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NEWS ARTICLES

St Neots Town Council Boasts An All-Red Toro Shed

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Only three years ago operations manager Kevin Matthews vowed to turn St Neots Town Council’s existing fleet of machinery Toro red, following the purchase of a CT2120, which impressed with its “superb” quality of cut. In August Kevin accomplished just that with the purchase of two durable Groundsmaster 3400 out-front rotary mowers.

The Council, whose grounds team of nine maintains a range of sites in Cambridgeshire, decided to invest in new machines when assigned more grounds to cover. Kevin says: “We needed something robust and the Toro GM3400 ticks all the boxes”.

Kevin was convinced it would be the machine for the job after attending an onsite demonstration at Reesink Turfcare: “Seeing the GM3400 up close and having Danny Lake [Toro distributor Reesink Turfcare rep] show what it can do made us realise just how brilliant it is. Reesink also managed to loan us a machine while our order was processed, which was an unexpected bonus!”

For Kevin, the main benefits of the machines include low running costs, reliability, ease of operation, ease of maintenance, and operator’s comfort. He says: “The machine is designed with the operator in mind, meaning my employees can be out all day and not suffer from fatigue.”

He goes on to say that with the GM3400s there’s “no need to worry about breakdowns because the reliability and build quality of these machines are second-to-none. Combine this with the back-up service from Reesink and you’ve got a world-leading formula.”

The GM3400s will primarily be used for Cambridgeshire County Council’s roadside verges, where Kevin believes the machines will enable him to do the job efficiently and keep the grass looking beautiful.

When speaking of the CT2120, the first ever piece of Toro kit purchased by St Neots in 2013, Kevin describes the durability and performance of the machine as “superb”. ”One of the reasons we chose this machine was because it’s light enough to be transported by trailer to different sites,” says Kevin.

This time round Kevin opted for the GM3400 because it’s as easy to operate as the CT2120, but it’s also a road-legal machine. He says: “The GM3400 came with a road-legal pack that includes lights and indicators, amongst other things. With this road pack the GM3400s are not far from being cars, and I can relax knowing my employees are safe.”

Before they owned Toro machinery, Kevin and his team were making do with competitor brand machines that weren’t right for the job and having to cut more frequently to compensate. Now, with a Toro fleet tailored to its needs, the Council has improved its cutting programme and reduced running costs too.

All of this has transformed the work lives of the grounds team at St Neots Town Council and, thanks to their reliability and performance, Kevin feels certain he will continue to invest in Toro machines exclusively.

Toro Lease Agreement For Royal Ascot Golf Club Brings Course On In “Leaps And Bounds”

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Royal Ascot Golf Club has opted for a lease agreement when renewing its Toro fleet ten years on from becoming a Toro Total Solutions customer after being relocated and rebuilt. And it’s a plan that has, according to its members, brought the course on in leaps and bounds.

A decade ago Royal Ascot Golf course, one of the oldest golf courses in the UK, was separated from the horseracing track and moved to another location on the Crown Estate where it was given a new £1million clubhouse, a 18-hole 150-acre 6500-yard par 70 course, a new Toro irrigation system and a brand new fleet of Toro machinery.

Director Martyn Kilmister praises the job the original fleet has done saying: “Considering the course was a farmer’s field 11 years ago, our Toro kit has done a great job tending the course over its growing in. Toro machines are robust, well-built and long-lasting. For one reason or another we haven’t upgraded or replaced any of the machines until recently and yet our course always looked as good as ever. It is only now we have the new machines that we see the benefit of regular machinery replacement.”

This is a view confirmed and expanded upon by Ian Hockley who has been at the club for two years and in his current role of course manager for almost six months: “Without question the original Toro fleet has done its job and done it well. The main difference is the quality and speed of the new machines means it now takes less work and is no where near as big a job to get the same results.

“Technology has also improved. For our fairways we went for a like-for-like replacement to the Reelmaster 5510 and, as with most of the machines, it’s easy to see the improvements in terms of speed and machine quality, but what is also making my job easier are the improvements in technology. The Info Centre in the Groundsmaster 4100 and 4300 for example provides a degree of control the older machines didn’t have, allowing me to set a maximum mowing speed and prevent whipping on a corner in the case of excess operator speed. And in the case of the GM4300 which now has three decks instead of two, the width of cut has improved and we have been able to use them to stripe the roughs and create semi-roughs.”

Ian explains more about why the club opted for a lease agreement this time. “Whether you buy your machinery outright or on lease, the important thing for the members is having a course that plays the best it can and for the greenkeeping team it’s having the right kit to work effectively and efficiently. I feel the best way for us to achieve those things is by having the flexibility to update the fleet when we need to and being able to bring in new pieces of equipment depending on our short-term as well as long-term objectives.”

