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Ten GCSAA members chosen for Bernhard Academy Links to Success

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Ten GCSAA members chosen for Bernhard Academy Links to Success: Ten members of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) have been selected for the Bernhard Academy Links to Success United Kingdom 2025, and they will attend the 2025 BTME conference in Harrogate, England, in January.

For more than two decades, Bernhard has selected 10 members of the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) to attend the GCSAA Conference and Trade Show in the U.S. to experience the show, and through this programme, North American superintendents will now have the opportunity for a similar experience in the UK.

Ten GCSAA members chosen for Bernhard Academy Links to Success

Ten GCSAA members chosen for Bernhard Academy Links to Success

“We are very proud to introduce this initiative to GCSAA members.” Sami Strutt says, “we look forward to welcoming the selected ten to the UK to visit BTME, the largest turf exhibition outside the US and to take part in the Continue to Learn education programme in Harrogate. We’re excited to get them to explore British turf practices and discover iconic golf courses.“

While in the UK, the GCSAA delegation will experience traditional Links golf courses, get an inside look of an Open Championship golf course, discover the heritage of the first Ryder Cup venue, attend the BTME annual conference, have global networking opportunities and more.

The members of the Bernhard Academy Links to Success United Kingdom 2025 class are:

  • Brent Downs, CGCS, MG, director of agronomy at Otter Creek Golf Course in Seymour, (Ind.)
  • Tyler Miget, equipment manager at Harmony Golf Club (Colo.)
  • Matt Gourlay, CGCS, MG, AGS superintendent at Hillcrest Country Club in Boise, (Idaho)
  • Cole Miedema, assistant superintendent at Overlake Golf & Country Club in Medina, (Wash.)
  • Matthew Overton, superintendent at Buffalo (Wyo.) Golf
  • Emily Casey, assistant superintendent at Seven Canyons in Flagstaff, (Ariz.)
  • Matt Earhart, superintendent at Chartwell Golf & Country Club in Severna Park, (Md.)
  • Clay Payne, superintendent at Buffalo Dunes Golf Course in Garden City, (Kan.)
  • Ryan Franklin, superintendent at Brickyard Crossing Golf Course in Indianapolis, (Ind.)
  • Carol Turner, superintendent at Bigwin Island Golf Club in Huntsville, (Ontario)

“The Links to Success programme will no doubt strengthen international relationships within the industry,” Kevin Sunderman, CGCS, GCSAA chief operating officer, said. “This opportunity will benefit not only the GCSAA members involved but will enhance the future of the game of golf.”

To learn more, visit www.gcsaa.org/foundation/education/links-to-success

To find out more about the Bernhard Academy, visit www.bernhardacademy.co.uk

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Green-tech’s distribution partnership with Kinley Systems

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Green-tech’s distribution partnership with Kinley Systems: Green-tech, the UK’s leading supplier of landscaping materials, is thrilled to announce its partnership with renowned manufacturer Kinley Systems. This collaboration will see Green-tech distributing Kinley’s comprehensive range of landscape edging products directly to its customers.

Effective immediately, customers can order the Kinley Systems edging range through their dedicated Green-tech account manager.

Kinley Systems is a leading manufacturer of innovative landscape edging products, renowned for their quality and durability. The products that Green-tech have chosen to launch with include,

  • FORT: L-shape profile, roll-topped steel edge restraint designed for hard landscape surfaces. It is ideal for delineating hard surfaces such as asphalt, tarmac, rubber coating, resin, and paving. Also perfect for high-traffic areas including parks, playgrounds, and building perimeters.
  • Bison Kerb: A heavy-duty steel kerb for edging hard landscapes, Bison serves as a superior alternative to concrete kerbs. It is suitable for replacing concrete in civil construction developments including service roads (excluding motorways), pavements, car parks, drive and pathways.

Green-tech offers the most comprehensive range of landscaping materials in the UK, stocking over 10,000 product lines. The addition of Kinley Systems’ edging products to their portfolio provides an even greater choice for their customers.

Richard Gill, Sales Director at Green-tech, commented on the partnership: “We are excited to strengthen our portfolio with the addition of market-leading edging products from Kinley Systems. The Kinley Systems range is an excellent fit for us and reinforces our commitment to delivering top-tier products that meet the evolving demands of our clients. Kinley Systems’ passion for innovation and design excellence to resolve challenges and open up new possibilities aligns with Green-tech’s values and ethos; this collaboration allows us to provide our customers with additional innovative and high-quality solutions for their landscaping needs.”

For more information on the new range of Kinley Systems products and to place orders, customers are encouraged to contact the Green-tech team today on 01423 322100 or visit www.green-tech.co.uk.

