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Why Golf Greens Are About To Become Better Than Ever

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Why Golf Greens Are About To Become Better Than Ever: Modern turf management practices are raising the standards for golfers. 

Why Golf Greens Are About To Become Better Than Ever

Greenkeeping Lecturer Anthony Stockwell gives us an update on the modern turf management practices that are raising the standards for golfers.

Updates in technology are driving the greenkeeping industry at an accelerated pace. Once keepers of the green used scythes and sheep to keep the turf short.

In this article we look at five major advancements that are pushing the boundaries of turf management, so that golfers particularly of the elite level can play on unbelievably smooth greens and fine fescue fairways.

1. MACHINERY

Machinery has become lighter in weight enabling less compaction to the turf. Super sharp blades are able to cut with the turf with accurate precision.

Maintaining the tools and equipment on a golf course has become easier. Advancements in electrical machinery has enabled smarter and more sustainable use.

Robotic machinery is on the horizon and it won’t be too long until all surfaces on a golf course are cut without the need for an operator.

2. PERFORMANCE MEASURING

Turf managers have become obsessed with data collection and measuring the performance of their turf.

These measurements enable the greenkeepers to make informed and accurate decisions. Soil sensors can instantly measure soil moisture, temperature and salinity.

Green smoothness, trueness and speed can all be accurately objectively measured. These readings along with accurate weather forecasts can help them make informed decisions, such as “do we roll greens or mow?”

This aspect will be used a considerable amount at Royal Birkdale for the 146th Open Championship. This will help the greenkeepers give the optimum conditions for the professional golfers.

3. SEAWEED

The history books will tell you of greenkeepers adding seaweed to golf greens during the winter.

However, nowadays, universities are conducting innovative research into the exact science behind this green slime and their benefits to playing surfaces.

Once formulated and sprayed on to the golf course the substances can provide benefits to the turf including greater tolerance to droughts, pests and diseases – all of which help the golfer enjoy a smooth and consistent playing surface.

4. TURFGRASS BREEDING

Turfgrass breeding is a marathon task, usually taking over 10 years of arduous scientific work to create a new cultivar of seed.

New seed cultivars are providing golfers with surfaces that are finer and demonstrate greater tolerance of environmental pressures.

The type of grass seed you find on a golf course will certainly not be your average seed you can buy in your local garden centre.

5. FUTURE SOIL AND LIGHT TECHNOLOGY

The world of football has been pioneering with expensive technology such as grow lights.

Under soil heating, soil vacuum systems and over ground ventilation to reduce surface and soil moisture. Turf reinforcements system are enabling a greater volume of players to use the surface.

Will these products be used on golf courses? Well, they already are at the elite level. Perhaps, these types of turf products are the future for golf.

However for the time being you won’t find such expensive technology at your local pay and play golf course, if ever at all.

To read the original article from Golf Magic, click here

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Dennis Mowers Integral For Stoke City FC

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Dennis Mowers integral for Stoke City FC: Both the Dennis G860 and the Dennis Premier play an integral role in maintaining Stoke City FC’s bet365 Stadium pitch and training ground, according to grounds manager Andy Jackson.

Dennis Mowers integral for Stoke City FC

Having joined the club as an apprentice on a YTS scheme, Andy Jackson now oversees all of Stoke City FC’s grounds maintenance – which includes the pitch at the bet365 Stadium and the multitude of facilities at the Clayton Wood training ground. Andy has twelve members of staff across the two sites and they work together as one team. He insists that no-one should be dedicated to one specific site, claiming that it enables them to deal with every situation and ensures that not one person is limited to having knowledge of just one site.

“Personally I think this method works for us,” says Andy. “It provides the opportunity to work in different environments which improves their skill set and it also takes out the mundane task of just looking at one site all the time.”

“Obviously it is important that we’ve got the correct staff in place but it is absolutely essential that we have the right machinery and that everything is reliable.”

Andy has a fleet of Dennis mowers which sees four Premier’s and three G860’s based at the training ground, while the stadium has two G860’s.

“I feel that the Premier’s do a very good job on the soil based pitches,” he says. “We also use them on the Desso Grassmaster pitches if we need to firm them up a little bit – especially when we’ve been growing pitches in. We use the Premier in conjunction with the G860 and the two machines give us plenty of options.”

