK & Ireland star prize at NGO draw: Polaris UK & Ireland are proud to announce they are providing the star prize for the National Gamekeepers’ Organisation’ Summer Prize Draw.

Polaris UK & Ireland star prize at NGO draw

The draw will be launched at this year’s Game Fair being held at Hatfield House in Hertfordshire. The NGO will welcome both members and non-members to its stand in the Gamekeeper’s Pavillion where visitors can enjoy a free tea or coffee with friends.

The prize is a Polaris Outlaw 50 Junior quad bike which is designed for children aged 6 plus, so is ideal for budding gamekeepers. The Polaris Outlaw 50 will be displayed on the stand, with tickets on sale on the stand for just £1, great value given the recommended retail price of £1,999. Tickets will also be available from the NGO website and from the NGO stand at BBC Countryfile Live, which is on 3-6 August at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire.

The draw itself will be held on the NGO stand at Blenheim at 2pm Sunday, the 6th August and full terms are available on the NGO website.

Polaris’ Country Manager Jim Clarke praised the NGO for their good work in support of gamekeepers.

“We’re pleased as sponsors of the NGO,” he said “to be able to play a part in raising funds for the organization and look forward to presenting it to the lucky winner.”

Polaris welcomes visitors to their own stand M1531 at the Game Fair where the latest Polaris ATVs and off-road Side by Side vehicles will be on display.

Polaris Britain: 0800 915 6720 www.polaris-britain.com

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The new Vstrong Doesn’t Miss An Inch

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The new Vstrong doesn’t miss an inch: Every turf professional is naturally looking to preserve their sports pitch in excellent condition. The problem is dealing with weed, thatch and moss requires a continuous maintenance regime.

The new Vstrong doesn’t miss an inch

You need to ensure there is the maximum amount of activity from bacteria and micro organisms to decompose thatch. Whilst aeration combats soil compaction and bad drainage, and the consequent reduction of bacterial activity, scarifying is the route to chemical-free weed management and the prevention of spreading thatch and moss.

The latest GKB Vstrong improves on already proven technology to offer the professional a robust and reliable scarifying machine that swiftly deals with the problem with the minimum waste flow. Operating speeds up to 7.4mph/12km/h mean you can quickly cover a lot of ground for maximum productivity. You can even use the Vstrong on hybrid pitches, stitched or with a carpet, thanks to the height adjustment with two rollers and the facility to lock the working depth.

Richard Dexter, Grounds Manager at Oakham School, who uses a Vstrong for winter renovation on sports pitches has this to say:

“We use the Vstrong initially to remove dead, organic matter and we can work much more quickly. We can do in two passes what used to take four or five with a rake. It’s been fantastic, excellent quality and well-built yet simple and really, really fast.”

At the heart of the Vstrong is the CombiRotor with generically developed 3mm carbide scarifying blades. The blades, in turn, are attached to the rotor by means of the QuickLock system which allows you to attain a depth of 5cm. In combination with the reversed rotation direction you’re guaranteed you don’t miss an inch. There is also the option of 2 or 4mm blades and you can alter the centre-to-centre distance of the scarifying blades.

Vstrong’s patented roller pendulum system puts you in control of the operating depth and as a unique bonus the scarifier comes with a hydraulic adjustable slide, for scarifying close to the edge of the pitch without swiping and soiling advertising boards and pathways. GKB recommends allowing the scarified material to dry before removal to allow nutrients to benefit the turf and to help reduce the expense of removing waste material. It’s worth noting as well the Vstrong is produced in the same innovative manner as the GKB Combinator in energy neutral, sustainable production facilities and developed from the experience of GKB’s own contractor division.

For more information, visit www.gkbmachines.com

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Ransomes Donates to Local Bowls Club

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Ransomes Donates to Local Bowls Club: Ransomes, a Textron Specialized Vehicles brand, has donated a Ransomes Super Bowl pedestrian cylinder mower to Waldringfield & District Bowls Club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, after the club relocated itself to unused land which members have since renovated at Ransomes Sports Club on Sidegate Avenue.

