Pitches Ruined By Tyre Damage

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Pitches Ruined By Tyre Damage: A Renton football club were left devastated this weekend after Scottish Power vans ploughed through their pitches – leaving them unplayable.

A coach of Renton Craigandro FC spotted the vans from Scottish Power Energy Network on Friday as they drove through the grass at Tontine Park leaving large muddy tyre tracks behind them.

Club coach Joe Mulvenna told the Lennox Herald: “One of our coaches was passing by and saw the Scottish Power vans on our pitch.

“They decided to traipse vans and machinery over our land without even asking us.”

The damage to the turf forced the club to relocate a weekend match, as they feared the pitch damage could lead to injured players.

Joe said: “One of the pitches could not have any spectators and we couldn’t risk the kids falling through the ditches and breaking an ankle.

“Scottish Power have a pylon at the top and they have authority to access it. Their only way of getting at the work area is through our land.

“Obviously we have no problem with them going in – if there is a problem or there is a power cut in the Vale then they have to fix it.

“We are just asking for them to be a bit more considerate.”

Scottish Power left a digger machine on the land which the club had said they would hold until remedial work to repair the turf is carried out.

Joe said: “I have since met with their regional manager and they have given their word that they will make it right again.

“It was positive. We shook hands and he promised to get the pitch fixed.

“They left a machine on our land and until we got agreement that they would come to do remedial work, we would not be giving their digger back – it was a bit of a Mexican stand-off.”

Scottish Power, have now been in touch with the club and offered to mend the grass while also making a donation to the club.

Joe said: “Scottish Power have confirmed they accept responsibility for damages to grounds.

“They have agreed to make good any damage at their own cost and make a donation to club for inconvenience caused.”

The firm, who run a pylon from the site, have gained access via the pitches in the past.

However, Joe said previous vans have always put down matting to ensure the grass is preserved.

This is not the first time the club, which has almost 300 young players, have had their pitch damaged.

We previously reported how Renton Craigandro was targeted by vandals who set fire to their pitches. The club were forced to foot the bill and fix the damage themselves as well as relocate their matches.

Joe said: “We have had a history of vandalism on the pitch and, if we had not seen the Scottish Power vans, I would have thought it had been joy riders ruining the pitch.”

A Scottish Power spokewoman said: “We apologise for the damage caused to the playing field, which was unfortunately exacerbated by the recent spell of bad weather. Work still needs to be carried out to an underground cable on this site which is critical to the overall reliability of the network in this area.

“We have assured Mr Mulvenna that we will reinstatement the playing field to the original condition and will meet with him shortly to discuss the works going forward.”

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Otterbine Reveal Contractor Award Winner

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Otterbine Reveal Contractor Award Winner: Water Garden Ltd, a family business based in Portsmouth, have been crowned winners of the has won the prestigious 2018 Reesink Turfcare UK Otterbine Contractor of the Year award.

The company achieved the highest Otterbine sales figures for 2018 thanks to their knowledge of the product, belief in the brand and support from Otterbine and its UK distributor Reesink Turfcare.

Otterbine Reveal Contractor Award Winner

Andy Staves, managing director of Water Garden Ltd, explains: “We were delighted to hear we’d won the award as the whole team has been working really hard this last year. We pride ourselves on having an expert group of staff who have a deep technical understanding of all the products we deal with. Customers can trust we know what we’re talking about and having quality products to back that up is vital.

“We don’t deal with the cheap and cheerful, we want the best, which is why Otterbine is the principle supplier for our aerating fountains,” he says. “Anything else simply doesn’t come close to the quality they offer.”

Even with such a dedicated sales team, the company can only go so far without the right back up and support from the manufacturer, says Andy: “We have a really close relationship with Reesink and Otterbine, in particular Reg Varney, the international region manager, who’s really helpful. Any issues we’ve had, they’ve been tackled head on without hesitation, and resolved quickly, allowing us to give the best possible service to our customers. It’s imperative we get the support we need, when we need it, and that’s what Otterbine and Reesink provide.”

Water Garden Ltd has recently benefitted from Otterbine water management and product training courses, adding to the company’s extensive knowledge of the brand.

Reesink’s national sales representative for Otterbine, Pete Newton, comments: “Water Garden Ltd is incredibly deserving of this year’s award. It is a delight to work with them and particularly rewarding to work with a company who recognises the importance of quality products and who has expert knowledge in the industry. We hope our close partnership continues for many years to come.”