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GroundsFest 2024: More Exhibitors, More Visitors, More Excitement

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GroundsFest 2024: More Exhibitors, More Visitors, More Excitement: The second edition of GroundsFest, held on 10 and 11 September at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire, has firmly established itself as the UK’s largest grounds management and landscaping event. Following a strong debut in 2023, this year’s show exceeded all expectations, marking a significant milestone in its young history.

With 8,014 visitors across two days—4,738 on day one and 3,276 on day two—GroundsFest 2024 saw an impressive increase in attendance, a remarkable feat for an event that only launched last year. The expanded event layout immediately immersed visitors in the action, creating an engaging and dynamic atmosphere from the moment they arrived.

One of the standout features of this year’s GroundsFest was the introduction of Machinery Nation LIVE, which captivated large crowds with thrilling machinery face-offs. Visitors watched top brands go head-to-head in a series of entertaining and rigorous trials, comparing performance across categories such as petrol vs. battery, agility, power, and more. Machinery Nation LIVE also provided interactive equipment challenges where attendees could compete for prizes, adding to the excitement and engagement throughout the show.

And speaking of prizes, GroundsFest 2024 was a treasure trove for lucky visitors. Attendees had the chance to win a wide range of impressive prizes, including a Toro ProStripe 560, a CyberTank portable power station and up to £20,000 worth of Kress tools, an award-winning battery pruner SC 100e and a SWIFT 372e battery garden ride-on mower from STIGA, an EGO Pro X battery-powered pedestrian mower, a Union Jack Turf Tank robot, and much more.

Innovation took centre stage at GroundsFest 2024 as over 60 new products were launched, providing visitors with a firsthand look at the latest in grounds management and landscaping technology. The mix of indoor and outdoor areas also struck a perfect balance. Indoors, a vibrant show floor offered a diverse range of exhibitors showcasing products and services, while the seminar theatres hosted a wealth of educational sessions, all free to attend.

The Landscape Zone, an entire hall dedicated to professionals in the design, planning, and construction of outdoor spaces in the landscaping sector proved to be popular, adding another dimension to the show’s offering.

Grounds Training practical sessions were another highlight, attracting large crowds eager to learn from experienced instructors on the use and maintenance of pedestrian mowers, ride-on mowers, handheld machinery, and sprayers.

Hands-on experience is one of GroundsFest’s key strengths, and attendees once again relished the opportunity to test out equipment before making purchasing decisions. The Avant National Pro Challenge was also a hit, with participants showcasing their skills in an exciting competition that involved slaloms, material handling, and tool changes in an Avant Loader.

Beyond the business of grounds management and landscaping, the festival atmosphere of GroundsFest offered a fun way for exhibitors and visitors alike to unwind. The popular happy hour, live bands, and free bumper cars added to the entertainment, ensuring that GroundsFest was not just about work but also about building relationships and enjoying the industry’s camaraderie.

Event Director Christopher Bassett summed up the event’s success, saying: “It’s incredible to see how much support GroundsFest has received from every corner of the industry. The growth from last year has been phenomenal, and we’re so grateful to all the exhibitors, visitors, and partners who made this year’s show such a success. As we look to the future, we want to continue growing and evolving the show—and the only way to do that is by listening to the industry. That’s why we encourage everyone to take the time to fill out the surveys we’ve sent out. Your feedback is invaluable.”

GroundsFest 2025 is already on the horizon, set to take place on 9 and 10 September at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire. After this year’s monumental success, anticipation is already building for what promises to be an even bigger and better event next year.

For more information, please visit www.groundsfest.com

You can also follow GroundsFest on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @GroundsFest for much more news, reviews and insightful views.

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

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Category expansions across Town & Country and Wilkinson Sword

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Category expansions across Town & Country and Wilkinson Sword: Barrus is excited to announce the launch of its new product lineup for the 2024/25 season, featuring a wide array of new items and significant category expansions under its renowned Town & Country and Wilkinson Sword brands.

Town & Country: Expanding further into lifestyle sector

Continuing its extension into the lifestyle sector, Town & Country proudly presents the new Dragonfly range. This collection includes the popular Cloggies®, Gauntlet and Lux-Fit Gloves, Memory Foam Kneelers, two stylish umbrellas, a practical journal and more. Each product in the Dragonfly range combines functionality with fashionable design, making gardening and outdoor activities more enjoyable.

In addition to the Dragonfly range, Town & Country is also launching the new Bainton Wellington Boots, leisure and gardening boots for all seasons. These boots are 100% waterproof with neoprene insulation and durable PVC integrated soles. They are anticipated to be high sellers come autumn/winter this year, helping retailers make the most of this year’s wet weather.

The collection also includes a convenient, handheld Boot Cleaner, allowing consumers to easily clean footwear anywhere as well as a Boot Jack, an easy way to remove muddy boots with non-slip ridges for underfoot security, ideal for all types of footwear. These additions not only broaden and enhance Town & Country’s portfolio of high-quality outdoor footwear and accessories, but with smaller items now being introduced, also create additional impulse purchase opportunities for retailers too.

