Toro Key At Royal Cinque Ports

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Toro Key At Royal Cinque Ports: Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club course manager James Bledge is on a mission to make the club a “bucket list destination”, choosing to invest in the complete Toro Total Solutions package to help it get there.

Regarded as one of the finest links courses in England, Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club in Kent has been impressing members and tournament players for 126 years and key to that longevity is the club’s determination for continuous improvement and investment. Most recently that has involved the club signing its second five-year machinery agreement plan with Toro, as well as installing a new Toro irrigation system.

Toro Key At Royal Cinque Ports

James explains: “Royal Cinque Ports has a lot of history and has been at the top of its game for over a century. Next we want to make this course a bucket list destination for golfers and to do that investing in our course maintenance is vital.”

This is the second Toro machinery package the club has invested in says James and when it came to investing again Toro easily came out on top in a series of demonstrations.

“With our first Toro fleet we saw a real improvement and you wonder if that could happen again. But it has,” says James. “Toro is an innovator and that never changes, the product just keeps getting better.”

Once the decision to go with Toro again had been made, the greenkeeping team and James put together their ‘dream package’ which includes four Greensmaster Flex 2120 pedestrian mowers, a Reelmaster 3100-D Sidewinder and three Greensmaster TriFlex 3420 mowers to name just a few, in addition to three Greensmaster 1000 pedestrian mowers and a Groundsmaster 4500-D purchased from the club’s previous fleet.

“In particular the new Greensmaster Flex 2120s have been great. The course seems flat from afar but is incredibly undulating, especially the greens, which can be tricky to work with. But that’s not a problem for the Flex 2120 – the head of the mower follows the green closely and contours seamlessly, so we don’t get any scalping which is pretty special. We have seen instant improvements in appearance and so have the golfers which is even more important”

With the decision made on machinery next up was who to trust with irrigating the course. “The quality of the machines is fantastic, and we saw the same with the irrigation system,” says James. “It became clear that the Total Solutions package was the best way to get our course to where we want it to be. Plus, we’ve got a great relationship with Toro distributor Reesink and sales rep Richard Wood, which made the decision a lot easier. Whatever we need they’re always there, whether that’s backup service or general advice – Reesink really feel like a part of the team.

“There are some incredible courses nearby doing amazing work and we want to be at that level. Places like Royal St Georges and further afield at St Andrews Links who also use Toro, they invest a lot in their maintenance, and it shows.”

With Toro on board, the future is looking bright for the club, but when asked which machine is James’ favourite, the answer is unexpected: “To be honest, I like to take out the Multi Pro 5800-D sprayer, not only is it highly accurate in its application and easy to use, but best of all, it has room for my dog Stevie to come out for a ride!”

With the new Toro machines and the new Toro Irrigation system just installed, James is confident they’re on track to turn the club into a top golfing destination.

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SISIS Key At Beaumont Park

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SISIS Key At Beaumont Park: Cameron Flitten, head groundsman at De Montfort University at Beaumont Park in Leicester, believes that most of his maintenance programme can be achieved by using just two key pieces of SISIS equipment – the Multitiner and the Quadraplay.

Head groundsman Cameron Flitten has a number of strings to his bow when it comes to sports turf maintenance. After starting in the industry with an apprenticeship at a golf course, he went on to specialise in the maintenance of cricket squares, football pitches and rugby pitches in his previous position at Loughborough University.

SISIS Key At Beaumont Park

Cameron has now been in his current employment with De Montfort University for three years but revealed that it was in his former position where he first became acquainted with SISIS machinery.

“I used SISIS machinery at Loughborough so I already knew that they were brilliant pieces of kit. We never used to have any problems with the equipment; they were reliable, simple to use and did an excellent job every time. I tend to always go with what I know works so I was keen to get some SISIS equipment in here.”

In particular, Cameron uses the SISIS Multitiner 1.8m and the SISIS Quadraplay 1.8m at the impressive Beaumont Park which plays host to the university’s men’s and women’s football teams. The facilities are also used by the local community and with a high amount of recorded usage, regular pitch maintenance is essential.

One of today’s most useful pieces of kit in any groundsman’s armoury, the SISIS Quadraplay significantly speeds up maintenance tasks by carrying out more than one operation simultaneously – making it ideal for groundsmen like Cameron who have several sports pitches to maintain.

