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First Toro Fleet For Crondon Park As It Seeks Perfection

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First Toro Fleet For Crondon Park As It Seeks Perfection: Toro’s reputation as the best for quality precedes itself at Crondon Park Golf Club in Essex. And as the club continues to strive for perfection, it has brought in its first fleet of Toro greens, tees and grounds mowers to assist in its quest. 

Crondon Park is a relative newcomer to the golf course scene, opening its 18-hole Championship course and the nine-hole Willows par three course to the public just 23 years ago. Since then, the greens, which are USGA sand constructed, have undergone annual improvements, says Steve Thorn, estate manager.

First Toro Fleet For Crondon Park As It Seeks Perfection

“We do our best to improve the surfaces year-on-year. The courses have improved beyond recognition and the fact that we have one of the largest memberships in Essex, with all categories virtually full, illustrates our success.

“Although we’re delighted with the progress, we strive for perfection, which is why we have brought in our first fleet of Toro machinery.”

Joining the club are two TriFlex 3400 greens mowers for the greens and tees, a Reelmaster 5510-D for fairway cutting and a Groundsmaster 4300-D and Groundsmaster 4000-D for the semi-roughs and roughs.

Richard Freeman from Toro distributor Reesink Turfcare says of these machinery choices: “I’ve been visiting Steve and the club for a few years now and over that time we’ve struck up an ongoing dialogue about what the course needed to get it to the next level. One of the main things we discussed was the best machines for cutting the roughs and semi-roughs. It was previously being done with cylinder mowers and really rotary mowers are going to deliver the best results for that environment. Hence why we showed Steve the GM4300-D and GM4000-D.”

For the rest of the course, Steve continues: “The greens have matured really well over time and while there are very few flat areas, it’s mostly undulating so it’s quite a challenging course to maintain. These were deciding factors when considering which greens, tees and fairway mowers to go for. But leading every decision was the fact that Toro is renowned for being the best quality and delivering a consistently good cut. We have no doubt they can stand up to the challenges of the course.”

There are many features that make Crondon deserving of notoriety and the ‘Crondon Crunch’ is one of them. The ‘Crondon Crunch’ is the longest closing golf hole in the world at 860 yards and is unofficially considered a par six. We have no doubt that when it comes to the crunch Toro will deliver a perfect cut for Crondon.

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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John Deere at SALTEX 2017

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John Deere at SALTEX 2017. Stand no. E080

Three new machines from John Deere are making their UK & Ireland show debut at Saltex 2017 at the NEC, Birmingham in November – a top of the range diesel lawn tractor, an updated wide area rotary mower and a newly styled Gator utility vehicle.

The flagship X949 lawn tractor is one of three new models suitable for a wide range of private and commercial customers who require a powerful workhorse with the ability to carry out a variety of tasks all year round. The X949 features 4WD and four-wheel steer for the ultimate in traction and manoeuvrability, ideal for cutting grass in restricted spaces and around landscape features or obstacles.

John Deere at SALTEX 2017

The new X940 Series also includes the X940 and X948 models, and is available with both 2 and 4WD options in addition to four-wheel steer. All three machines are based on a heavy-duty frame design and are powered by a liquid cooled 24hp diesel engine. The modern digital dashboard has the look and feel of a car, and additional operator friendly benefits include an adjustable steering wheel and seat, cruise control and John Deere’s popular, easy to use Twin Touch pedal transmission.

Three rotary mower decks are available, including a 122cm (48in) AccelDeep unit and a 137 or 152cm (54 or 60in) high capacity deck with optional AutoConnect for instant drive-over connection. A further option is the innovative MulchControl system, which allows changing from side discharge to mulching or vice versa by the simple flip of a lever.

For extra year-round versatility, a wide range of front and rear mounted attachments and implements can be used, including material collection systems, utility carts, a front hitch, rotary brush and blade.

The XUV 865M Gator utility vehicle features the company’s quietest ever cab, more room for both driver and passengers and an extremely efficient heating system, including a windscreen defrost feature.

Boasting an 854cc, 23hp diesel engine, CVT transmission and power steering plus a top speed of 50kph, the XUV 865M offers a tight turning circle and optimal weight distribution for superior off-road performance. It can also be fitted with a wide range of over 90 attachments from snow blades to winches, and has a large 42-litre fuel tank.

The adjustable driver’s seat can accommodate three people for off-road use, while the versatile and durable cargo box has a load capacity of 454kg. Towing capacity has been increased by a third to 907kg and total payload capacity is 680kg.

Offering the ultimate in power, manoeuvrability and traction for large-scale commercial mowing operations, John Deere’s new Series III version of the 1600 Turbo WAM out-front rotary mower has a Stage 5 engine to meet the latest emission standards, plus an improved cooling system.

It features an overall cutting width of 3.25m (128in), a fully adjustable high-backed air suspension seat and run-flat castor wheel tyres to reduce downtime and increase productivity. Additional improvements include an increase in transport speed to 15mph and enhanced Service ADVISOR diagnostics for easy maintenance.