Fitted with either a powerful Honda Petrol or Kubota diesel engine, the Dennis Premier is available in 30” and 36” cutting widths. A three section rear roller and steering brakes make it easy to manoeuvre giving an excellent stripe pattern and rolling characteristics. Complete with a large diameter front roller with adjustable scraper, for precise height of cut control, the machine is easy to adjust on both sides with the use of a single spanner.

Equally impressive is the G860 which features an interchangeable cassette system, giving options to fit a variety of heads including scarifiers, verticutters, brushes, spikers, and slitters as well as 6, 8 or 11 bladed cutter cassettes. The operator can use the mower for a number of tasks with a simple one-minute changeover of cassettes.

“We have the Verti-Cutter cassette and the Brush as well as the cutting cassette,” says Andy. “We use the Verti-Cutter cassette at the stadium and at the training ground and use it quite intensively in April, May and then again in September or October. It’s a very effective tool and I find that we get really good results from using it after a match.”

“We also have the 6 blade and the 8 blade cutting cylinders – and which one we use purely depends on the density of the grass. So we might use the 6 bladed option in winter and for the first couple of cuts after we’ve grown a pitch in. If the density goes up then we might switch to the 8 bladed option so we have more cuts per square inch.”

The G860, weighing in at just 166kg, is renowned for its ease of use and groundsmen from grass roots to professional level have praised the machine for not only providing first-class results but also for its comfort.

“They are so easy to use – I like the fact they’ve got an open box at the front so I’m in control of everything I’m doing. We string cut so I can see the string, I can see the roller, I can see the blade, I can see the box in front of me – everything is visible at all times. The other thing for me is the setting – the adjustment of the height of cut is very simple yet effective. They also have low vibration levels which is great if you are using them for a long time like we do.”

“Each G860 probably does a distance each week from Stoke to Manchester and back. For a mower that is some mileage – they just keep going and going and reliability is key for me.”

“The most important thing is that the players have a good surface to play on every week – that the pitch is cut at the right height and that it is nice and flat. They just want the pitch to be 100% for every game and Dennis help us massively in doing that.”

“To be honest I don’t think I’d even look at a machine other than a Dennis. I get tremendous back-up from them and they are forward thinking. Personally I think they are the world’s best company in supplying mowers for groundsmen.”

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

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iTurf improves 9 hole Cruit Island GC

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iTurf improves 9 hole Cruit Island GC: Despite working with a small budget, Brian McMonagle, Head Greenkeeper at Cruit Island Golf Club in Donegal, Ireland, has still managed to significantly improve the course through a tailor-made ICL iTurf programme.

iTurf improves 9 hole Cruit Island GC

Situated on the edge of the Atlantic coast with breath-taking panoramic views, Cruit Island Golf Club is a natural 9 hole, par 68, links course. Set over 2,809 yards with seven par fours and two par threes, the course also boasts a signature 150 yard 6th hole – which is played along the rocky cliff edge.

If you were to sail westwards from Cruit Island, across the vast Atlantic Ocean, the first land you would see is North America and it’s dedicated golfers from those shores that add to the 140 plus members already at Cruit Island. The course is generally run on the back of the green fees received throughout the year.

Brian has been at the club since 2000 and has worked with his assistant Donal Timoney since 2005.

They can both be highly commended on maintaining the course to an excellent standard. However, with budget restraints and unfavourable weather conditions, Brian contacted Colman Warde, ICL Ireland Country Manager, to see if there were any products that could potentially take the course to another level.

Together, Brian and Colman designed a tailored iTurf programme which was put together based on the specific nutritional requirements of the course, aligned with the budget he had.

The programme sees Brian start the year with an application of Greenmaster Pro-Lite Cold Start to the greens in order to get the growth up and running.

During the summer months when Cruit Island experiences most of its play, Brian uses SierraformGT All Season as a base feed, which aids recovery from heavy wear. This is supplemented with a monthly tank-mix of Sportsmaster WSF Spring & Summer, Seaweed, Greenmaster Liquid Effect Iron Fe, Primo Maxx and Seaweed from May to September – which is an excellent hardening mix for the links environment.

SierraformGT K-Step is applied in October as a turf hardener prior to the harsh winter weather the Atlantic brings to the course. When faced with these unfavourable conditions Brian also applies Sportsmaster High K, Seaweed and Greenmaster Liquid Effect Iron Fe as a tank-mix to provide a light feed to the plant during the colder months.