Wilkinson Sword: Enhancing the Ultralight range

Recognising the popularity and market opportunities in its hugely popular Ultralight range from Wilkinson Sword, for 2024/25, Barrus is introducing several new products to further expand the range. Gardeners will now be able to enjoy the lightweight benefits of Ultralight Snips, Ultralight Bypass Pruners, two types of Ultralight Loppers, and two further variations of Ultralight Branch and Shrub Cutters. These tools are designed to offer the perfect mix of strength and comfort with incredibly lightweight usability, making gardening tasks easier and more efficient without compromising on quality.

Additionally, within the Wilkinson Sword portfolio, developments have been made to the Razorcut Pro pruners, now with improved cutting performance, grip and comfort with a more appealing livery to add new dual layer grips and premium SK3 Japanese Steel blades.

POS to support new product lines

To support retailers in showcasing each of these new products and ranges, Barrus is also providing dedicated point-of-sale stands designed to maximise sales and attract customer attention including stand displays, full backwall solutions and innovative, eye-catching offerings to showcase the Town & Country Dragonfly range.

Sales reps on the move

Over the coming weeks, Barrus’ sales representatives will be showcasing the new products to customers and garden centres nationwide. Retailers interested in booking an appointment for a personalised demonstration can contact on 01869 363674 or email customer.services@barrus.co.uk.

For more information on the new products and to explore the full range, please visit https://www.townandco.com/ for Town & Country and https://wilkinsonsword-tools.co.uk/ for Wilkinson Sword Tools.

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Reesink and Toro combine at SALTEX

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Reesink and Toro combine at SALTEX: In celebration of 40 years working together, Toro distributor Reesink UK and The Toro Company have joined forces on stand at SALTEX for the first time to bring visitors to the show the biggest range of Toro groundscare machinery yet.

Alastair Rowell, Managing Director of Reesink UK, comments: “We wanted to do something special at SALTEX in recognition of our 40-year partnership. We’ve been providing the UK groundscare customers with Toro machinery options for decades and our stand will celebrate that. There will be 10 machines – our largest selection ever at a show; a range of Toro and Perrot irrigation solutions for the sports market, and – another first – an interactive racing game in conjunction with Mark Blundell’s racing team, MB Sports.”

Reesink and Toro combine at SALTEX

Reesink and Toro combine at SALTEX

Representing all that is new, innovative, productive, and versatile in the Toro range from Reesink Turfcare is the highly productive LT-F3000 triple flail mower; the latest model Toro Groundsmaster 7210, the zero-turn rotary mower that is rugged and durable enough to be called a Groundsmaster, and the Workman UTX utility vehicle which boasts 25 percent more cargo capacity than that of others in its class and a towing capacity of up to 2000lbs.

They are joined by two environmentally friendly versions of popular mowers. The Toro eProStripe removes fuel from the equation of guaranteeing a crisp stripe to turf and means sports turf professionals now have the solution to English Premier League guidance for noise generation.‪ Meanwhile, the Toro Groundsmaster e3200 battery-powered out-front mower with lithium-ion technology incorporates a smart battery management system for sustainable but productive mowing with zero emissions.From The Toro Company, there will be the Toro Revolution series Z Master and Grandstand and hand tools, the ProLine H600, and the 60V Flex Force Power System powered heavy-duty 53cm Proline and eTimeMaster walk-behind mowers.

Reesink Hydro-Scapes will be present with irrigation solutions from Toro. The new Tempus Decoder System, which will launch on stand, is the only decoder system that works in WiFi connection. There will also be a selection of the brand’s best-selling and most popular sprinklers all with turf cups. For many this will be the first opportunity to see Perrot, which is new to the Reesink range, and there will be a selection of sprinklers to suit all types of sports surfaces including football, golf, hockey, tennis, and even horse racetracks.

This year Toro has proudly sponsored the Mark Blundell Motorsport Racing Team with a Vista® lithium-ion powered shuttle vehicle from Reesink to travel the British Touring Car Championships circuits with Jake Hill and his team.

Toro and Reesink are always looking to support the sports sector and young emerging talent, and this was the perfect way to do so and mark the 40th year of working together. As such there will be two racing car simulators on stand giving visitors the opportunity to race any car at any racetrack in the world with coaches from MB Motorsport on hand giving guidance on achieving the best score and topping the leaderboard. The innovative Vista which serves as a crucial asset for transporting up to eight people will also be on display.

Whether you’re heading to the exhibition for the newest, most innovative groundscare and sports turf maintenance equipment, sustainable technology, or advice, Reesink and Toro has it all on stand K080.

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