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Two counties, two courses – one seed

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Two counties, two courses – one seed: Jason Connaughton, Course Manager at Yeovil Golf Club, says that he could not ask for anything more when it comes to the grass seed, customer service, and advice he receives from Limagrain UK.

Set on the outskirts of the town of Yeovil, this fabulous golf club boasts two excellent courses: the eighteen-hole Old Course and the nine-hole Newton Course. The two courses are divided by the River Yeo, which uniquely separates the two courses into two counties with the Old Course located in Dorset and the Newton Course in Somerset.

Two counties, two courses – one seed

Two counties, two courses – one seed

The experienced Jason Connaughton, who has worked at some top courses in the UK, Ireland, and Australia, is the man responsible for the upkeep of both courses. Now in his fourth year at Yeovil, his work across the 189 acres and 27 holes has been widely recognised, but he admits that due to the club’s location, it is not always plain sailing.

“The Newton Course is built on a flood plain which can cause issues,” he said. “The sixteenth green and seventeenth tee are at that same level, so they flood fairly often. When this occurs, there is a temporary green we use but this also tends to get very wet.

“On this small green we were commonly finding issues with moss and other problems – we also needed a grass seed which would be better for wear tolerance. I was not about to use a bent or a fescue because in the past I have found these too hard to establish on this site.

“Therefore, I spoke to both David Bevan from Agrovista Amenity and Matt Gresty from Limagrain UK – and they both suggested I try MM50.”

Limagrain’s leading MM50 mixture is a 100% ryegrass formula which is perfect for achieving consistency throughout a course. This hard-wearing mix has rapid germination, very fine leaved appearance, high shoot density and is tolerant to very close mowing, along with high disease resistance. All these attributes together produce a fantastic sward that has great colour all year round.

“We put MM50 down and it established so quickly – it was incredible,” said Jason. “There is more work to be done on the temporary green, but we’ve got the right seed now and the coverage is so much better – there is a huge improvement.”

After being impressed with the results he achieved on the temporary green with MM50, it led Jason to evaluate other areas of the course.

“After seeing how good MM50 was, it made me realise that we were not getting much out of the other brand of seed we were using,” continued Jason. “I soon made the decision to exclusively use MM50 for divotting and overseeding on the tees, fairways and aprons – and the results have been fantastic.

“It is such a lovely fine rye – the wear tolerance is fantastic, and the establishment is perfect. It ticks all the boxes for me, and the members have noticed the difference.”

Two counties, two courses – one seed

Two counties, two courses – one seed

In further pleasing the members, Jason revealed that he uses a range of Limagrain UK’s Colour Splash mixtures. The range has a floral arrangement for every requirement – whether it be a golf course, a local authority green space or any other establishment that has an area which needs brightening up.

“We have them spread out in visual areas across the course and the members and visitors absolutely love them,” said Jason. “Not only are they aesthetically pleasing but they are great for the environment and it’s lovely to see so many bees around the place. They are cost effective too – especially when you consider the impact that they have.”

Jason concluded by praising the support he receives from Limagrain UK.

“With Limagrain, it shows that you don’t have to be a big high-end golf course to receive the best support. They listen intently to what we want to achieve, and it means a lot to me when someone invests their time in talking to me and helping. I want to work with people who have our best intentions at heart, and I get exactly this with Limagrain UK.

“I couldn’t ask for more.”

For further information, please contact Limagrain UK on 01472 371471 or visit the company’s website www.lgseeds.co.uk/amenity – you can also follow the company on Twitter: @MM_Seed and Instagram @mm_seeds

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Greenkeeper says goodbye

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Greenkeeper says goodbye: Tydd St Giles Golf Club’s head greenkeeper has retired after more than 25 years.

Read the full article from Spalding Voice here

Greenkeeper says goodbye

Greenkeeper says goodbye

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EVO maximises efficiency for Powerline Services

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EVO maximises efficiency for Powerline Services: Exclusively running GreenMech woodchippers for more than 20 years, Powerline Services (MLJ) Ltd have recently added their latest machine into the fleet – the first from the revolutionary EVO series.

Their new EVO 165DT 45LE model is already delivering powerful performance for Director Ben Jones and his team since its delivery in May, offering bigger, faster throughput for the effective removal of vegetation from the utility networks in and around Herefordshire.

EVO maximises efficiency for Powerline Services

EVO maximises efficiency for Powerline Services

For Ben and his cutting teams “efficiency is key”, and it was the desire for a bigger output chipper that saw him turn to GreenMech for his latest solution. “I wanted something capable of processing brash a bit quicker, as well as larger timber without necessarily going up to an 8” machine” he explains. “GreenMech showed us the EVO 165 with a 25hp engine, which was a seriously impressive piece of kit, but the limited-edition model featuring a 45hp Kubota diesel engine was a real added bonus.”

“I like the fact the EVO runs on horizontal rollers, and the feed rollers being ‘variable speed’ is a great feature to have for dealing with different types of material. It also has a variable track for optimum stability on uneven ground. The guys have also commented on how the wider infeed chute has made a noticeable difference to our productivity – we have saved a whole day’s work on some jobs by not having to spend time snedding brash down prior to processing.”