Ransomes Donates to Local Bowls Club

Originally based in Waldringfield, the club was forced to move to Felixstowe & Suffolk Bowls Club, where they rented the use of a bowling green. In September 2016, the decision was made to relocate to Ransomes Sports Club due, primarily, to ever-increasing rental fees. An area of unused land was renovated by members of the bowls club to provide the nomadic club with a permanent home.

With limited funds to facilitate the relocation, Bert Warne, President of Waldringfield & District Bowls Club, and David Schofield, Treasurer of the Club, wrote a letter to Alan Prickett, Senior Director at Ransomes Jacobsen based in Ipswich.

“I wrote to Ransomes on the off chance that they might have an old mower laying around that we could put to use on our recently renovated green,” Warne explained. “I was overjoyed when I received a reply from Mr. Prickett offering to help us out, but I was even more ecstatic when they delivered a brand-new Ransomes Super Bowl to us! Everyone at the club is extremely grateful for the generosity and support that Ransomes has given us.”

Commenting on the donation of the mower, Alan Prickett said:

“Ransomes is one of the oldest established businesses in Ipswich, and has employed thousands of local people over the years. It is in our DNA to support local people, local clubs, and the local community in general. When I was approached by the club, I was touched by the lengths that its members had gone to in ensuring that the club could continue to provide enjoyment and pastime to so many people’s lives.

Renovation work included re-fitting the kitchen in the clubhouse and cladding the roof. Trees, hedges and weeds also had to be removed or relocated, and pipes fitted to provide water access to all four corners of the green. After seeking the services of sports ground contractor Ross Stannard, the green was scarified, top soil applied, and then a total of 100kg of grass seed was spread onto the surface. Commenting on the renovation, Ross said:

“I am very proud to be involved with this particular project. The dedication of the members is testament to the club, and the donation from Ransomes was an extremely kind gesture. I have personally used Ransomes equipment for many years, and I know that the machines are the best on the market for maintaining bowling greens, and sports grounds in general. I’m very happy to have played my part in this inspiring journey.”

For more information, visit: www.jacobsen.com/europe

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Toro Classic Leading The Way Nearly 30 Years Later

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Toro Classic Leading The Way Nearly 30 Years Later: Revolutionary design of Greensmaster 1000 still influencing greens cutting.

Toro Classic Leading The Way Nearly 30 Years Later

 Sometimes things happen – new products are launched, new technology is developed, or in perfect harmony the two combine – and the result is something that just can’t be beaten, even 28 years later. Toro’s Greensmaster 1000 pedestrian greens mower is one such example.

This Toro classic is as popular now as when it launched in 1989 bringing with it no less than four revolutionary and innovative design features that are now widely seen in professional pedestrian greens mowers across the world. As the saying goes, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!

Senior product manager at The Toro Company Helmut Ullrich explains: “The GR1000 introduced several new features to critical acclaim. The loop handle design and the ‘Dual Klick’ adjust of the bedknife were industry firsts. As was the front weight bias, which offsets the operator’s natural tendency to place weight on the handle, allowing the cylinder to better follow the ground’s contours for a consistent cutting height. A wide Kickstand for stationary stability to change transport wheels was new too, and all together they combined to deliver a superior quality of cut that remains unmatched today.”

It isn’t off the mark to claim the Toro GR1000 is the pedestrian mower that changed greens mowing forever. Instrumental in the appearance of the greens of many of the most prestigious courses in the world, it has earned its long-standing place in the hall of turfcare machinery fame.

Its smooth drums are gentle on the greens and grass baskets distribute clippings evenly for optimal mowing on each pass, whether the conditions are wet or dry. Even at the lowest height of cut setting, the GR1000 provides a beautifully consistent finish thanks to the machine’s well-balanced weight distribution that ensures straight-line tracking with minimal operator guidance. This, taken together with all its other features, produces the smoothest, most uniform cut possible in a greens mower.

Jeff Anguige, national sales manager at Reesink Turfcare, UK distributor of Toro, says: “The impact of the Greensmaster 1000 on greens mowing is tremendous. Its impact resonates today and has been felt on greens across the world. Age doesn’t diminish its standing; its technology is such that it keeps on delivering nearly 30 years later and that’s a fact undeniable when it is still one of our best sellers today.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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