BIGGA Award For Harleyford GC

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BIGGA Award For Harleyford GC: The greenkeeping team at Buckinghamshire’s Harleyford Golf Club has been recognised for its incredible performance in preparing the course for The Matchroom Sport Championship at a prestigious industry awards ceremony.

The greenkeeping team at Harleyford was tonight (22 January) announced as winners of the BIGGA Awards 2019 Championship Performance of the Year sponsored by Rigby Taylor just five years after the club was declared bankrupt.

BIGGA Award For Harleyford GC

Course Manager Craig Earnshaw and members of the Harleyford team accepted the award at the BIGGA Welcome Celebration hosted by Jacobsen, taking place on the opening day of the BIGGA Turf Management Exhibition in Harrogate, North Yorkshire.

Harleyford, which is the home course of European Tour star Tyrell Hatton, has a team of six greenkeepers whose office is 1.5 miles from the golf course – meaning a 15-minute drive from the maintenance facility to the first tee.

The team has not only been commended for its incredible work in preparing the course to a standard worthy of hosting a professional tournament, but the staging of the event didn’t go without incident.

When stormy conditions and heavy rain on the eve of the tournament completely washed out the club’s bunkers, the team worked through the night to replace the sand, with even Craig’s fiancée, Tracy Forth, being enlisted to cut rough and blow fairways.

The tireless efforts of the team paid off and Harleyford has been chosen to again host the PGA EuroPro Tour’s Matchroom Sport Championship once again in 2019.

Craig said: “This is mad, I can’t believe it to be honest. When you look at who I was up against, I am really just a little short for words. I didn’t think we would win. The guys on my team were amazing and they’re a real credit to the golf club.”

BIGGA Chief Executive Officer Jim Croxton said: “I’m delighted that the team at Harleyford was nominated for this award as they are a fantastic example of what can be achieved with a talented and determined team led by an exceptional course manager, as Harleyford has in Craig Earnshaw. For the club to bounce back from bankruptcy to the hosting of the PGA EuroPro Tour is quite remarkable and to then overcome the stormy conditions that plagued the build-up to the tournament is exceptional. Congratulations to everyone at the club and good luck for 2019!

“Congratulations also to the Gullane Golf Club and Carolina Golf Club teams, who were both worthy finalists after hosting exceptional tournaments during 2018. All are a credit to BIGGA and the greenkeeping industry as a whole.”

BTME 2019 runs until Thursday 24 January and features more than 159 exhibitors from all aspects of the turf management industry. The exhibition is a celebration of the golf greenkeeping industry in the UK and each year more than 5,000 greenkeepers, trade members, club managers and other representatives come together to network and share the latest education and innovation opportunities.

Visit http://btme.org.uk/ for more information.

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Standing Ovation For Chipstead’s Jack

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Standing Ovation For Chipstead’s Jack: A greenkeeper at Chipstead Golf Club in Surrey received a standing ovation at the BIGGA Awards, held tonight (22 January) on the opening evening of the BIGGA Turf Management Exhibition, in recognition of his selfless efforts in helping the homeless.

Jack Percival, 24, was among the prize winners at the BIGGA Welcome Celebration, where he was awarded the Outstanding Contribution of the Year sponsored by Jacobsen.

Standing Ovation For Chipstead’s Jack

Chipstead deputy course manager Jack hosted an event in Croydon on 23 December that provided food and warmth for the homeless during Christmas.

The 24-year-old, who was himself homeless for six months when he was 17, put out an appeal on social media for donations, with a huge number from within the golf industry and the wider world responding.

The work was a huge success, but is just one example of Jack’s incredible efforts to support the homeless and those less fortunate. Each Christmas he had previously made up sandwiches and soup and traveled via bus to Croydon to give out food to the homeless.

He also volunteers weekly with Croydon Nightwatch, which is where a member of staff encouraged him to seek support for the aid he provides at Christmas. Since then, Jack received vanloads of sleeping bags, hygiene essentials and warm clothes, in addition to donations of food, raising national awareness of his campaign.

Jack said: “This is unbelievable, I didn’t think I could cry in front of hundreds of people, it was just brilliant.

I didn’t do this for an award, I was homeless myself when I was 17 and I did six months on the street. I turned my life around, met my partner, and this is just the start for me. We did a big feed at Christmas and there was one guy who cried because he got a haircut. I saw a guy dance because he got new shoes and you can’t put a price on that.”

BIGGA Chief Executive Officer Jim Croxton said: “When I heard Jack’s story I was absolutely blown away. Having heard what he went through during those six months when he lived on the street and then seeing how he has worked tirelessly in the years since to not only turn his life around but also provide opportunities for others less fortunate, is quite inspirational.

“I’m delighted that we have been able to recognise Jack’s achievements in this small way. He is an incredible young man and I’m proud to call him a member of the association.”

“Congratulations also to Amanda Dorans and Carl Flavell, whose incredible stories made them extremely worthy finalists for this award.”

BTME 2019 runs until Thursday 24 January and features more than 159 exhibitors from all aspects of the turf management industry. The exhibition is a celebration of the golf greenkeeping industry in the UK and each year more than 5,000 greenkeepers, trade members, club managers and other representatives come together to network and share the latest education and innovation opportunities.

Visit http://btme.org.uk/ for more information.

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

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Golf Environment Awards 2019

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Golf Environment Awards 2019: The winners of the 2019 Golf Environment Awards (GEAs) have been announced at The Crown, Harrogate, in a ceremony hosted by STRI Group and The R&A.

Environmental Golf Course of the Year 2019 – Aldeburgh Golf Club

Creating what many thought to be impossible, an almost perfect blend of course and ecology to the point where it is hard to tell where one begins and another stops. All without sacrificing the playability of the course.

