The Vale Resort Tees Up A Six-Figure Golf Investment

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The Vale Resort tees up a six-figure golf investment – The Vale Resort in South Wales has invested more than £400,000 in state-of-the-art John Deere golf course maintenance equipment, supplied by local turf professional dealer Frank Sutton Ltd of Raglan in Gwent.

The Vale Resort Tees Up A Six-Figure Golf Investment

The resort, home to two championship golf courses, has bought 16 new high-tech mowers and Gator utility vehicles to enhance the condition of both the Wales National and The Lake courses, and provide its 550-plus members and thousands of visitors with an even better golfing experience.

The latest purchases include four 8700A fairway mowers, four 2500B triplex greens mowers, four 220SL walk-behind greens mowers and four TS Gators. These have joined an existing John Deere fleet of four 8800 TerrainCut rotary rough mowers, four 2653B triplex utility mowers and another two 220SL greens mowers.

“The way the fairways and greens are cut has a direct effect on the playability of the course,” says the Vale Resort’s head greenkeeper John Borja. “These new John Deere machines will undoubtedly help to improve the condition of both courses and make a difference to the way the game is played on them.

“In order to keep the two courses in pristine condition, the cutting direction is alternated each day so that the ground doesn’t become stressed. This also creates a striping effect which helps players differentiate between the precisely cut tees, fairways and rough. Having the best machinery is key to making sure our team can prepare the courses to their full potential for members and guests.”

Set in 650 acres of Welsh countryside, both courses have a mixture of wooded areas, wide and narrow fairways and water features. At 7433 yards off the championship tees, the Wales National is one of the longest courses in the UK, while The Lake course is slightly shorter at 6436 yards. Both are maintained by a team of 15 year-round staff, with additional seasonal staff required in the busier playing season from March to October.

“Our aim, every day, is to ensure that our golf courses are presented to the highest standards possible and can be fully enjoyed by the players,” says John Borja. “With the excellent support and after-sales service provided by John Deere and dealer Frank Sutton, we look forward to doing so for many years to come.”

Lancaster GC Chooses Wiedenmann

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Lancaster GC chooses Wiedenmann duo for rough management – One of Lancashire’s finest venues, the Lancaster Golf Club has opted for a Wiedenmann Terra Rake and a Wiedenmann Super 500.

Lancaster GC Chooses Wiedenmann

The James Braid designed course, coveted for its wide fairways and spectacular 18th hole, is about to embark on a major rough management programme.

Carl Hamlett, Course Manager, said: “We’ve many undulations and traditional ‘ridge and furrow’. We know the Super 500 follows contours easily without scalping and produces a consistent height of cut, whether scarifying or flail mowing. When we had it out for demo it just outdid everything else we’d seen”

“The Terra Rake will work in tandem. It scarifies, pulls out thatch and can help us with a long list of other tasks. We’re really happy to have them both on board.”

Supplying both machines was Darren Barker, Sales Director at Balmers GM, Burnley branch,  Wiedenmann UK’s local  dealer for the area.

Upkeep Of City Of Culture’s Green Spaces Entrusted To Toro

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Upkeep Of City Of Culture’s Green Spaces Entrusted To Toro – Kingstown Works Limited (KWL) based in Kingston upon Hull, this year’s City of Culture, has recently invested in seven Toro Groundsmaster 3400 out-front rotary mowers to be operated by its largest client Hull City Council. The seven machines will play a key role in keeping the green spaces of the city in the best possible condition during this all-important year. 

Upkeep Of City Of Culture's Green Spaces Entrusted To Toro

In a tender process, completed by Russell Groundcare, via the Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation, Toro achieved the best results for price, capability and delivery, and it isn’t for the first time. KWL is an existing Toro customer and the acquisition is part of a replacement programme for older Toro triple mowers coming out of service.

The decision for KWL to purchase rotary mowers is a move away from traditionally opting for cylinder mowers to maintain the city’s parks, sports fields, horticultural areas and municipalities. And the reason for this says Garry Middleton, business unit leader at KWL Fleet, is down to a rotary mower’s ability to work on longer grass at a higher output rate with ease.

He says: “Our client needed to marginally extend periods between cutting and, based on this, required a machine that could cope with cutting longer grass while still providing a good finish, which the Groundsmaster is more than capable of. Russell Groundcare and Toro performed well in the tender process as our experience of working with both has always been a good one: the service from Russell and indeed Reesink Turfcare [UK distributor of Toro] is excellent and the rate of cut and quality from Toro prove outstanding.”

In terms of the machines’ capabilities, such an important consideration in the tender process, it’s easy to see why the GM3400 scored so highly. Constructed from high-strength seven gauge welded steel, 33 per-cent thicker and 75 percent stronger than ordinary ten gauge commercial steel, the GM3400 is robust and tough. A Kubota four-cylinder diesel engine, delivering 26.5 kW (35.5hp), means it’s powerful with a high performance rate, too.

With a tilting operator platform, large opening engine cover and easy-to-remove access panels, maintenance is unrestricted. Within minutes, an operator or service technician can achieve direct access, reducing daily check and cleaning times as well as service maintenance downtime. The GM3400 also benefits from low maintenance costs and a high 15.5mph transport mode to ensure fast logistics between sites, all of which increases uptime, minimises costs and improves productivity.

And when it comes to the final result you have, says Garry, a “decent trim, clean finish and a good turn rate around trees and other obstacles. While purchase price is of course a major factor, we always consider the anticipated operational and maintenance costs and, given that the Toro retains a good residual value, this also forms an important consideration as part of our overall costing.”

