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Lees Hall The Latest Golf Club To Purchase Ventrac 4500

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Lees Hall In Sheffield Is The Latest Golf Club To Purchase A Ventrac 4500: Lees Hall Golf Club is the latest purchaser of a Ventrac 4500 compact tractor and attachments. Situated three miles south of Sheffield, it was designed by Alex Herd, the Open Champion of 1902, and opened in 1907 as a 9-hole course. It was remodelled to 18-holes in 1911 creating a 6,171 yard, par 71 parkland course with commanding views over the city.

Ian Whitehead is the Head Greenkeeper and heads a team of four dedicated greenkeepers. He has been in the job for 16 months, having previously been Course Manager at Hillsborough Golf Club for 23 years.

Lees Hall The Latest Golf Club To Purchase Ventrac 4500

 

“I’m really lucky to have a very supportive committee with the president and greens chairman putting their trust in me and providing the funds to help with my suggested improvement programme. It’s no secret that the course has been in decline for some years, but I see this as a challenge. We’ve implemented some immediate improvements and the members are making the right comments. We have upgraded various machines including a greens mower, tees mower and a greens iron.

“However, the purchase of the Ventrac 4500 from local dealer, Russells Groundcare, has been the real bonus. It’s a powerful, multi-purpose compact tractor on which you put many attachments. Glen Sawyer of Russells recommended it to me and I trust his judgement. We had a demonstration and it was a no-brainer; we had to have it. We had intensive operator training when it was delivered so everyone can get the maximum out of it.

“Like other recent purchasers of Ventrac, I was sceptical when I first saw the machine, it’s a bit quirky, but once you’ve sat on it you realise it’s a powerful and versatile tractor, very smooth to drive and the articulating Contour mower deck leaves a great finish. Its hill climbing is excellent and that’s a prime consideration here.

“We’re already looking at other attachments as we prepare our 2018 budget. There’s so much that this single machine can do with its selection of accessories which include a Tough Cut deck, Stump Grinder, Edger, Blower and more. I’m really excited about this machine and the challenge ahead; the perception of the club is already changing in the local area and membership is moving in the right direction. Good greenkeeping practices and the equipment to carry them out are essential. With the continued support of the club, we’ll get there.

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Trilo S3 Makes Light Work Of Leaf Clearance

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A Trilo S3 Makes Light Work Of Leaf Clearance At Keele University: Any machinery that makes time-consuming tasks more manageable is desirable and in the area of leaf clearance, a Trilo S3 is just that. At 617 acres, Keele University’s single-site campus is the largest in Europe. With woodland, gardens, sports facilities, halls of residence and academic areas to maintain the in-house maintenance team of 12 have their work cut out – that’s where the Trilo S3 comes in.

Jane Barker has been Head of Grounds at Keele University for 3 years but her knowledge of Trilo kit pre-dates this. “I’ve worked in grounds for the last 20 years, including for the MoD at Catterick Garrison, which is where I first came across the Trilo brand. We worked with a contractor at the time who used Trilo equipment and I was immediately impressed.” Upon Jane joining Keele, leaf collection was a task that was still done by hand, meaning it was both very labour intensive and tedious for the staff involved. “With over 4,500 deciduous trees on our site, generating millions of leaves, the clearance of these would very often go right through the winter and into the spring.”

Trilo S3 Makes Light Work Of Leaf Clearance

“One of my first decisions here was to invest in a Trilo S3 vacuum sweeper. Though it was greeted with initial scepticism based on past experiences of similar machinery, very quickly indeed they were all converted and were singing its praises.” Since the purchase, leaves are now completely cleared before the Christmas break which allows staff to be put to better use elsewhere. “It’s made an absolutely massive improvement!”

Working at a convenient 1.5 metres wide, but with a large 3m3 capacity, Jane says the Trilo S3 is the perfect size unit for their campus. “We have lots of narrow, twisty roads and paths and attached to our tractor we can take the S3 nearly every area we need to and those few spaces it can’t reach, we can blow the leaves to somewhere that it can.” The team were so impressed with the S3 that when it came to their tri-annual machinery replacement process, the S3 was top of the list with their new unit being delivered in April. “We always look at possible alternatives but everyone has been so pleased that going for a new S3 was the preferred choice. Our new unit comes complete with a flail and scarifier attachment which has delivered great results in its initial scarification work on some of the sites sports pitches.”