This single-pass maintenance system incorporates a mounted frame for up to four implements such as grooming rakes, slitters, rollers and brushes. The implements can be fitted to the mainframe in any order and can be independently adjusted to achieve the desired effect.

“Quite simply, the Quadraplay is essential for us. We’ve got the slitter, the rake wires, the brush and a roller for it and we tend to use it regularly throughout the year. I like the fact that you can carry out a number of tasks in just one sweep which saves so much time. It provides the pitch with aeration, removes organic matter, gives the surface a good clean and then leaves an excellent finish,” Cameron explains.

The SISIS Multitiner is a tractor mounted drum-type aerator which is ideally suited to a range of applications from sports field maintenance, lawns and amenities. It has three drums with independent rotation and its interchangeable tines with a maximum depth of 100mm ensure excellent turf care when the time comes to aerate.

“At this time of year, we tend to use the chisel tines on the Multitiner because it ‘cracks’ the soil incredibly well and we find that it gives us a bit more depth. It’s great to be able to open the surface up especially when it is cold and wet.

“We rely on the Multitiner for drainage and aeration – to ensure that air gets into the surface and to keep the pitches draining freely. I would say that we try and use the Multitiner every couple of weeks and when the weather gets warmer, we switch to the solid tines. It only takes an hour to go over the whole pitch, so it’s incredibly quick compared to other machines on the market.”

“For me, these two machines help me carry out a huge part of our maintenance programme and we use them in tandem. They are well built, reliable and are key pieces of turf maintenance machinery for us here.”

For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact SISIS on 01332 824 777 or visit www.sisis.com

For more news, reviews and insightful views, you can follow SISIS on Twitter & Instagram @SISISMachinery and like the company’s Facebook page – www.facebook.com/SISISMachinery. You can also view the latest SISIS videos by visiting www.youtube.com/SISISMachinery

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Toro Hits The Mark At Altcar

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Toro Hits The Mark At Altcar: The UK’s premier facility for small arms marksmanship training, Altcar Training Camp in Merseyside, recently invested in a Toro Groundsmaster 7210 and LT-F3000 triple flail mower for their sports and residential grounds maintenance.

With a football and rugby pitch, general-purpose field and residential green areas, having robust and high-performance mowers to tackle a variety of jobs was essential for Altcar Training Camp. After a competitive demonstration process where Toro and multiple other brands were tested, Toro hit the mark and came out on top.

Toro Hits The Mark At Altcar

Mark Byrne, infrastructure resource manager, explains: “Our previous machines were on their way out and so we wanted to get the best possible replacements. That was when we got in touch with Cheshire Turf Machinery and set up a demonstration with several brands.

“We wanted a zero-turn mower again because that suited our needs here perfectly. We were looking for something that would be simple to use and would be a seamless transition from our previous machine. With the triple flail mower, we wanted to get a robust alternative that would be more reliable.”

With the help of Cheshire Turf Machinery a competitive demonstration was organised in order to trial several machines and find the perfect replacements for the camp.

“It became quite clear fairly soon that Toro was winning,” says Mark. “The combination of performance and price was just what we were looking for, and with simple and easy to use operation, it meant we could get straight onto using the new machines when they arrived.”

Having had the machines since September 2018, the GM7210 and the LT-F3000 have proved to be right on target. “They’re both really good machines and doing everything we expect from them.”

And with Toro impressing Mark, future investment is definitely on the cards. “We’ve had Toro before and been impressed and would definitely consider going with Toro again.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Council Invests In Third Toro Machine

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Council Invests In Third Toro Machine: East Devon District Council has recently invested in a third Toro Groundsmaster 360 after its previous two models purchased in 2015, have proved to be a huge success with the Council’s groundscare department.

Dan Haydon, from the groundscare department, says that there were a lot of boxes for these machines to tick with reliability at the fore and the Groundsmaster 360 has ticked them all.

Council Invests In Third Toro Machine

“We have so many different kinds of grounds to maintain, from communal gardens and children’s play areas to sports pitches and cemeteries,” says Dan. “Having a robust, reliable machine that can adapt is vital and the Groundsmaster 360 does just that.

“Our machines need to be in use every day for eight and a half hours from spring until November; it’s a big task. With the two GM360s we’ve been using for four years, we’ve never had a problem, so it wasn’t a hard decision to purchase another one.”

