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Syn-Pro by SISIS at FSB

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Syn-Pro by SISIS at FSB: A range of products from Syn-Pro by SISIS will be on display at FSB, which takes place in Cologne from 24 – 27 October.

Located in Hall 10.2 on Stand G-030 the British manufacturers will be showcasing a range of market leading turf maintenance equipment for synthetic surfaces including:

Syn-Pro by SISIS at FSB

Syn-Pro by SISIS at FSB

SISIS Osca 3

The SISIS Osca 3 is a tractor mounted powered oscillating brush with a 1.9 meter working width and is equally effective when used on synthetic turf with sand or rubber infill. The two oscillating brushes stand the carpet fibres up and redistributes the infill evenly, minimising compaction on the surface and improving its performance – giving consistent playing characteristics while preventing pile damage caused by reduced infill levels.

A contributory factor to the reduction of compaction is that the Osca’s working width will use fewer passes than other more conventional drag brushes to complete a pitch. Its aggressive brushing action agitates the upper infill level of the surface from side to side as well as brushing forward, helping reduce surface compaction and encourage the fibres to stand up straight which reduces the risk of contamination, drainage problems and leaves a consistent playing surface across the whole pitch.

SISIS Twinplay with Flexicomb and Straight Brush

The Syn-Pro team will also be showcasing the Twinplay Implement Frame with the Flexicomb and Straight Brush. The Twinplay frame is a single pass maintenance system which accepts two implements at any one time and the Flexicomb and straight finishing brush is recommended for both sand and rubber infill surfaces. The Flexicomb ensures even distribution of infill and lifts the carpet pile while the straight brush produces a smooth level and eye-catching presentation.

SSS1000 sweeper

The SSS1000 is a towed sweeper which can be pulled by any vehicle. There are no tools required for the adjustment of the brush or the angle of the draw bar and to make storage easy the draw bar lifts to an upright position. With an aluminium hopper with stainless steel mesh, any infill that is collected when using the machine is returned back down to the surface leaving it free from contamination of debris.

Towed frame with electric lift, Straight Brush and Zig Zag Brush

Designed specifically for regular routine brushing, the towed brush combinations can be used by almost any small ride-on power unit including compact garden tractors. Regular brushing should ideally take place following every 8-10 hours of play, and this combination will thoroughly clean and maintain the surface.

The Towed single frame makes life easier for the operator through the electric lift; the Straight Brush is ideal as a ‘smooth finishing’ brush and enhancing presentation and the Zig Zag Brush works effectively on both rubber crumb and sand infill.

For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact Syn-Pro by SISIS on 01332 824 777 or visit www.synprobysisis.com

For more news, reviews and insightful views, you can follow Syn-Pro on Twitter or Instagram @synprobysisis and like the company’s Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/SynPro-by-SISIS.

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Groundsmaster series fits the bill

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Groundsmaster series fits the bill: Ian Brawn, course manager at Worsley Park Golf and Country Club, part of Delta Hotels by Marriott, has been with Marriott for 18 years – but the club’s trusty Toro Groundsmaster 3500-D has been there even longer.

For the last 21 years, it’s been used to maintain the Manchester club’s picturesque 18-hole PGA Championship golf course. Impressed by the mower’s longevity, Ian recently acquired another Groundsmaster 3500 with Sidewinder shifting decks to help ease the burden on its older sibling.

Groundsmaster series fits the bill

Groundsmaster series fits the bill

Ian comments: “We chose to go with another 3500 because we wanted a like-for-like model to go alongside our existing Toro machine – just obviously a lot newer! We began to call the existing Groundsmaster the older sibling but, really, we should call it the grandfather!”

Despite the older mower’s age, Ian’s in no hurry to retire what he dubs ‘the course stalwart’ just yet. “If it’s looked after and well-loved, Toro kit can go on and on,” he says. “The original 3500 still does the job, but it’s obviously not as effective as the new one.“However, for lighter duties it’s fantastic. We’ve always kept it maintained, so it’s the perfect backup should the new mower be unavailable for whatever reason. As a club, it gives us more versatility. The new 3500, though, is without a doubt a huge game changer for us.”

One reason Ian decided to update his Toro fleet with Reesink is because Worsley Park Golf and Country Club, which will soon be celebrating its 25th birthday, is currently in the process of changing the aesthetics of its course.

“We get a huge amount of golfers here at Worsley,” he explains. “So, naturally, we’ve been using the 3500 duo, but particularly the new mower, quite often.

“We’re currently looking at how we present our course: adapting the presentation, improving our consistency of cut, bringing on a new patterning and new look.

“The 3500’s adjustable head, allowing side-to-side movement means we can get a closer cut around bunkers and sloping greens, improving presentation.”