Commenting on the success of his ICL iTurf programme, Brian said: “If I’m honest, I initially thought that ICL products would be beyond my financial reach but I thought that I’d have a chat with Colman anyway. We sat down and spoke at length about the course and its nutritional requirements and we devised a programme within my budget which we felt would benefit us.

“The programme has massively improved the course and our members and regular guests have noticed the difference as well. It just goes to show that there is an ICL programme out there for anyone – whether it’s for a top level golf course which hosts major tournaments or for a local 9 hole course in Ireland that sits on the edge of the Atlantic ocean!”

Please contact ICL on 01473 237100 or visit www.icl-sf.co.uk or www.icl-sf.ie if you are in Ireland.

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Jim Gavin Questions Coldplay Concert A Week Before Leinster Final

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Jim Gavin has questioned the GAA’s decision to stage the Coldplay concert eight days before yesterday’s Leinster SFC final.

Dublin ran out comfortable nine-point winners against Kildare, but lost free-taker Dean Rock to a black card for a hand trip on Keith Cribbin in front of the Hill after 24 minutes.

When he was quizzed about Rock’s dismissal, Gavin noted the pitch wasn’t in its usual pristine condition.

“That part of the pitch was replaced from the concert last weekend and it wasn’t great now for both teams, and it’s probably something the GAA need to have a little reflection on,” he told Newstalk’s Oisin Langan.

“The groundsmen did an excellent job, an outstanding job actually, to turn it around so quick but going into a provincial final is that the right thing to do to be replacing that part of the pitch, probably a fifth of the pitch?”

The pitch was relayed following the concert last Saturday week and the pitch was relayed in advance of the Leinster minor and senior finals.

The Dublin boss pointed out that players from both sides lost their footing on that end of the field on multiple occasions during the game.

“I could see both sets of players slipping in that part (of the pitch),” he continued. “It was very hard, that’s one thing I’d say about it.

“It’s not a fault of the groundsmen – they were put in a situation to turn the pitch around – so it’s probably for the management of Croke Park to have a look at it.

“A provincial showcase football game in Leinster, is that the right thing to do?”

Not long after the Dubs rolled out of Croke Park, the groundsmen started digging up the pitch again for the U2 concert which takes place on Saturday night.

To read the original article, click here

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East Grinstead RFC Purchases First Iseki TLE4490 in Europe

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East Grinstead RFC Purchases First Iseki TLE4490 in Europe: East Grinstead Rugby Football Club located in West Sussex has taken delivery of the first Iseki TLE4490 tractor sold in Europe. The tractor was delivered by local Iseki dealer, Yeowart Agricultural Ltd.

East Grinstead RFC Purchases First Iseki TLE4490 in Europe

The new tractor will be used to manage and maintain three full-size pitches covering a total of 14 acres. The pitches at EGRFC are home to a total of 17 teams; three senior teams, one veteran team, six intermediate teams (U13-U18), and seven junior teams (U6-U12).

Chairman of EGRFC Bob Marsh is responsible for the operational management of the club as a business. He commented on the recent investment,

“The TLE4490 provides us with the capability to manage all of our own land. We are now able to mow, verti-drain and aerate our pitches without the need for dedicated machines for each job. The tractor provides us with the flexibility to hire in other equipment or attachments using our own power source.

The Iseki TLE4490 is part of the wider TLE series of compact tractors from Iseki. It features a 46hp water-cooled diesel engine and utilises an 8Fx8R mechanical drive transmission system. Three-point linkage with 1200kg lift capacity and one double-acting hydraulic service are equipped as standard, and the option of turf or agricultural tyres is provided.

“It’s what I like to call “a proper tractor.” It’s powerful, intuitive and easy-to-use, and most of all, it’s a simple tractor that is effective at doing the job that is required of it. The selectable 4WD and independent rear PTO is particularly useful; it provides us with the manoeuvrability that we need, and the power to complete heavy tasks with ease. We are delighted to be the first recipients in Europe of this fantastic machine, but I have no doubt that rugby clubs around the country will be opting for an Iseki tractor when they try one for themselves.”

East Grinstead Rugby Football Club was founded in 1929 by Brian Desmond, and the current clubhouse located at Saint Hill was built in 1997. Since the 1950s, the club has hosted an annual rugby sevens tournament “Sunshine Sevens” which has raised in the region of £250,000 for several children’s charities.

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