And with feedback from members saying the course has “come on in leaps and bounds” and young membership on the up it seems a successful approach!

Free fertiliser efficiency appraisals from Germinal at BTME 2017

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Grass seed and turf care specialists, Germinal, will be challenging greenkeepers to scrutinise the nitrogen efficiency of their existing sward nutrient programmes with a free fertiliser appraisal at the BTME show in Harrogate from 17th to 19th January 2017. The company will also be showcasing its latest perennial ryegrass cultivar which has topped the Turfgrass Seed booklet’s 2017 Series L list with a fineness of leaf score of 8.8.

Cabrio: chart-topping fineness of leaf for tees, fairways and greens surrounds

Cabrio is the most recent addition to Germinal’s portfolio of perennial ryegrass cultivars for use on golf tees and green aprons. Formally introduced as a new cultivar last year, Cabrio sits at the top of the Turfgrass Seed booklet’s Series L list for 2017 thanks to a fineness of leaf scoring which is half a point ahead of its nearest rival.

Cabrio is available exclusively from Germinal as part of the company’s ‘Grade A’ range of grass seed mixtures. “The Grade A range has been designed specifically for use by professional greenkeepers and groundsmen,” Richard Brown, Germinal Amenity Sales Manager explains. “These mixtures only contain the most vigorous and highly rated cultivars, resulting in a range of dependable mixtures that consistently deliver results time and again.

“As predicted 12 months ago, Cabrio has entered the 2017 Turfgrass Seed booklet at the top of the Series L table thanks to its class-leading fineness of leaf score,” Richard adds. “At 8.8 it easily outperforms its nearest rival and gives greenkeepers, groundsmen and turf growers an excellent opportunity to produce a harder wearing sward that can not only tolerate a close mowing regime, but which will also give good ball roll or bounce and will be very attractive aesthetically.”

Cabrio is recommended for use on golf tees, golf green aprons, tennis courts and cricket outfields and is included in Germinal’s A5 Cricket, Tennis and Tees and A28 Superfine Ryegolf mixtures. It is also included in Germinal’s A10 Golf Tees and Divot Repairs mixture where it is partnered with a browntop bent, a creeping bent, a smooth-stalked meadow grass and a pair of fescues to create a seed mixture which gives a high density, wear tolerant sward and rapid repair capability.

Slow release fertilisers – the Activity Index challenge

Germinal will also be challenging visitors to BTME 2017 to examine the nitrogen efficiency of their current turf nutrition programme and to reconsider their fertiliser choice.

“The key remit for any golf or amenity nutrient plan is to ensure that the fertilisers used provide a consistent and long-lasting supply of readily available nutrients to the rootzone with the minimum of losses,” Richard Brown, continues.

“Whilst an increasing number of turf professionals have moved away from conventional quick release fertilisers in favour of more technologically advanced slow release products, it would be wrong to assume that all slow release fertilisers are equal.”

Mr Brown warns that, at best, the slow release fraction in methylene urea (MU) fertilisers only actually contains around two thirds of ‘true’ slow release N, whilst many contain less than half. “Put simply, that means the remaining nitrogen is either quick release, and therefore no more value than standard fertiliser, or so insoluble that it may take years to be released.

“In contrast, fertilisers which provide nitrogen in the from of isobutylidene diurea (IBDU) have an ‘Activity Index’ or efficiency rating of around 96%, meaning that almost all of the N supplied will be slowly and steadily released into a form which can be taken up by the sward for a period of around 12 weeks.”

In IBDU based fertilisers, the nitrogen is organically bound and therefore has a very low cold-water solubility rate. As such, it cannot be displaced from the rootzone by leaching or volatilisation to the atmosphere. This ensures that a single application of an IBDU slow release fertiliser, such as Floranid Turf or Floranid Permanent, is able to deliver a consistent supply of nitrogen over a period of up to three months.

“IBDU fertilisers produce a more even growth pattern, with none of the intense bursts of growth associated with regular applications of granular compound products,” Mr Brown continues.

“Unfortunately, not enough turf professionals are aware of the differences between the various types of slow release nitrogen, so we are challenging attendees to BTME 2017 to bring a copy of their current fertiliser’s specification to the Germinal stand where we will give a free assessment of the product’s nitrogen efficiency and activity index.

“A simple photo of the fertiliser bag’s ingredients table is all we need. From that we’ll be able to ascertain the activity index of the product and offer advice on how they can improve the efficiency of their sward feeding regime.”