The new EVO 165DT 45LE sits proudly on the fleet, alongside a GreenMech ArbTrak 150 which has been delivering reliable performance on a number of large power network contracts since 2018. “The ArbTrak is still out with one of our cutting teams on a daily basis – its size and 150mm chipping capacity remain fit for purpose to handle the brashy material that make up a large percentage of our projects.”

“We’ve had tracked units since GreenMech launched their first model in 2003 as, for us, it’s the most efficient way to get the chipper exactly where it needs to be.” Ben concludes, “As well as coming up with great products, GreenMech are just a very good company to deal with – first class service and excellent back-up support from their dealer network. We would never use anything else.”

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Etesia announce award winners

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Etesia announce award winners: Following what has been a challenging past 15 months, Etesia UK has announced the winners of four outstanding achievement awards.

The awards commend outstanding performances in sales, service, parts and customer service. The winners are: Peter Bagguley of Russells Groundcare and Allan Wright of Agrovista Amenity for outstanding individual achievement, while RD Mechanical and Sharrocks were awarded with outstanding company achievement awards.

Etesia announce award winners

Etesia announce award winners

The awards were handed out at the recent ET Lander electric utility vehicle and Pellenc new product launches held in May at Etesia UK’s offices in Oxfordshire.

Les Malin, Managing Director of Etesia UK said: “We heavily rely on our dealer network and the efforts of their sales teams in promoting both Etesia and Pellenc in the UK and Ireland.

“We’re delighted to be able to recognise the winners, which not only provide a snapshot of each dealers’ performance with us but also our support to all of our dealers in what has been a very challenging time for everyone in the sector.”

For further information, please contact Etesia UK on 01295 680120 or visit www.etesia.co.uk.

For more news, reviews and insightful views, you can follow Etesia UK on Twitter @EtesiaUK and like the company’s Facebook page – www.facebook.com/EtesiaUK You can also view the latest Etesia videos by visiting www.youtube.com/EtesiaUK

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Campey ready for two exhibitions

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Campey ready for two exhibitions: After over a year away from industry shows, Campey Turf Care Systems is excited to showcase their leading line of turf care machinery at the BIGGA Festival of Turf and SAGE Sports & Grounds Expo in July 2021.

The two exhibitions will be the first the turf industry has had since the COVID-19 pandemic began, with the Festival of Turf taking place at the Warwickshire Event Centre on the 21st and 22nd July with the SAGE Expo five days later at the Three Counties Showground, Malvern.

Campey ready for two exhibitions

Campey ready for two exhibitions

Campey has earned a reputation for supplying market-leading, innovative turf care machinery. This is demonstrated in the line-up of machines from Vredo, Air2G2, Imants, Dakota, Campey and AllTrec, which will all be on the stand along with Campey’s product specialists.

Campey Director, Lee Morgado, has worked continuously throughout the pandemic with his colleagues and views the return of in-person events as another step towards normality for the industry.

“By the time those two events open at the end of July, it will have been 18 months since the pandemic began, so it will be a great opportunity to meet customers and other suppliers again in a COVID safe environment,” Lee begins.

“Throughout the pandemic, we’ve still been able to supply customers with machines and witness some of the excellent work greenkeeping teams have been doing during that time. The popularity of the Vredo over seeders has continued to grow along with the Dakota top dressers, and we’ve had some innovative use of the Koro FIELDTOPMAKER with the Universe rotor at some clubs. All of those machines and more, including the Air2G2, will be on our stand, and we’re all looking forward to the event.”

The popularity of the Campey range in golf comes down to the three main factors of precision, build quality and consistency. Every machine supplied by Campey is the leader in its field, with no greater case than the Vredo double-disc over seeders.

Vredo’s place seed in a V-shaped slit, at a pre-set depth of between 5mm & 25mm deep. Once the seed is placed in direct contact with the soil, the slits are closed by a compaction roller and a level surface re-established. All Vredo Compact over seeders provide users with 90% to 95% germination by completing this process.

Dakota Turf Tenders offer an equally impressive level of consistency with electric control boxes allowing users to set their width of spread an infinitely variable amount while ensuring that it can be changed and returned to that width at any time. The easy to use spreaders also feature four Ultra-Trac turf tyres on independent floating beam axels for maximum weight distribution, making them perfect for use on golf greens.

The AllTrec Tool Carrier follows the Koro FTM with Universe Rotor and Air2G2 as one of Campey’s most innovative products. The 100% electric machine provides zero CO2 emissions can also be used with a number of other attachments, including the Air E-Variator, weed brush, and hedge cutter. The electrically driven hedge cutter can be fully operated using a joystick, making it easy to use for a day of work, while the E-Variator Weed Burner can be used alongside the weed brush to control weeds in a variety of locations. The weed brush can be hydraulically adjusted to any angle and used for a full day without worrying about batteries running out.

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