The Council had been using triple cylinder mowers before purchasing the new GM360 rotary mowers. Due to government cuts, the frequency of cutting areas had to be reduced and its previous mowers weren’t able to keep the grass short for long enough, which is why the department opted to trial the GM360 zero-turn mower

The quad-steer all-wheel drive steering of the GM360 provides maximum productivity even in undulating terrain. Able to climb hills without slipping and make 180 degree turns without tearing turf, Dan couldn’t be happier with the machine.

“Whatever the weather or type of terrain – it performs across the board. We’ve seen a real improvement, and so have our other teams. We currently have eight teams across Devon, three of which have Toro machines, but now everyone is noticing the difference with Toro and there is definite potential in the future for Toro to pushed out across all the teams.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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PRO 34R A Hit At Beaumont

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PRO 34R A Hit At Beaumont: The new Dennis PRO 34R rotary mower is significantly improving the vast array of pitches at De Montfort University at Beaumont Park, says head groundsman Cameron Flitten.

Beaumont Park in Leicester has recently benefitted from a multi-million pound investment and has been transformed into an outstanding venue which boasts first-class sports facilities.

PRO 34R A Hit At Beaumont

In 2015 De Montfort University agreed a 25-year lease on the council-owned Beaumont Park and has been home to the university’s men’s and women’s football teams for past three years. The facilities are also widely used by the local community.

Cameron, who has been the head groundsman throughout this time, revealed that his interest in the Dennis PRO 34R was first ignited when he received a glimpse of the prototype model.

“One day their Area Manager was dropping some equipment off to me and on the back of the trailer there was a machine that I had never seen before. I asked him what it was and it was then that he told me it was the Dennis PRO 34R prototype.

“I had previously used Dennis Mowers in my former job at Loughborough University and I knew that they were reliable and renowned for giving a first-class presentation, so after asking a few questions, I was adamant that I wanted one.

“At the time it was winter and an incredibly wet winter at that. I was struggling to get on the pitches at certain times and ideally, I like to keep weight off the natural pitches so I was looking for an option where I didn’t have to take the tractor on. The PRO 34R seemed to be just what I needed.”

PRO 34R A Hit At Beaumont

The prototype which Cameron saw that day was launched at SALTEX 2017 with the sole purpose of gathering feedback from potential end users. Over the course of the next twelve months, the mower was refined and developed based on the input from the groundsmen who would eventually be using it. With no stone left unturned, the all new PRO 34R was unveiled at SALTEX 2018.

The Dennis PRO 34R is a 34” (860mm) rotary mower which has been designed to help groundsmen achieve an aesthetically pleasing appearance and desired playing surface. It is ideal for sports pitches and lawns producing the enviable ‘Dennis Stripes’ while a powerful vacuum flow collects debris quickly and efficiently.

The angle of the cutting deck and twin blades can be easily adjusted using a single ‘click adjuster’ ensuring the mower is suitable for changing conditions and meeting groundsmen’s requirements.

Unique features of the Dennis PRO 34R Rotary Mower include:

  • 5 forward and 1 reverse selection for speed of operation
  • 90 litre capacity grass box
  • Fully adjustable angle of deck for changing conditions
  • 2 section cast aluminium rear roller
  • Easy to use height of cut gauge
  • Single point height of cut adjustment for ease of operation
  • Optional front wheel or smooth/weile roller options
  • Front brush for standing grasses upright
  • Adjustable handlebars for operator comfort

“At this time of year, you are not really cutting; instead you are using it more as a vacuum cleaner,” said Cameron. “Ideally you just want to remove any loose fragments of grass, debris and soil which sits on the top of the pitches after use because the more organic matter you remove, the less disease you get. In this respect, the PRO 34R is superb and it has certainly helped to keep the pitches cleaner, which will also no doubt make my job easier when it comes to the renovations in spring.

“It also gives us brilliant presentation which is thanks to the roller on the back. I like the fact that it has the brush on the front, so it stands the grass up, the blades go over and then it hoovers it all up.

“The PRO 34R really is a fantastic piece of kit and it is doing a brilliant job. All the staff love using it – especially my assistant groundsman because I can never get it back off him.”

For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact Dennis 01332 824 777 or visit www.dennisuk.com

For more news, reviews and insightful views, you can follow Dennis on Twitter & Instagram @DennisMowers and like the company’s Facebook page – www.facebook.com/DennisMowersUK. You can also view the latest Dennis videos by visiting www.youtube.com/DennisMowers

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