Featuring a proven mechanical 4WD system and an 83-litre (18gal) fuel tank, the mower is powered by a 60hp turbocharged Yanmar diesel engine with electronic engine control and a cooled exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system for lower emissions.

The three robust rear-discharge mower decks are fabricated from 7-gauge steel, the thickest in the industry. Each wing has a breakaway feature that allows the mower deck to move back and away from any obstacle, then automatically reset to the normal working position.

Other operator friendly specifications include electronic cruise control, hydrostatic power steering and a tiltable steering wheel. In addition, the ROPS frame can be folded down easily without tools, for safe operation under tree canopies or in other confined spaces.

Find out more about John Deere’s full range of commercial mowers, lawn tractors and Gator utility vehicles at www.deere.co.uk.

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National Recognition For Potters Bar Bowls Club Duo

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National Recognition For Potters Bar Bowls Club Duo: Husband and wife team, Rod and Sandra Smale, have been shortlisted for the Bowling Greenkeeper/Team of the Year award by the Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG).

The expertise and dedication of the couple in maintaining the bowling greens at Potters Bar’s greens at The Walk has been the reason for the nomination.

They took over the upkeep of the six-rink green in 2014 after a desire from the members for more competitive facilities.

Working to a limited budget, the duo set about the task and aided by a two helpers the green is now tended every day for a regular programme of mowing, dew brushing and rink marking.

They will be up against last year’s winners, Burnham Hillside Bowls Club of Burnham-on-Crouch, with the winners announced at the National Conference Centre, Birmingham, on November 1.

To read the original article from WH Times, click here

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Germinal To Establish Research Station 

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Germinal to establish research station to help amenity turf professionals get the best from their facilities: Amenity grass seed specialist Germinal is to establish its own research station to spearhead a new programme of trials and development work geared to helping UK groundsmen, greenkeepers, turf growers and landscape architects get the very best from their amenity and sports areas.

The 11-acre facility, located near Melksham in Wiltshire, will be managed by grass trials specialist Dr Joanna Matthews, who leaves her post at NIAB to join Germinal in January 2018.

Germinal GB Managing Director Paul Billings believes the development will create an unrivalled knowledge hub that will enable professional sports turf and amenity grass specialists to improve the performance and aesthetics of their green spaces.

“In a competitive market where only the best cultivars and seed mixtures will suffice, having a bespoke R&D facility will allow Germinal to showcase market-leading varieties, test innovative ideas in UK conditions, and demonstrate at a local level alternative grass seed species or turf management systems that we are bringing in from around the world.

“The research station will be integrated with our amenity breeding programme at IBERS Aberystwyth University and will provide facilities for Germinal to collaborate with many other industry partners on projects of great significance and benefit to the wider industry.

“We already have plans for over forty projects at the site, which will include trialling new amenity varieties, and proving, in real world conditions, the benefits and advantages of site specific traits such as tolerance to shade and disease resistance under stress.  We’ll also be collaborating with leading amenity nutrition manufacturers to trial a range of slow and phased- release fertilisers and specialist liquid and granular fertilisers.”

Dr Joanna Matthews joined NIAB in 2013 and brings to Germinal a valuable combination of practical grass trials knowledge and progressive plant science experience.

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Major Investment Made By Origin Amenity Business

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Major Investment Made By Origin Amenity Business: Origin’s Amenity Business has announced its acquisition of Linemark UK, the country’s leading innovator and supplier of pitch line-marking paints, machines and accessories. 

Linemark UK joins Rigby Taylor and Headland in providing technically advanced and innovative solutions to turf management professionals.

Linemark UK has been the exclusive supplier of line-marking products to Rigby Taylor for 10 years, working closely with the company to bring to the industry Impact, the market-leading, ready-to-use paint, which has won many awards including the Queens Award for Innovation and the Queens Award for International trade (Export).

Major Investment Made By Origin Amenity Business

This paint is now sold to over 43 countries worldwide and used by international, national stadia, Premiership pitches and sports grounds across a range of sports surfaces.

Other paints include the Duraline range for both natural turf, synthetic and hard surfaces together with Preline, the only MAPP-approved paint for initial marking.

Commenting on the acquisition, Chris Clark, Rigby Taylor’s executive chairman, stated: “Pitch line-marking paint and its application is an important market sector for the company. With Linemark UK joining the Origin family, we consider that Rigby Taylor will consolidate its leading market position and continue the high level of innovation and development for the benefit of our customer’s both now and in the future.”

Tony Holt, managing director of Linemark UK, commented: “This is fantastic news for Linemark UK as it looks to build on its successes and create, alongside Rigby Taylor, an exciting future within the Origin organisation.”

Linemark UK and Rigby Taylor pioneered the introduction of an Integrated Paint Technology System to sports pitch line-marking, matching for the first time innovative paint formulation chemistry, advanced spray nozzle technology and application performance.

The result was the introduction of Impact paints, which brought to the industry the highest level of line-marking performance ever achieved.

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