Golf Environment Awards 2019

Conservation Greenkeeper of the Year 2019 – Phil Stain

Phil and his team’s knowledge of ecological practice to maintain a course that is in keeping with the surrounding countryside and create great community engagement.

Golf Environment Awards 2019

Outstanding Environmental Project of the Year 2019 – Wylihof Golf Club

An innovative new design of ecological enhancement shows that we still have a lot to learn. Conservation is a young science and there is still plenty of room for new ideas.

Golf Environment Awards 2019

Operation Pollinator 2019 – Corhampton GC

The club has shown that you have to be brave when it comes to habitat management, but the results of their efforts are well worth it creating big new expanses of habitat for pollinators.

STRI ecology consultant, Rowan Rumball, said: “A huge congratulations to the winners and finalists of this year’s awards. We have been amazed by the work that golf clubs and greenkeepers are doing for the ecological and environmental wellbeing of their courses and within the local community.

“Environmental best practice is an important part of all golf clubs’ working remit and through the introduction of next year’s Home Nations awards we hope more clubs will be encouraged to enter the 2020 GEAs.”

Golf Environment Awards 2019

A Lifetime Achievement Award was also presented to Gordon Moir, retired Director of Greenkeeping at St Andrews Links Trust.

STRI head of ecology, Bob Taylor, said: “It was a real pleasure to be able to honour Gordon Moir at the Golf Environment Awards 2019 with a Lifetime Achievement Award, giving recognition to his dedication to ecology and environmental sustainability, and all that he has achieved during his illustrious career spanning over 27 years at the St Andrews Links Trust”.

Golf Environment Awards 2019

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Amber Valley Continue Ransomes Relationship

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Amber Valley Continue Ransomes Relationship: Amber Valley Borough Council, located in Derbyshire, has been a Ransomes customer for more than eighteen years. The council has continued its long relationship with the Suffolk-based mower manufacturer, with its latest purchase of two Ransomes MP493 rotary mowers from local dealer Sharrocks.

Robert Castledine has been the grounds maintenance team leader at Amber Valley Borough Council for eighteen years. He manages a team of 10 employees, with two teams of three staff allocated to mowing. Responsible for the north-side of the borough, the new Ransomes mowers maintain all verges, parks and cemeteries in the area.

Amber Valley Continue Ransomes Relationship

“We have a very varied topography in Amber Valley,” Castledine said. “There are hills, verges, conservations, enclosed spaces and housing estates. We needed a versatile machine to cope with our various requirements. The Ransomes MP493 gives us that.

“In the past, we have used the Ransomes Commander amongst other Ransomes triple mowers. They have always been reliable, well-built and the best value for money on the market. I’ve always been extremely happy with the machinery and the service from our local Ransomes dealer. We have been dealing with Sharrocks for around 18-months, as they’re new in the area, but are already very pleased with the service and product information they’ve given us.”

Sharrocks have been a successful Ransomes dealer for many years, and has recently extended its territory to Derbyshire, taking over from previous dealer, Platts Harris. With depots in Wrightington, Lancashire and Sandbach, Cheshire, Sharrocks has a comprehensive portfolio of groundcare solutions and was named the Ransomes UK and Ireland Proturf Dealer of the Year 2017.

Amber Valley Continue Ransomes Relationship

“The Ransomes MP493 is a very robust mower,” Castledine continued. “We put our machinery through a lot, so it needs to be able to withstand this; it was the only mower robust enough to do the job. Productivity and after-cut appearance are also important factors for us, and this mower definitely ticks those boxes.”

To find out more about Ransomes, visit: www.ransomes.com

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Toro Praised By Royal Cromer GC

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Toro Praised By Royal Cromer GC: Royal Cromer Golf Club in North Norfolk is a classic example of how combining Toro irrigation and machinery can bring great benefits to a course.

As one of the first club’s in the UK to fully upgrade to a Toro Lynx control system in 2012, Royal Cromer is now halfway through its first five-year agreement plan with Toro machinery, and here course manager Mark Heveran tells us how the club has continued improving since using both.

Toro Praised By Royal Cromer GC

“We’ve been using Lynx for around six years now and it’s just phenomenal,” Mark says. “We have around four times the amount of sprinkler heads than we did previously, but we’re using less water. The efficiency is just spot on, which is exactly what we need. We’re in one of the driest parts of the country and our water comes from a borehole with a limited supply, so every drop counts.”

This is good news indeed for Mark who told us the club’s members unusually part-funded the installation through individual loans, such was their support for it. “Lynx was an easy recommendation to make to our members, and we have not been let down. So, when the time came three years ago to commit to a machinery brand, Toro was the logical choice.”

For the club, striving to create the perfect playing surface is a real priority, and Toro’s top of the line technology plays a large part in achieving that goal. Mark confirms: “Here at the club we have 650 members, plus a large number of visitors each year, and the main thing that keeps them coming back is the quality of the course. Since being with Toro, the course has continued to improve which has definitely kept everyone happy. With the irrigation system we noticed an improvement in the overall quality of the turf and with the equipment we have now, the course has become much more refined and every detail is attended to.”

“When we’ve used other brands, after three years or so you could feel the machines starting to get tired, but with Toro they’re much more durable, solid and reliable in comparison, and the technology is always top notch,” says Mark.

With the installation of Toro Lynx only the start of a long-term development plan for Mark to create one of the best cliff-top links courses in England, the club is continuing this progression by now looking to expand the irrigation system to cover new teeing complexes and walkways, and Mark is already considering the next stage in terms of the fleet.

“In the coming years I’m hoping to renew the full package deal we have,” he says. “We’ve had absolutely no issues with the service, and the back-up from distributor Reesink Turfcare has been fantastic. So, when looking for the latest and best in machinery and irrigation innovation, Toro is forefront of our minds.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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