With Toro’s unique Series/Parallel traction drive system and Contour Plus cutting technology, the Groundsmaster 3500 effortlessly navigates undulating and wet terrain while maintaining a high consistency of cut.

“In addition, we’re also adding an intermediate rough, which requires us to use both mowers side-by-side, which has been nice to see,” Ian says. “Since we’re quite a big site, having two great Toro machines at our disposal really improves the club’s greenkeeping efficiency.

“For all this, of course, we have to extend a huge thanks to Steve Halley from Cheshire Turf Machinery and Reesink, who’ve been really supportive. We have a good working relationship, and Steve and the team have always been there whenever we have issues, especially while Paul, our resident mechanic, is finishing off his training.”

To learn more about Toro’s flagship Groundsmaster series, call 01480 226800 or visit https://www.reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Turf professionals gather at Dun Laoghaire GC

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Turf professionals gather at Dun Laoghaire GC: Dun Laoghaire Golf Club recently played host to the insightful Turf Science Live seminar, an event co-organised by ICL and Syngenta. With the goal of sharing the latest knowledge and trends in turf management, the seminar proved to be a very useful gathering for industry professionals.

Attracting around 100 participants, the event brought together greenkeepers and groundsmen from sporting venues across Ireland. The day was packed with lively discussions and opportunities for collaborative learning.

Turf professionals gather at Dun Laoghaire GC

Turf professionals gather at Dun Laoghaire GC

The day commenced in the impressive Dun Laoghaire clubhouse, setting the tone for the informative sessions that were to follow. Attendees were divided into four groups, ensuring an intimate and comprehensive learning experience. The four groups rotated through different stations, two in the morning and another two after lunch.

Speaking of lunch, it wasn’t all business. Participants had a chance to engage in a ‘nearest the pin’ golf competition, adding a bit of fun and friendly rivalry to the day.

Four key sessions were on the agenda, each covering a specialized topic in turf management:

  • Station 1: Revolutionary insect control’, presented by Sean Loakes, Syngenta’s Technical Manager for the UK and Ireland.
  • Station 2: ‘Trial updates from eqo.s, the new environmentally friendly outfield nutrition, presented by ICL’s Henry Bechelet and Colman Warde.
  • Station 3: From soil analysis to turf nutrition programmes ‘, presented by Fergal Greenan from ICL.
  • Station 4: ‘Preparing for autumn: A comprehensive guide to fungicide planning’, led by Glenn Kirby of Syngenta.

David Callanan CGCS MG, Course Manager at Beech Park Golf Club remarked, “It was a great event and I’d like to thank ICL and Syngenta for their continued support to the industry here.”

“It was a top-class event and venue, with great presentations,” commented Richard Doyle, Head Groundsman at RDS.

Special thanks were given to the club’s course superintendent, Des McGann, and his team for helping host the seminar.

Events such as Turf Science Live play a pivotal role in enhancing the standards of the turf industry by ensuring professionals are equipped with up-to-date knowledge and practices.

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

For more news and insightful views, you can follow ICL on Twitter @ICL_Turf

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New Turf Advisor app to support management decisions

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New Turf Advisor app to support management decisions: The new Turf Advisor app from Syngenta will now give greenkeepers, turf managers and agronomists instant access to a wealth of key information and advice to help make better decisions for day-to-day actions and planning.

Fully customisable for any location and situation, the revolutionary Turf Advisor app provides essential weather data and turf management models, presented in a clear dashboard that can be tailored and adapted through the season to focus on imminent issues and challenges faced.

New Turf Advisor app to support management decisions

New Turf Advisor app to support management decisions

UK & Ireland turf managers will be the first to have access to the immense global Syngenta investment in supporting turf managers and agronomists to make more effective sustainable turf management decisions.

The displayed data sets in Turf Advisor have been specifically selected as factors that influence turf health and management, including rainfall, leaf wetness, humidity, soil temperatures, Day length and evapotranspiration, for example.

Uniquely, it displays both the historic weather data for recent days that will have impacted on current turf health and quality, along with the forecast information for the coming days helping turf managers understand where they sit in a weather pattern, helping them to make management decisions.

Furthermore, the app makes many of the renowned Syngenta turf disease forecasting models more accessible and easier to use – enabling turf mangers to instantly assess risks, set risk thresholds tailored to their site and plan their actions. GreenCast disease models available include microdochium patch, anthracnose, grey leaf spot and a new for Syngenta UK & Ireland specific Smith-Kerns model for Dollar spot pressure forecasting.

Registered users can select and change which of the data sets they have showing on their personalised dashboard, and the order they display. That will enable their dashboard to be tailored through the year – to focus on microdochium patch factors coming into autumn high risk periods, for example, then adapted to better cope with managing grass growth rates in the spring.

