New SCAG stand-on mower

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New SCAG stand-on mower: The V-Ride is a stand-on mower designed for professional use; the compact machine size, ease of manouevering and clear view for the operator have lead to the V-Ride becoming increasingly popular for intricate mowing areas. 

The Ride-On SCAG machines, because they are purpose-built for grasscutting, place the operator directly above the cutting deck, and one of the main features on the new V-Ride is that the revised configuration of the stand-on deck follows the same concept, placing the operator nearer the centre of the machine. 

New SCAG stand-on mower

The new version of the original V-Ride was announced in 2017 and had revised features that exhibit SCAG’s policy of continuous improvement and response to operator feedback, which combine to make them such a successful machinery manufacturer. 

The latest machine in the range addresses the need for gate-access: the V-Ride 32. 

The full model name is the V-Ride 32A-16FX: 

  • 32” Advantage Deck
  • 16HP Kawasaki FX
  • Electric start
  • Drive wheels: 20x6.5 – 10 
  • Fuel capacity: 4 gallons
  • New style 2020 V-Ride operator pad
  • All other features as on the 36” V-Ride

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Prince’s GC chooses innovation

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Prince’s GC chooses innovation: Prince’s Golf Club recently underwent an extensive renovation process to all three nines on the 27-hole property, which saw developments made to bunkers, teeing grounds and a number of greens, with plans in place to make further improvements in 2020.

In order to produce work of the highest quality and keep the fine links turf as healthy as possible, the club made significant investment into to the latest Bernhard grinding systems.

Prince’s GC chooses innovation

The specialist grinders are designed to keep the mowers as sharp as they can be, allowing Course Manager, Sean McLean and his team to prepare the golf courses in perfect condition all year round.

Machinery Manager at Prince’s Jon Bartlett was keen to achieve more efficient accuracy and speed of work. The Express Dual 5500 and the Anglemaster 4500 provided Jon with versatility and uncompromised performance upon testing and were installed in the club’s new facilities in November.

The automated reel surveying on the Express Dual 5500 allows for maximum precision and helps to determine wear and assist with the resolution of “coned” and “barrelled” reels. With a host of features, this innovative piece of equipment allows the user to achieve the highest precision grind in the industry.

Commenting on the new Bernhard grinders, Course Manager, Sean McLean said: “We are delighted with the new set of grinders. We are always striving to achieve greater accuracy and consistency on our courses and particularly the greens.

“Being able to maintain a precise quality of cut through the automated fleet set up is saving us time and will be financially beneficial for us in the long run.”

Machinery Manager, Jon Bartlett added: “Working with such precision machines makes my job even more enjoyable. We now know that we can keep our machines updated through the remote assistance at the press of a button, which is extremely reassuring when dealing with a large fleet of machinery.”

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Win at winter maintenance

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Win at winter maintenance: With the winter season upon us, it’s important to keep golf course machinery up to scratch and capable of dealing with the challenges colder weather brings.

With Royal Norwich Golf Club’s new course in its first winter, estates manager Peter Todd, with 30 years of experience in the industry, explains why winter maintenance is so important.

Win at winter maintenance

“Golf is now very much a sport which is played 365 days a year,” he says. “It used to be that winter would signal a break in the level of activity, but more and more golfers want to enjoy golfing throughout the year and make the most of their membership. And their expectations of the course don’t change just because the weather has.

“In order to keep standards high, you have to keep your machinery in top notch condition and paying attention to parts maintenance is your first point of call in order to do that.”

It’s well known that the winter season provides many challenges for greenkeepers. For one, cutting turf in wet conditions makes it more difficult to get a perfect finish. So, sharpening cutting unit blades in winter is essential, says Peter.

“With wet grass and the increase in earthworm castings in the autumn and winter, it becomes more difficult to keep blades sharp,” he says. “Although you need to make sure your blades are sharp throughout the year to keep quality consistent, the winter season brings that more into focus. Plus, not cutting cleanly will increase the risk and spread of disease in your turf – so that’s an added reason to ensure the proper maintenance of your machinery parts in the winter.”

With a blade for all seasons, choosing Toro guarantees not only a perfect fit but one carefully crafted to suit specific turf needs. For example, the ‘Atomic’ blades are what’s best later in winter, perfect for mulching up leaves or for use with a recycling deck to mulch the grass.

The cold weather can also have an effect on machinery starting systems, says Peter. “Engines will take longer to start up in the cold and checking batteries and electrics, changing the oil and cleaning blocked air filters will save you time in the long run. Switching to new tyres to ensure you have improved grip in the face of unforgiving ground conditions as well as keeping a stock of replacement parts will ensure productivity remains high.”

However, just as preparing the turf for winter is a year-round endeavour similarly so is machinery maintenance says Peter. “There is a tendency to push the majority of machinery maintenance into the off season when there are fewer jobs to do around the course and cutting frequency has decreased, and while it does provide the time to do the machine’s ‘MOT’ if you like and a full service and deep clean, you’ll never regret paying attention to your machinery and parts maintenance throughout the year.”

Peter concludes: “Keeping on top of general maintenance ensures your machines are in the best possible condition. It can be tempting to cut corners when it comes to preventative service work, but breakdowns and downtime are more expensive and well-maintained kit tends to be trouble-free. In an ideal world maintenance should always be done as per the machinery manufacturer’s instructions in order to keep standards high.”