With such a successful year for the company, it’s hard to reflect upon just one stand out moment says Andy: “We’ve had so many great installations this year, particularly with the larger fountains. We have a lot of customers who want not only quality water aeration but also stunning visual centrepieces for their golf course, private estate or wedding venue. Everyone has been delighted with the results – we haven’t had a single complaint, and we intend to keep it that way.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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New Terra Spike For Premier Pitches

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New Terra Spike For Premier Pitches: Specialist sports turf contractor, Premier Pitches, has added a Wiedenmann Terra Spike GXi8 HD to its list of machinery, specifically for work at renovation time.

Director, Jonathan Woolfall, of the Sheffield firm which won The IOG Contractor of the Year in both 2016 & 2017, said:

New Terra Spike For Premier Pitches

“A lot of clubs want deep aeration built into end-of-season packages.

“We bought this machine principally to use during the renovation period, so mainly April, May and June. When you do renovations there can be many tractor and trailer movements across a pitch which inevitably lead to compaction.  After we’ve put the sand and seeds in the ground, an efficient deep tine with the GXi8 helps air circulate below the surface, then, we just leave it alone…it’s a good way to conclude such works.

“We needed to replace a machine so with dealer, Balmers GM, we looked about to see what was available. The precision and build quality of the GXi8 were second to none. It’s light, fast and easy to transport around the country on a small truck.  We bought it with the knowledge that it will be with us for a very long time.”

Easy tool-free adjustments mean that heave and depth settings can be finely tuned to suit conditions.  Importantly, the GXi8 HD offers Advance Tine Control a uniquely patented feature which makes sure the tines’ incision into the ground is always precise leaving a neat finish. It has a working depth of up to 250 mm and covers a whole pitch in less than three hours.

For more information, visit: www.wiedenmann.com

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Campey Announce Golf Demo Days

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Campey Announce Golf Demo Days: Campey Turf Care Systems have confirmed they will be holding two golf demonstration days at Clitheroe Golf Club (30th April) and Prestbury Golf Club (2nd May).

Starting at 8.30am and finishing at 2pm, both days will include practical machinery demonstrations, environmental management, cylinder grinding and an introduction to Consolidate Turf.

Campey Announce Golf Demo Days

Campey machines will be joined by Trimax Mowing Systems, Walker Mowers, Dennis Sisis and New Holland for the machinery demonstration portion of the day and James Hutchinson from BIGGA Ltd will open with a talk on golf course ecology.

Connor Huffman from Reel Sharp will be providing practical advice and best practice when it comes to cylinder grinding with the afternoon ending with Gary Robertson and Tony Kvedras of Consolidate Turf giving a talk on Consolidate products.

Campey product specialists will be at the events to through the latest techniques for aerations, scarification, seeding and grass cutting. The Koro Fieldtopmaker, Air2G2 Air Inject and Vredo Compact overseeder are just three of a number of machines taking part in the practical demonstrations, each showing their industry leading results in their discipline.

Campey Announce Golf Demo Days

Campey machines will also be on show at the BIGGA North-West Spring Golf Day on 1st May 2019 at Warrington Golf Club where aeration, scarification, seeding and grass cutting best practice will all be covered.

To RSVP for either event email info@campeyturfcare.com

For more information, visit: www.campeyturfcare.com

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Save Time With The Husqvarna Automower

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Save Time With The Husqvarna Automower: The Husqvarna Automower 500 Series is a range of robotic mowers specifically developed for the needs of commercial customers.

The mowers allow grassed areas to be maintained efficiently and to a consistently high standard whilst enabling the redeployment of resources onto more labour intensive tasks.

Save Time With The Husqvarna Automower

The range produces no direct emissions and are near silent making them ideal for night time operation or in noise sensitive areas. They are also extremely cost effective to operate.

Three models are available with area capacity up to 5000m2 per machine. Multiple machines can be used in areas greater than 5000m2.

The new Husqvarna Automower 535 AWD allows slopes of up to 70% to be maintained as well as rough terrain, the standard models have slope performance of 45%.

The robotic mowers are designed to cut little and often recycling the micro-clippings back into the soil improving grass quality whilst maintaining a consistent grass length throughout the growing season.

Husqvarna Fleet Services which is a fleet management tool is in-built on the Automower 500 Series.

Performance, settings, locations and machine health of an entire fleet of Husqvarna robotic mowers can be tracked from anywhere using the software solution.

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