Final word from Jane, “The service and support we’ve received from Jon Proffitt has been great and thanks to him suggesting the additional attachments, our new S3 will now play an even greater year-round role in the maintenance of our site.”

For more information go to www.trilo.com

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Lister Wilder Brings The ‘Mow Factor’

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Lister Wilder Brings The ‘Mow Factor’: Lister Wilder Ltd, a Kubota groundcare and construction dealer, has been announced as this year’s biggest UK ‘MOW-team’ supporting The Movember Foundation, with more than 60 members of staff donning great moustaches to raise funds for the men’s health charity.

Including sales team members, workshop engineers, parts advisers and company directors, the Lister Wilder Movember ‘MOW-team’ has already raised an impressive total of more than £8,000, including a donation of £500 from Kubota UK.  With fundraising continuing throughout the month of November, Lister Wilder are encouraging friends, family and work colleagues to support this worthy cause.

Lister Wilder Brings The ‘Mow Factor’

As part of the ‘MOWvember movement’, Lister Wilder has also lent its support to The Rich Brothers, of BBC Garden Rescue, Movember campaign that has seen them travel around six counties in two days, mowing huge moustaches into fields in a bid to raise much needed funds.

To support the brothers in their task, Lister Wilder has donated Kubota’s popular G23 ride-on-mower, with Harry and David Rich utilising its power, precision, agility and minimal turning radius to groom the perfect moustache.

Phill Hughes, Groundcare Sales Director at Lister Wilder and the company’s Movember Team Captain, commented: “We’re all very excited about being announced as the biggest “MOW-team’ to be supporting The Movember Foundation, as well as assisting the Rich Brothers.

“For many of us this is the first time we’ve entered the risky world of facial hair, but we’re experts at helping our customers achieve a good mow, so we’re hoping some of us can achieve a good mo’ too. It’s all about raising as much money as possible for this fantastic charity supporting men’s health and we are very grateful to all those who have already donated.”

The Movember Foundations annual campaign is focused on bringing the issue of men’s health to the fore, raising awareness of its importance, whilst also generating much needed money to support vital research efforts to fight prostate cancer and testicular cancer.

To donate and keep up to date with Lister Wilder’s Movember ‘MOW-team’ progress, visit its Movember fundraising page here: https://moteam.co/lister-wilder-ltd?mc=1.

You can see The Rich Brothers Movember campaign and the Kubota G23 ride-on mower in action here: https://www.facebook.com/MovemberUK/videos/10154736154056017/.

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Headland and Bayer At Annual STRI Trials Event

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Headland and Bayer At Annual STRI Trials Event: Ongoing and future management of the pathogen Microdochium nivale was one of the hot topics that greenkeepers discussed at the recent STRI annual Trial Event, held in Bingley, West Yorkshire. Having actively researched and trialled products to suppress the disease for over 10 years, Headland Amenity, along with Bayer, were some of the leading contributors on the topic.  David Howells, Northern Area Manager, reports on their findings.

Historically, Iprodione-based products have been the main approach to deal with Microdochium nivale, applied curatively, when the first stages of the disease are seen. Whilst at the time of writing, fungicide products containing Iprodione are still available to use, it has been announced that its withdrawal is now imminent and we will soon be without this valuable tool to control turf disease. So what alternatives are there?

Headland and Bayer At Annual STRI Trials Event

With climate and legislation changes, preventative disease management will have to be the way forward. Headland Amenity predicted these issues many years ago and has over 10 years of independent trialwork to support effective, alternative preventative strategies, incorporating both fungicides and non-fungicidal products.

STRI Trials and feedback from Turf Managers have long shown the beneficial effects of using Headland’s 20-20-30 tank mix to minimise disease levels when applied as part of a preventative programme. This consists of a tank mix of plant hardeners and elicitors, Liquid Turf Hardener, Seamac ProTurf and Turfite. For example, during the autumn of 2016, control trial plots were hit with 75% Microdochium nivale disease pressure. Plots treated with 20-20-30 tank mix alone, prior to disease establishment, showed a 50% reduction in this activity.