To stock up on Toro Parts or for winter machinery maintenance advice, customers can get in touch with their local genuine Toro parts dealer or service centre or contact Reesink via reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Vincent Tractors attain gold plus status

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Vincent Tractors attain gold plus status: Vincent Tractors & Plant, has been awarded Gold Plus for Kubota Dealer Service Excellence.

Now in its 53rd year in business, Vincent Tractors & Plant, a family owned machinery dealer with branches in Fraddon, Holsworthy and Smithaleigh, near Ivybridge, is the only full line dealership in the country to achieve this status.

Vincent Tractors attain gold plus status

The awards, which are assessed and presented every two years by Kubota, are based on dealer equipment, facilities, commitment to training and, most importantly, customer service.

The Kubota customer satisfaction survey is submitted to customers after every product sold and is used to rate the service department of every Kubota dealer.

“This fantastic achievement reflects our team’s hard work and ‘customer first’ commitment“, remarked Paul Vincent, Vincent Tractors & Plant managing director.

“I would like to thank all the team at Vincent Tractors & Plant for their diligence and dedication. The industry is going through tremendous change and we are working hard to innovate to ensure we can meet and exceed our customers’ requirements and expectations.

“Not all the team are able to be here today to receive this award but I’m happy to do it on their behalf.  It’s been a real team effort across all three depots to achieve this level of service!”

Rob Wilkins, Kubota’s regional service manager, remarked, “I have been working with Vincent’s for a number of years now and in last five years they have raised the bar with regards to the level of service they offer to their customer as well as their commitment to their own team.  We have had our challenges but we have worked together to resolve them.”

Full line Kubota dealerships supply and service agricultural tractors and implements and Kverneland implements, compact tractors and ride on mowers as well as the construction range of excavators, loaders and tracked dumpers.

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KAR raises tempo at Bromley

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KAR raises tempo at Bromley: Bromley FC’s players and staff have reported a huge improvement in their synthetic pitch after a Hunter Industries irrigation system from KAR UK was installed at the stadium.

Bromley FC is currently plying its trade in the Vanarama National League and plays its home games at Hayes Lane Stadium – which, over recent years, has undergone a significant transformation.

KAR raises tempo at Bromley

The stadium investment saw the construction of a new South Stand which has allowed for an additional 1,450 seats, and two years ago an all new FIFA certified synthetic pitch was installed.

Bromley FC’s First Team Coach Alan Dunne provided the reasoning behind the club’s switch from natural to synthetic turf.

“In winter, our natural pitch would often be in a bad condition and games would have to be called off, which would have a huge impact on revenue,” he said. “Even when the games were on, the pitch could be waterlogged, it would slow down our play which would then cause further damage. It is for this reason that we decided to have a synthetic surface installed because it offers all-year round play as well as providing the club a constant stream of revenue by renting it out for the local community.

“We are a hugely ambitious club and we are doing everything possible to make sure that we continue to progress up the football leagues.”

The new pitch was soon installed and opened up to the wider community, and even though the extra revenue would help the club compete in terms of transfer fees and player wages it became apparent that something was missing.

“It’s a great pitch,” said Bromley FC’s Director Jerry Dolke. “However, over the past 24 months we had an increasing amount of comments from players who were claiming that the rubber crumb, which is used as the infill in the synthetic surface, was uncomfortable to play on. During hot weather we were not playing at the same fast tempo we like to play, so we identified that we urgently needed to start getting water on to the pitch.

“Ultimately, we want to give this group of players all of the tools and equipment to be successful and therefore after a consultation with Ian Jordan from Jordan Sports Ground Solutions who look after our pitch, an irrigation system became a priority.”

KAR raises tempo at Bromley

It was at this point that a Hunter ST1600 irrigation system would be the ideal solution.

The Hunter ST irrigation system is designed for the specific needs of synthetic turf sports pitches. Featuring long-range irrigation sprinklers, unique swing joints, durable irrigation valves and nearly indestructible vaults, Hunter’s ST system offers everything required to keep synthetic turf pitches cool, clean and playable. The enhanced radius rotors are perfect for football pitches, where smaller radius rotors might fall a little short – meaning that every inch of the pitch can be watered.

The system, which also comprises of an ICC2 controller and an EZ decoder system, sees the ST1600 rotors installed in six positions around the pitch – one on each of the four corner areas and one either side of the halfway line.

“It’s made a huge difference to the way we play – we like to play quick football and when the pitch is watered we have that effect,” said Alan. “We now water before the game and at half-time and it sees us through nicely. The system is so quick and simple and it takes just eight minutes to have the whole pitch watered.”

“We needed a system that was going to work efficiently on our pitch and within our budget,” added Jerry. “We now have that in place and all of those previous problems have disappeared. We had a very short timescale to work to because our first pre-season game was on the 6th July so we had a five-week window to get the project completed. The contractors met the deadline and we are all very happy with the end result.

“The irrigation system is just another step in the right direction as we try and push on to that next level.”

Hunter Industries is distributed in the UK by KAR UK. For more information, please visit www.karuk.com or www.hunterindustries.com.

You can also follow KAR UK on Twitter @KARUK_LTD for much more news, reviews and insightful views.

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