Souters Sports Bring Architect’s Vision To Life

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Souters Sports bring architect’s vision to life: After successfully completing a huge bunker renovation project at the prestigious West Kilbride Golf Club in Ayrshire, Souters Sports have been widely praised by both the club’s secretary and architect.

Souters Sports Bring Architect’s Vision To Life

The West Kilbride Golf Club, established in 1893, is situated on the Ayrshire coast, with spectacular views across the Firth of Clyde to the beautiful island of Arran. As host to regular national events, West Kilbride is the most northerly of Ayrshire’s true links courses and the entire course is exposed to even the slightest breeze.  With the strongest of winds coming from the South West and North West, the 6523 yard course offers players the experience of links golf at its most demanding.

West Kilbride has a committed membership base and its motto is “Gaudio Cedat Cura” – which translates to “Care gives way to joy,” which is perhaps testament to the club’s recent decision to rejuvenate over 30 bunkers.

“We essentially wanted to make them look and play a lot better,” says managing secretary Graham MacKenzie. “On some of the older bunkers the drainage had suffered and over time had developed a poor shape. We also wanted natural looking bunkers – to give the course more of a links feel and after a few members had commented on them we decided to go ahead with the project.”

The club called upon Scottish Golf Course Architects Rennie Design Ltd to undertake an analytical study of the facilities and following an in-depth report, plans for the renovation works were soon put in place.

“The next step was to put the job to tender, and myself and Stuart Rennie (managing director of Rennie Design) invited three different contractors to come in and pitch. It was at this point that we chose Souters Sports because we were most impressed with what they had done at other courses and with their overall portfolio. They came across incredibly well and we also thought that their proposal offered good value for money,” said Graham.

With the architect’s vision in place and the Souters team briefed, construction commenced in late October and was complete by the end of February allowing time for establishment in advance of the season ahead. The works incorporated the strategic repositioning of bunkers, building bunkers in similar positions, shaping support mounding and landform, drainage installation, irrigation alterations and finishing. The final piece of works was carried out on the 18th hole where the entire hole was re-bunkered to create improved strategy and deliver a visually impressive finishing hole.

“Between the architect and the club, we had a few different ideas throughout the project which changed the process but Souters were very accommodating,” says Graham. “The feedback has been extremely good, not only from members but also from visitors who come to play on open days. The appearance is most notable and they look a lot tidier than they previously did and they also play a lot better.

“I’m very happy with the work and would absolutely recommend Souters Sports and Rennie Design. We built up a good relationship throughout the project and I would absolutely work with them again in the future.”

With such a potential complex project, Stuart was pleased that Souters were able to flawlessly bring his vision to life.

“Souters Sports worked tirelessly throughout and carried out all aspects of the works in a professional manner. They were a joy to work with and Scott Maclaren and his site team pulled out all the stops to deliver the architects vision to the satisfaction of the client,” he said.

For further information, please contact Souters Sports Limited on 01236 453030 or visit www.souterssports.co.uk. Souters Sports are also on Twitter @SoutersSports.

For further information about Rennie Design please call 07977715 382 or visit www.renniedesign.co.uk / email stuart@renniedesign.co.uk.

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Replay Rejuvenation Process Pays Dividends At Ecclesall LTC

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New for Old – Replay Rejuvenation process pays dividends at Ecclesall LTC – Ecclesall Lawn Tennis Club in Sheffield has enlisted the help of Replay Maintenance to bring some much needed TLC to its 4 artificial grass courts to bring them back to a safe and playable condition.  Celebrating its centenary in 2015 the club has a private membership of over 120 people. 

Replay Rejuvenation Process Pays Dividends At Ecclesall LTC

Club Secretary Martin Gilmour has been involved with the club his whole life.  Following an investment in 2004, new carpets, floodlights and changing facilities were installed.  Since then however, the courts have struggled with their shaded location.  “The club is sandwiched between two residential roads” explains Martin. “With the gardens that surround us, we get problems like leaves that drop but the biggest issue is the shade – especially on the bottom court.” This combined with the mild conditions and sporadic rainfall experienced over the previous couple of years meant moss was becoming an issue, causing the courts to become slippery and dangerous. “We’ve been trying to keep on top of the maintenance in-house, as well as calling in some companies to come in and clean the courts, but we haven’t had a lot of joy with these in the past.”

