Barenbrug’s New Winter Sports Blend

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Barenbrug’s New Winter Sports Blend: Elite Sport from Barenbrug is the new number one rated Winter Sports blend. The top-performing product blends perennial ryegrasses for the renovation and construction of winter sports pitches.

Cultivar trials at the Sports Turf Research Institute (STRI) under the British Society of Plant Breeders (BSPB) protocol analyse the performance of sports perennial ryegrasses under intensive wear pressure in line with a winter sports season.  The trial plots are sown in spring, and a “wear simulation machine” is applied from autumn through to the following spring.  Individual cultivars are replicated three times and scored for traits such as Visual Merit; Live Ground Cover; Shoot Density and Recovery; each scored on a scale of 1-9 (9 is highest).

Barenbrug's New Winter Sports Blend

A ryegrass cultivar must be subjected to three successive wear trials (sports seasons) to be listed in Table S1 of the annual publication “Turfgrass Seed” (aka “the STRI/BSPB booklet”).  Table S1 represents a ranking of Mean scores (the combined average of Visual Merit and Live Ground Cover) of approximately 100 perennial ryegrass varieties.

Elite Sport features four of the top-six cultivars in the S1 table and contains 40% by composition of the new #1-ranked Europitch (Mean = 8.1).  Overall, the product blend has an outstanding Mean score of 7.92.  This score translates into Elite Sport being the industry-leading performing product for winter sports use in the UK.

In addition to performance underwear, the blend has other traits of interest to grounds managers of elite winter sports surfaces.  Barcristalla (25% of the mix) is ranked #1 in the top-60 listed varieties for dark green colour and has exceptional Drechslera leaf spot and Fusarium (Microdochium) tolerance (source: turfgrass-list.org).  These two factors are particularly important to stadium environments under intensive disease pressure and the scrutiny of high-definition TV cameras.

Three of the four varieties have also been put their paces at Barenbrug’s dedicated UK research station, Cropvale, in Worcestershire.  Here, wear simulation is monitored using Digital Image Analysis (DIA) to objectively analyse performance.

Elite Sport is being successfully tested in pilot form at Heart of Midlothian FC, following a full pitch reconstruction in the summer of 2018.

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Toro’s World Cup Prep

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Toro’s World Cup Prep: As one of just ten venues in the country selected for the 12th ICC Cricket World Cup next year, Somerset County Cricket Club is relying on Toro to ensure its outfield is ready for the eyes of the cricketing world upon it.

The club, based in Taunton, is in good company as a World Cup host with Lord’s and The Oval, but as one of the smallest and newest in the line-up, the benchmark is high, says head groundsman Simon Lee.

“Our trajectory of growth over the last five years has been huge. As part of our categorisation in to group B we received some funding so for the first time in 100 years we could improve our drainage system. This completely changed the way the outfield grew. What had previously been more like a recreational surface was suddenly more like a sports surface, with thicker, denser grass.

“This has meant a lot more work in terms of cutting and maintaining the area. We’d been using a 20-year old Toro Reelmaster 2300-D, and while that machine has been a fantastic workhorse and we’d never had a problem with it, the time had come to upgrade to a newer model to help cope with the change in the turf’s characteristics.”

A demo, organised by Devon Garden Machinery, saw Simon and the team trial a seven-year old Toro Reelmaster 3100-D, which, says Simon, “set the bar high for everything else that followed.”

He continues: “Whatever machine followed the RM2300-D had its work cut out. We think so highly of it that if its successor is even half as good as it’s been, that will be enough”. And it’s so far so good with the new Toro RM3100-D the club ultimately opted for. Only time will tell if its longevity matches up to the formidable RM2300-D, but in terms of performance, Simon is impressed.

“Mechanically its all the same – an engine and bottom blade – but my goodness the way it chews effortlessly through the grass is really impressive. It takes two and a half hours to cut five acres. Plus, by opting for Toro again, we have the added benefit of the reassurance of having a quality product, one that will last for years, giving us excellent value for money.

With three international matches between New Zealand and Afghanistan, Australia and Pakistan and West Indies and Bangladesh to look forward to it in June 2019, it really has been an eventful five years for the club, with the future everything to play for. Simon concludes: “Being chosen as a World Cup venue puts us on a level playing field with some of the best sporting venues in the country, and it’s incredibly important we present at our best. We feel confident we can do that, especially with Toro looking after the grounds.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Jacobsen And E-Z-GO At Forefront Of Battery Power

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Jacobsen And E-Z-GO At Forefront Of Battery Power: Jacobsen and E-Z-GO have been at the forefront of battery powered equipment in the turf maintenance and golf sector for many years, from the E-Z-GO RXV golf cars to the Jacobsen Eclipse 322. Now, E-Z-GO has introduced a range of ELiTE vehicles, activated by Samsung SDI lithium technology, offering zero-maintenance batteries with a five-year unlimited amp-hour warranty and increased energy efficiency.

The E-Z-GO ELiTE vehicles are a case in point to illustrate how battery power has evolved and the benefits it can bring. Launched into the UK market at the beginning of 2017 it has represented a major step forward in golf car technology delivering exceptional value to golf course operators.

New ELiTE Series vehicles are powered by hundreds of Samsung SDI lithium cells that are loaded into a single battery pack. The battery pack is controlled by an advanced Battery Management System that monitors efficiency, temperature, state of charge and the health of the batteries. These batteries are used to safely and reliably power electric cars, e-scooters, power tools and many other electrically powered vehicles, equipment and appliances.

