Colour Splash Wows At Burnham

/in , , /by

Colour Splash Wows At Burnham: Lee Bishop, Course Manager at Burnham Beeches Golf Club in South Buckinghamshire, has said that Limagrain UK’s range of Colour Splash flower mixtures have helped him to transform an unsightly area into a stunning display of vibrant flowers – much to the delight of the members.

Situated in the Thames Valley in South Buckinghamshire, Burnham Beeches measures 6,458 yards, has a Par 70 and offers a true and challenging test of golf. Founded in 1891, it is the oldest club in Buckinghamshire after it was founded by a group of locals who called a public meeting in the village school.

Colour Splash Wows At Burnham

Over the years the course has gained a great reputation and has been graced with players such as James Braid, J H Taylor and Harry Vardon who, between them, won the British Open no less than 16 times, as well as other golfing legends such as Seve Ballesteros and Bernhard Langer.

Lee has been working at Burnham Beeches for an impressive 20 years and has been the Course Manager for the last 10. Along with six other members of staff Lee tends to the course, which is located in a beautiful setting on the edge of the historic Burnham Beeches woodland and is framed by a large number of mature trees.

Surrounded, mostly, by natural beauty there was however one particular area of the course which Lee felt needed improving.

“There was a bit of a wasteland area around our nets and the clubhouse directly overlooked it,” he says. “To be honest it was very scruffy and it wasn’t a great view for our members. It definitely needed a makeover and that is why we thought we would try the Colour Splash mixtures from Limagrain.”

Limagrain UK’s range of Colour Splash flower mixtures are used in a broad range of landscape and amenity areas throughout the UK. The much loved brand was first established over ten years ago where the development of the mixtures were created in the beautiful county of Loir-et-Cher, in the centre of France. With nine mixtures in the Colour Splash range there is 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.

For Burnham Beeches, Lee initially chose Aurora – a medium height mixture which grows to around a half-metre tall. It contains Sunbow Zinnia and Trianon Cosmos which provide more effective and long-lasting flowering. After using this mixture for two years running and receiving huge praise from club members, Lee decided to add the Festival mixture this year.

“The Aurora mixture was really successful and I wanted to enhance the area with another mixture. I used the Festival seed this year because it will add a bit more height and can be seen even more so from a distance. The area is visible from quite a few areas on the golf course so it will be there for everybody to see.

Colour Splash Wows At Burnham

“The members absolutely love it and have been really supportive. Once they saw the stunning array of flowers, and the potential it had, they started pushing for us to do more areas – hence why we are going to do even more areas with the Colour Splash next year.”

The Colour Splash range of mixtures are extremely easy to sow and the resulting vigorous plants are more than capable of competing with weeds. Their vigour is equally matched by robustness; resisting long periods of drought. According to Lee they are also a low cost option for those wanting an abundance of colour in fairly quick time.

“It is such a simple process. All I do is hire a rotorvator, use a small bit of weed killer and that is it. The seed mixtures are not expensive whatsoever – you get good, quick germination and I would encourage people to do it.

“I’ve also introduced bees to the area and have installed a couple of hives. There is a lot of press about bees and how scarce they are now so I think it is a great thing to do. We’ve got information boards about the bees on how we need to look after them and how the Colour Splash mixtures will help protect and make them flourish.

“My decision in choosing the Colour Splash was both because of the environmental benefits and the great aesthetics they provide – so if we can give something back to nature at the same time as the course looking great, then I think that is a job well done.”

For further information, please contact Limagrain UK on 01472 371471 or visit the company’s website www.lgseeds.co.uk/mm

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

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Agronomic Services A Success At Wolves

/in , , /by

Agronomic Services A Success At Wolves: Following on from Wolverhampton Wanderers FC’s incredible season, being promoted to the Premier League,  Agronomic Services Ltd are delighted to announce their continued working partnership with Wayne Lumbard and his team.

David Snowden of Agronomic Services Ltd said “We are thrilled for Wayne, his team and the club, it has been fantastic to follow this season and the quality of the pitch has been superb. We have been particularly pleased with feedback from industry colleagues and Groundsman, it is a testament to Wayne and his team.”

Agronomic Services A Success At Wolves

The combination of Eon Bio, which gives rapid establishment and mass rooting, in particular during renovations, combined with Floratine foliar nutrition and excellent Groundsmanship has been the recipe for success at the Molineux and Training Grounds.

Wayne Lumbard commented that the most difficult part of his job in the last season had been the installation and the renovation of the pitch and by September the pitch “just got better and better.”

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

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

EcoBunker and Capillary Concrete Collaboration

/in , /by

EcoBunker and Capillary Concrete Collaboration: The Bukit course at Singapore Island Country Club, originally designed by Scottish legend James Braid in 1924 is the venue for a new partnership between two of the worldʼs leading bunker technology firms. At SICC, Capillary Concrete and EcoBunker have come together to produce bunkers that are fully sealed; lined with Capillary Concreteʼs industry leading product, and with a low edge produced using EcoBunkerʼs patented synthetic solution.

Five bunkers have been built under the supervision of EcoBunker’s global installation specialist, Llewelyn Matthews on the short par three seventeenth hole of the Bukit course, which was the only hole on the course not to be included in a renovation completed in 2017. After the success of this trial work, the club intends to move forward with a similar treatment of all 80 bunkers on its Island course.

EcoBunker and Capillary Concrete Collaboration

Although the EcoBunker solution has been most commonly associated with revetted bunkers as seen typically on links courses, Capillary Concrete CEO Martin Sternberg, who was at SICC for the initial build, says that this joint offering is ideal for use in a much wider range of circumstances. “This low edge solution is ideal for courses that want dramatic reductions in the cost of bunker maintenance,” he said. “For us at Capillary Concrete, we know our product works well for the base of bunkers, but we have many clients for whom the EcoBunker edging solution is an important source of added value. Combining the two solutions produces bunkers that look good and are totally sealed and impervious to penetration.”