Turf Advisor incorporates the Growing Degree Day calculator that has proven the most favoured digital support tool on the Syngenta Turf website, along with an exciting new Growth Potential model. The two can be used in conjunction to more accurately predict growth patterns and product application timings. Importantly, users can now see their cumulative GDD tally in real time, to plan actions and application timings on the move.

Also built into the app is a clear spray window forecast, which can prove crucial in ensuring applications are made at the most appropriate timing and in the optimum conditions to improve efficacy and accuracy.

Syngenta EAME Technical manager, Glenn Kirby, has been instrumental in developing the Turf Advisor app. As a former course manager, his practical experience has ensured the app delivers the information he would use in making turf management decisions every day.

“The app has been entirely designed from the viewpoint of a practical greenkeeper or turf manager,” he reported. “We all know that subjectively we are using data around the weather and our own experience of the course to make decisions.”

“With Turf Advisor we now have objective data and records that can help support stronger practical turf management decisions. It in no way replaces the turf manager’s experience, but helps to support and validate their decsions,” he pointed out.

It has taken many of the aspects of the pioneering and globally renowned GreenCast website and added a whole raft of new elements selected to support turf management – and made it readily accessible and easy to use in an app.

“Microdochium attacks are influenced by a multitude of factors, for example,” he advised. “The GreenCast microdochium model will pinpoint when there is the highest risk of outbreaks according to rain and temperatures, but for the most effective proactive strategies it should be used in conjunction with leaf wetness, humidity, GDD and Growth Potential to assess how it will impact on the turf and immediate implications.

“All those factors can be instantly viewed on the dashboard in the Turf Advisor app.” Users can set two profiles within the app enabling them to truly customize for their needs.

Syngenta trials of new fungicides and biocontrols will now include a Turf Advisor led programme, so that the launch of new products can be supported by the digital tools and recommendations.

Turf Advisor app is now available to download free for Apple and android devices, from the app Store or Google Play, with direct links from the Syngenta website:

https://www.syngentaturf.co.uk/turf-advisor-app

Users can follow a series of YouTube videos with suggestions of how to set up their dashboard and useful factors to focus on for potential challenges over the coming months. Further seasonal advice will be provided through the GreenCast Advisory Blog and On the horizon podcast.

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Power up your tools

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Power up your tools: Leading power tool manufacturer Makita has launched a new redemption promotion for its XGT Power Source Kit range. Running from the 1st October until the 31st December 2023, end users can claim a free 40VMax XGT 2.5Ah battery when they purchase a selected XGT Power Source Kit.

Makita Power Source Kits are an ideal way for end users to start or expand a cordless system of XGT 40VMax tools. There are six qualifying Power Source Kits available in total as part of Makita’s latest promotion: Four kits with two batteries (2.5Ah, 4.0Ah, 5.0Ah, and 8.0Ah options) and fast charger, and two kits with four batteries (5.0Ah and 8.0Ah options) and a twin-port fast charger. All are supplied in a robust Makpac carry case.

Power up your tools

Power up your tools

Purchasing a Makita Power Source Kit enables you to select your preferred battery options, and then select your XGT tools from a wide range of body only models as a cost-effective option. The Power Source Kit and body only products enables customers to build their own kit of XGT products specific to their job requirements.

With a high number of XGT models also available in Makpac cases, you can simply connect the Makpac tool cases to your Power Source Kits for improved storage and safe transport.

Makita’s latest promotion allows end users to claim a free BL4025 2.5Ah XGT Battery (retail value of over £100) with qualifying XGT Power Source Kits. This Li-ion battery is a powerful general use battery with an LED charge level indicator for use with Makita’s range of 40VMax and 80VMax XGT tools. The heavy-duty battery can be charged in just 28 minutes with a rapid charger, for optimum performance and productivity on site.

Kevin Brannigan, Marketing Manager at Makita UK, said: “Our XGT range is designed to help our customers work faster, more efficiently and safely with cordless technology that offers optimum power, high performance and exceptional run time. Batteries can be easily changed between tools, depending on the task and with our latest promotion, we’re helping end users enhance their cordless experience with a free battery.”

Makita’s latest redemption will run until the 31st December 2023. Customers who purchase any qualifying XGT Power Source Kit from an authorised dealer between 01.10.23 and 31.12.23 must register their purchase online via the redemption promotion website within 28 days of purchase to claim their free product (see website for full Terms & Conditions and qualifying criteria). Customers will receive their free 2.5Ah (BL4025) 40VMax XGT Battery on successful application.

For more information about Makita’s redemption promotion, visit: www.makitauk.com/redemptions

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