As we lose one ‘old chemistry’ active ingredient, a new one, Fluopyram, comes to the UK. From a new chemical group of fungicides known as SDHI’s, Fluopyram is an acropetal penetrant, which means it can enter the plant through roots, shoots or leaves, and moves up through the plant to provide protective activity. It can be found in Bayer’s new Exteris Stressgard product, alongside Trifloxystrobin and the unique ‘Stressgard’ technology which provides plant protection against stress situations resulting in a visibly healthier looking sward. Headland Amenity is a primary supplier of Exteris Stressgard alongside another Bayer product, Dedicate – a systemic fungicide which can be used preventatively at the earliest sign of disease.  Alternating applications of these two products assists in reducing any potential resistance risk.

Moving forwards, whilst Iprodione is still on the shelf as a back-up, now is the perfect time to be putting together an integrated strategy combining good cultural practice, managing sward compositions and implementing a preventative fungicidal programme to ensure your facility is prepared for what lies ahead.

For more information, visit: www.headlandamenity.com

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STIHL Timbersports World Championship heads To UK

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STIHL Timbersports World Championship heads to UK for first time as Liverpool is announced as host city for 2018: The very best logger sports athletes from all over the world will be competing in what is set to be a totally unique, edge-of-your seat, spectator experience.

The 2017 STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® World Championships, which took place in Lillehammer on 3 & 4 November, concluded with the exciting announcement that next year‘s Championship will take place at the Echo Arena Liverpool on 19th and 20th October 2018. Councillor Malcolm Kennedy, Lord Mayor of Liverpool, was presented with a wooden plaque by Wolfgang Zahn, Head of Research and Development on the STIHL Advisory Board, in the official handover at the finale of this year’s championships.

STIHL Timbersports World Championship heads To UK

The STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® World Championship sees the best athletes from across the globe compete in a series of woodchopping challenges utilizing axes and saws. The sport was founded in 1985, and includes six different disciplines – the Underhand Chop, the Stock Saw, the Standing Block Chop, the Single Buck, the Springboard and the Hot Saw. Over 5,500 spectators attended this year’s event in Norway, with millions worldwide tuning in to the action on TV. STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® is in fact recognized as one of the longest running shows on ESPN.

Athletes from over 20 nations will be battling it out in Liverpool next year for the Individual and Team titles. In the team event on Friday 19th October, the national teams will compete against each other in a knockout system, where the disciplines of Stock Saw, Underhand Chop, Single Buck and Standing Block Chop are completed by four athletes in a relay. The world’s top twelve athletes will then compete against one another in all six disciplines as part of the individual competition on Saturday 20th October. In each discipline the competitor is awarded points according to their achieved time, with the athlete achieving the highest number of points declared the Individual World Champion.

2018 will be the first time that the World Championship will be hosted in the UK, with ‘Team GB’ looking to make the most of the home advantage, whilst the 2017 individual winner Jason Wynyard and team competition winners New Zealand will be hoping to retain their titles.

Councillor Malcolm Kennedy, Lord Mayor of Liverpool said; “We are delighted to be hosting next year’s Championships at the Echo Arena Liverpool and it is a privilege to showcase a sport that is watched by millions of people worldwide. I have been in Lillehammer all weekend and the atmosphere at both the team and individual events was electric. It is like nothing I have seen before, and is a fantastic sporting spectacle.”

Simon Hewitt, Head of Marketing from STIHL added: “The popularity of the sport in the UK is growing exponentially, therefore the UK is an obvious choice to host the next World Championship event.  We are thrilled that Liverpool will be hosting as they are incredibly passionate about their sport and we know the city will give a warm welcome to the athletes travelling from all over the world to compete. A STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® live event really is a fantastic experience and we look forward to introducing the Original Extreme Sport and these world class athletes to a whole new audience.”

For more information go to http://blog.stihl.co.uk/category/timbersports/

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