The vehicles are powered by zero-maintenance lithium batteries that don’t require watering, terminal post checkups and cleaning like traditional lead acid batteries do. This is good news for businesses and individuals operating golf cars, as there is less downtime and maintenance to be carried out on the vehicles.

Charging time is significantly reduced, and ELiTE vehicles allow courses to “opportunity charge,” plugging vehicles in for quick charging sessions between rounds that can rapidly restore significant levels of energy to the battery system, as opposed to the lengthy recharge cycles required by lead-acid batteries.

The batteries in ELiTE vehicles have also been developed to be lighter than traditional lead acid batteries. ELiTE Series vehicles batteries are half the size and a fraction of the weight of lead-acid batteries, with the aim of reducing turf damage and soil compaction due to vehicle weight.

Jacobsen and E-Z-GO are brands under the umbrella of Textron Specialized Vehicles, so when Jacobsen began development of its latest diesel-electric hybrid and all-electric greens mower, the Eclipse 322, it was a sensible move to consult the design engineers at E-Z-GO. Much of the technology in the battery-powered Eclipse 322 is taken from the E-Z-GO RXV, another stalwart machine in the evolution of battery powered equipment. The automatic braking system and the main drive axle of the Jacobsen Eclipse 322 are shared with the RXV in particular.

All the systems and functions on the Eclipse are powered by electricity, the only difference is whether the electricity is produced ‘on the go’ as with the diesel-electric hybrid machine or stored in a battery pack as on the all-electric version.

Once you use electricity to power the machine, you can then use reasonably sophisticated electronics to control the functions on the machine. On the Eclipse the transport speed between greens can be set, as can the cutting speed when on the green; this can be locked in by the course manager using a PIN passcode, which cannot be overridden by the operator. 

Again, using electronic control, the steering in transport mode reacts much the same as a car, but when cutting mode is engaged, the ratio changes and becomes more responsive allowing the operator precise control.

However, the major benefit is the machine’s ability to control the number of cuts per metre when mowing. This ability to precisely control the frequency of cut (FOC) is unique to this mower and, like the transport and mowing speed control, it can be locked in by the course manager ensuring that every green is cut to exactly the same specification.

This is achieved because it is now possible, for the first time on a ride-on mower to control the relationship between reel speed and the forward movement of the mower. On a standard hydraulic-powered greens mower, the reels rotate at approximately 2000 rpm. The faster you move across the green, the cuts per metre reduce; conversely the slower you move, the number of cuts per metre increase, because the reels are spinning at a constant rate.

Now, with the reel motors and traction motors electrically driven, it is possible using electronic control, to slow the reels as the machine’s speed decreases and then increase reel speed as the speed across the green increases, therefore maintaining the number of cuts per metre.

Why is this important? It means that for the first time the course manager can guarantee his members that each and every green will be cut to exactly the same specification, ensuring consistency across all 18 putting surfaces.

The Eclipse also features individual reel lift and lower; the electric lift arms can be actuated individually, particularly useful when alternating the width of the clean up pass. As battery technology develops in the car industry, it will eventually cascade down into the turfcare sector and perhaps we’ll see some significant new developments in the way we maintain our outdoor environment.

To find out your local Ransomes Jacobsen dealer, visit: www.ransomesjacobsen.com

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Vandals Damage Prestigious Golf Club

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Vandals Damage Prestigious Golf Club: Vandals on quad bikes have ripped up turf on the greens at a local course while horrified golfers looked on.

The wrecking spree has caused £5,000 worth of damage at Howley Hall Golf Club in Morley just weeks before the start of the summer season.

The prestigious course claims to have the best four finishing holes in Yorkshire and hosts the PGA Yorkshire Open Championship.

Two men in their late teens or early 20s rode a quad bike onto the course at around 5pm on Tuesday when golfers were still playing.

They churned up the 14th hole while members were teeing off, before riding onto the 16th green and causing further damage.

They then fled in the direction of Woodkirk. The club’s head professional Ryan Rastall said:-

“It’s a real disappointment having to deal with this any time of the year, but especially so close to the start of our main golfing season (April to October). The golf course will take time to recover and it will cost a significant amount of money to repair the damage, but as a club we feel for our members and guests that enjoy playing here.”

It’s not the first time a golf club in Leeds has been targeted by nuisance bikers.

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An Update From Scott MacCallum

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An Update From Scott MacCallum: You catch me as I’m gazing out of the living room window and the weather is absolutely gorgeous. Sunny, calm, warm, there’s even a slight heat haze. Not what I expect from here, certainly while still in February. Last year – the opposite. Cold, ice, temperatures barely reaching zero.

Now to an extent, while we enjoy what we have now, it makes me feel a little uncomfortable. It shouldn’t be like this. Here in Scotland we’ve just broken a temperature record for Feb which has stood since the 1890s. It is a further example of how climate change is now a part of our every day lives.

An Update From Scott MacCallum

While like every rational human being I worry about it, it doesn’t impact my day to day living the way it does for you guys, the nation’s turf professionals. Traditional schedules for maintenance practices go out of the window and while you may have previously been still in the middle of winter maintenance work you are now having to cut grass.

Going forward, it is going to require a much more flexible approach to turf maintenance – not to mention your working attire during the winter months. Shorts in February! –  and those who adapt best will be rewarded with the best surfaces all year round.

I’m not suggesting that we should revel in our traditional winter weather but at least it was consistent.

Let’s enjoy this while it lasts but think about how it may shape things to come.

Scott MacCallum