So, what impact does Hull being the UK’s City of Culture have on Garry and the team’s work? Garry says: “Expectations haven’t changed in terms of the results our client quite rightly wants for the public and open spaces of Hull, which require a quality finish, but with all eyes on the City this year that does add a bit of extra pressure! Having a brand new Toro fleet means we can rest assured that the quality and consistency of cut will be delivered.”

Landini Compacts Have Proven Features For Turf And Groundscare Work

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New-look Landini compacts have proven features for turf and groundscare work – A stylish new appearance for the Landini compact tractor is combined with proven specifications and features to make an attractive choice of power units for all groundscare operations.Landini Compacts Have Proven Features For Turf And Groundscare Work

The new three-model Landini 2 Series, which has replaced the well-known Mistral, sports new family-look styling for the engine hood to match the rest of the comprehensive Landini range and an all-new roof panel housing the ventilation system on the cabbed version.

The new hood retains the clamshell format of the previous design, with a high-lifting upper section giving ready access to all routine service points, while detachable lower panels completely expose the engine and its ancillary equipment.

Standard open platform versions of the 2 Series have been joined by the ‘GE’ model, which has a new front axle and modifications that shave 94mm off the height of the tractor. That can be significant for work amongst trees with low-hanging branches and other situations where the lower height is an advantage.

The GE and Standard versions have the same choice of 30kph 12×12 or 16×16 creeper gearboxes with synchro shuttle selection of forward and reverse. Likewise, the two-speed independent rear power take-off, which provides one setting for ‘power’ and one for ‘economy’.

“With implements that don’t need a lot of power, the ‘economy’ pto gearing allows the engine to be run at a lower speed to reduce both noise output and fuel consumption,” points out Ray Spinks, sales director at Landini distributor AgriArgo UK.

“A ground-drive setting relates the speed of the pto to the forward speed of the tractor, which is useful for maintaining correct application rates with sand spreaders and similar machines.”

To ensure sufficient oil flow at all times, the tractors follow the Landini philosophy of installing two pumps. In this case, a 19.7-litre/min unit is dedicated to the steering system and a 28-litre/min pump supplies the 1200kg rear implement linkage (and optional 400kg front linkage if fitted), and up to three remote services valves.

Latest-specification Yanmar engines provide the power – 2.0-litre and 2.2-litre non-turbo units delivering 44hp and 47hp in the Landini 2-045 and 2-050, and a turbo version of the 2.0-litre engine generating 54hp for the 2-060 model.

Thanks to a 40-litre fuel tank, these economical engines ensure the new Landini 2 Series tractors work long hours between refills as they tackle all groundscare tasks from grass aeration and mowing to sweeping and trailer work.

Electro-hydraulic engagement of the rear axle differential lock for maximum traction and a generous 55deg steering lock on the front axle for maximum manoeuvrability ensure the Landini 2 Series tractors have the performance needed for all groundscare applications.

Once A Red Always A Red

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Once A Red Always A Red – Former Arsenal FC groundsman invests in Toro for lawn and turfcare management business

Once A Red Always A Red

It’s hard to imagine better credentials than those of ex-Arsenal Football Club groundsman, Mark Pettit, and IOG recognised young groundsman, Josef Farrow, when it comes to the management of your lawn or pitch. The two professionals are now partners in business, having transferred their skills to the domestic, commercial and professional market through their company Premiership Lawncare Limited.

Couple that level of expertise with the build-quality of Toro machinery, and it’s safe to say Premiership Lawncare has everything it needs to deliver a professional finish for its clients.

Based in Northamptonshire, Premiership Lawncare was established in 2015 to answer a need Mark and Josef identified for someone to provide top-flight lawncare, sports facility management, spraying services, aeration, commercial site management and renovations. Mark says: “We believe we can bring our professional experience to various facilities across the region as well as to the domestic market.”

When there are such high expectations to meet, Premiership Lawncare chooses only the best, hence the recent investment in a Toro ProCore 648 pedestrian aerator and Toro Z Master 7000 rotary mower.

Aeration is an essential part of professional turf maintenance. There are few single procedures than can produce as many benefits for the grass, creating a healthier plant and a better quality playing surface. So when Mark and Josef decided to invest in an aerator they “looked no further than Toro.”

“I’ve used the ProCore many times before as it was ever-present in Arsenal’s shed and it is, in my opinion, the best there is for professional spiking. Having this pedestrian machine means we can offer aeration services to a range of challenging facilities across the region. It also makes a great tool for the renovation services we offer to local cricket and bowls clubs,” says Mark.

Meanwhile rotary mowers are expected to cope with a variety of grueling mowing tasks, while always delivering a good finish with well-contained clippings, sometimes in far from ideal conditions. Therefore, it’s no wonder Mark and Josef trusted in the powerful and reliable Z Master 7000 that gets around with ease thanks to its zero-turn ability, so they can be assured of maximum productivity whatever the terrain and conditions. Mark says: “We decided to buy this mower to use for the commercial sites we look after, it’s a fantastic machine which helps us achieve a great finish and enables us to get the job done more efficiently.”

“We look forward to bringing in more red machines as we believe the best machinery will only strengthen our business and ensure we continue to offer premiership-level, professional services to our clients.”

For more information, please visit reesinkturfcare.co.uk or call 01480 226800.