Richard Allen, EcoBunkerʼs CEO, said: “We have known for a long time that our solution works very well for these low edged bunkers as well as for the more traditional-looking revetted bunkers with which we are associated, but it is great to get this kind of recognition from a company of Capillary Concreteʼs status. The links between us are strengthening as evidenced by our joint portfolio and many new clubs are set to benefit as the pipeline of future similar projects grows’’

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

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

EcoBunker Starts Work On Dumbarnie Links

/in , /by

EcoBunker Starts Work On Dumbarnie Links: The new Dumbarnie Links course at Lower Largo on the south coast of Fife in Scotland – just a little more than ten miles from St Andrews – is now under construction, and EcoBunkerʼs project team has moved onto site to begin the installation of its synthetic edging product in all of the courseʼs formal bunkers.

The course has been designed by Clive Clark, formerly a Walker and Ryder Cup player, and a long-time BBC Television golf commentator, but now an established golf course architect based in the United States. The golf course is being built by American contractor Landscapes Unlimited.

EcoBunker Starts Work On Dumbarnie Links

Fife Council granted planning consent for the project in April 2018, and the construction team moved onto the site in May. Shaping of the golf holes and bunkers is already underway, and the EcoBunker team is gearing-up to finish constructing the bunkers.

Where bunkers are hard against greens, or surrounded by short grass, they will be fully revetted using EcoBunkerʼs synthetic solution. However, where bunkers are positioned to be a transition between maintained grass and native rough, they will be constructed in a hybrid fashion, with elements of chunked, rough edge and also of revetment. Some of these natural bunkers will be quite large and are sure to be a dominant feature of this very special golf course.

EcoBunker global installation specialist Llewelyn Matthews – like architect Clark a former Walker Cup player – will lead a five-strong construction crew to build the bunkers. Matthews will be on site full time during construction, which is scheduled to last sixteen weeks and come to a conclusion in September. Project manager Paul Kimber and the team from Landscapes Unlimited will work closely with the team on the very important bunker construction.

Richard Allen, EcoBunker inventor and CEO, said: “New links courses are extremely rare, and we are very proud and happy to be playing a major role in the construction of Dumbarnie, which promises to be an outstanding golf course that will attract play from all over the world. This is one of our largest ever projects, and we are very pleased to be working so closely with Paul Kimber and the Landscapes Unlimited team to make Dumbarnie a true destination links.”

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

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Fertilisers Enhance Pitches In Russia

/in , , /by

Fertilisers Enhance Pitches In Russia: A specialist range of phased-release granular fertilisers is being used at all 12 of the Russian stadiums hosting the current FIFA World Cup.  Designed specifically for use on all sports pitches where a consistent and long-acting supply of nutrients is required, the Floranid®TWIN range of fertilisers from COMPO EXPERT provides up to 16-weeks of nutrients from a single application.

Due to the high demands placed on a World Cup stadium pitch, and the hot, dry conditions which are symptomatic of a typical summer in Russia, most of the 12 stadia hosting the tournament are using hybrid turf pitches which contain a combination of artificial fibres and natural grasses to achieve improved root zone and sward stability, a consistently even surface and optimal functionality.

Fertilizers Enhance Pitches In Russia

Pitches of this type, and indeed any hard-working sports turf facility, require specialist nutritional products to keep the natural turf in prime condition, not just during the tournament itself, but in the run-up to the opening match and after the final game has been played on 15th July.  All 12 of the World Cup stadia are therefore using specialist FloranidTWIN phased-release fertilisers from COMPO EXPERT.

These fertilisers are specifically designed to provide a consistent and efficient source of nutrients to enable the pitches to perform well under difficult weather conditions.

“Floranid fertilisers have been used by the majority of Germany’s Bundesliga pitches for several years, where they are chosen for their ability to give a phased release of nutrients over a 16-week period,” explains Richard Brown of Germinal – COMPO EXPERT’s UK distributor.

Floranid fertilisers contain a proportion of fast-acting nitrogen in ammonium and nitrate forms, as well as a phased-release element based on the advanced isobutylidene diurea (IBDU) or ‘Isodur®’ molecule.  They also contain a second phased-release element in the form of crotonylidene urea or ‘Crotodur®’.

The inclusion of Crotodur raises the Activity Index of FloranidTWIN fertilisers from approximately 95% to over 98%.

“By comparison, the slow release fraction in conventional methylene urea (MU) fertilisers only contains around 40-60% of ‘true’ slow release N at best, 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,” Mr Brown continues.

“In contrast, Isodur and Crotodur fertilisers have an efficiency rating of 98-99%, meaning that almost all of the N supplied will be slowly and steadily released into a form which can be taken up by the pitches over a period of around 16 weeks.”

In addition to supplying fertiliser to each of the 12 World Cup stadia, COMPO EXPERT has also invested a great deal of time and resource into ensuring that each pitch performs and looks as good as possible in the run up to and during the tournament.  “COMPO EXPERT has been working with the groundsmen at each stadium since 2016 to provide detailed sward nutrient advice via a programme of seminars,” Richard Brown adds.  “As anyone who has been watching the tournament will know, the pitches have performed perfectly as well as looking incredible, and are a credit to the hardworking groundstaff who have produced excellent playing surfaces for the world’s largest sporting event.”

The FloranidTWIN range of fertilisers is available in the UK via an exclusive distribution agreement with Germinal.  For more information visit www.germinalamenity.com

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

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.