With an admittedly sceptical mind, Martin looked for another company who could come in and sort the courts out once and for all. “I contacted Replay Maintenance and Nick Harris came straight back to me; he visited and explained how their Rejuvenation process worked. Even though I wasn’t sure they’d achieve what they said they could, we went ahead.  How wrong I was – they came in, they did deliver and now the courts look as good as new!”

Replay’s unique Rejuvenation process uses compressed air to remove the contaminated top layer of infill; restore the pile to vertical and fill again with new clean infill. Thanks to Martin choosing 15mm pile when the courts were installed, the tests conducted by Replay showed that there was still a good amount of life left in the carpet.

“After the Rejuvenation process the courts were back to an as-new condition.  Already we’ve had many comments from players on how fantastic the courts are now, which gave us the confidence to embark on a service agreement.  Replay will now visit 4 times a year to ensure we’ll have great looking courts for the foreseeable future – and as important, we’ve extended the lifespan of our investment much further than it would have been if it weren’t for them.”

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Bletchley CC Winner Of Total-Play Ltd Competition

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Bletchley CC bags itself a Rain Cover as winner of total-play Ltd competition – Milton Keynes village side Bletchley CC has just taken delivery of a brand new Rain Cover pitch cover courtesy or cricket pitch specialist total-play Ltd.

Bletchley CC bags itself a Rain Cover as winner of total-play Ltd competition

The club was drawn from entries in a Facebook competition run by the company to mark the 15th anniversary of its groundbreaking Climate Cover System™. The club’s prize of a flat sheet Rain Cover worth £230 + VAT was delivered to its ground in early May, with Patrick Scholte who posted the winning entry on hand to put the cover through its paces.

 The Rain Cover, designed to as an easy to use ground cover system offering quick protection against rain prior to or during play is strong & semi-translucent; engineered to give maximum durability for frequent use. Already a popular choice for clubs following its launch in 2013, the Rain Cover was re-launched this year to a new specification that includes improved material offering added UV stability. A great solution for clubs on a budget, it represents the most cost effective cricket cover currently available through the NatWest CricketForce initiative.

Total-Play Cricket Pitch Covers The Ideal Choice for Raskelf CC

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Rain Defender mobile cricket pitch covers the ideal choice for Raskelf CC – As the winner of the Niddedale League’s ground award for their division for the past seven seasons, it’s fairly safe to say that Raskelf Cricket Club takes its grounds management pretty seriously.

Rain Defender mobile cricket pitch covers the ideal choice for Raskelf CC

When looking to replace its ageing self-built ground covers recently, the club spent a significant amount of time researching the market. With funding raised through a combination of Section 106 contributions to the council from new housing developers, an ECB Small Development Grant and the club’s own fundraising activities – including takings from the bar and BBQ when the club hosted the annual T20 cup finals day in 2015 – just shy of £4,000 was available to invest in a new solution.

Quality and value were key factors in the selection process, and it was total-play Ltd’s Rain Defender Dome mobile cricket pitch covers that stood out from the crowd. Pete Sigsworth, Chair of Raskelf CC explains:

“These new covers are much lighter than our old ones such that one person can easily push them on and off, and they are also wider so reduce the chance of water running underneath. The Geka connections are water tight and make it easy to detach the pipes leaving them in situ for temporary cover removal and replacement in variable weather conditions.

 “The service has also been impressive – the installation team turned up promptly and it took just 2 hrs to construct the covers. They were proactive in giving us guidance on how to use them – even down to how to take the tarpaulins off and on correctly so that they don’t get damaged and offered useful tips on storage and maintenance. The covers were christened within a few days by heavy rain and there were no leaks, even where the covers join – they are a great piece of kit.”

 The Rain Defender range of Mobile Pitch Covers (MPC) has been designed to offer quality, a­ffordability and value for money. The range of solutions have been designed to suit a variety of needs and budgets and includes PVC and steel-topped options with both dome and apex styles on offer. All of the covers are manufactured by total-play Ltd in-house using the highest quality materials with maximised longevity and practicality in mind.