Invigorator Crucial At Kingsbarns

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Invigorator Crucial At Kingsbarns: ICL’s Greenmaster Pro-Lite Invigorator 4-0-8+2MgO+4Fe is playing a crucial role in the fairway maintenance programme at Kingsbarns Golf Links, reports Course and Facilities Manager Innes Knight.

Golf has been enjoyed over the links land of Kingsbarns dating all the way back to 1793 when the Merchants and Lairds of Kingsbarns drafted articles to form the Kingsbarns Golfing Society. In 1850 the land was ploughed and transformed into farming due to farm land being more valuable than golf throughout that period. However, the society was re-established in 1922 and a nine-hole course was laid out on the links about Kingsbarns Bay. This course served the golfing needs of the locals and holidaymakers until the onset of the Second World War when the Links was mined in the national security defence effort.

Invigorator Crucial At Kingsbarns

Golf was resurrected on Kingsbarns Links at the dawning of the 21st Century and in 2001 it was named as one of the co-hosts of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. Innes started in his role at Kingsbarns in the final stages of construction and admitted that it was somewhat of a baptism of fire with the course being selected to host a high-calibre professional tour event so soon after its opening.

“I came here on 17 March 1999 and saw the final stages of the construction. We opened in July 2000 and then was hit with ‘you’ve got a big tournament next year’ so the pressure was absolutely on at that point. The owners realised it was going to be a success and started investing more money. It was an immense effort by the whole team and the Dunhill was a huge success.”

The fact that Kingsbarns was selected to host the Dunhill so soon after its opening is testament to just how magnificent the course is. However, the standard was set and Innes has worked hard to keep the course at a consistently high level. Selecting the correct products is essential and Innes says that ICL’s Greenmaster Pro-Lite Invigorator 4-0-8+2MgO+4Fe helps him to create that essential ‘links feel’ that Kingsbarns demands.

“On the fairways it is all about trying to create the links feel, so you want them firm, fast and able to withstand the wear. However, you do not want them to look too polished otherwise you can get criticised for that – it is all about finding the correct balance. We have two applications a season with Greenmaster Pro-Lite Invigorator – one at the start of the season in the middle of March and one just after Dunhill in October which takes us through the winter period. The product is crucial for our fairways maintenance programme and we’ve seen great results.”

This low nitrogen, high potassium fertilizer contains iron to help harden turf in spring and autumn consists of fine granules for quick dispersal, and Innes believes that good spreading and fortunate weather is the ideal combination to get the best results.

Invigorator Crucial At Kingsbarns

“We are using a local farmer’s spreader now and it is working very well. The problem on a links course with low fertility is that you put something on and it shows up everything. This isn’t really the case on a parkland course when you are maybe using 300kg of nitrogen a year, but when you are only putting a miniscule amount out you have to get it right.

“If you put fertilizer out you really want it to rain the next day or a couple of days after and not be damp because of the iron content. We got such a good hit this year. It was dry when we applied it, there was no wind and then it rained the very next day.

“We saw a great response after just five days and every fairway was consistent. It gave them that hit they needed to pick them up at the start of the season. Greenmaster Pro-Lite Invigorator is such a good product and if you get a bit of good weather at the same time as you apply it then the results are unbeatable.”

Please contact ICL on +44 (0)1473 237100 or visit www.icl-sf.co.uk or www.icl-sf.ie

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John Deere Apprentice Awards

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John Deere Apprentice Awards: 48 young service technicians have formally graduated from the latest John Deere Ag Tech, Parts Tech and Turf Tech advanced apprenticeship schemes, which are run in partnership with national training provider ProVQ.

John Deere hosted its annual apprentice graduation ceremony earlier this year in Germany, with the apprentices visiting the company’s cab factory and European Parts Distribution Centre in Bruchsal before being presented with their awards at the John Deere Forum in Mannheim.

John Deere Apprentice Awards

Four of the company’s apprentices won overall awards for the 2017 graduation year. Ewan Edwards of dealer RBM Agricultural Ltd, Louth was named Ag Tech Apprentice of the Year, for which he received a crystal plaque, a certificate and vouchers for workshop tools worth £250.

Sean Murphy of Charlies Groundcare in Newtown was awarded Turf Tech Apprentice of the Year and joint Parts Tech Apprentices of the Year were Max Evans of Tallis Amos Group in Bristol and Jack Norman of Masons Kings in Exebridge. All three also received a crystal plaque and certificate, and the same value vouchers.

The presentations were made by Deere & Company’s Region 2 training delivery manager Dr Lutz Schueppenhauer and John Deere Limited’s newly appointed branch training manager Allan Cochran.

John Deere’s three-year Ag Tech and Turf Tech and two-year Parts Tech apprenticeships lead to IMI Level 2 & 3 Diplomas in Landbased Engineering and Vehicle Parts Competence, and registration at LTA Intermediate level in the industry’s Landbased Training Accreditation scheme. In subsequent years qualified technicians undergo further education and adult training within the John Deere University programme, on a career path that can ultimately lead to the highest possible LTA Master Technician accreditation.

 Now in its 26th year, Ag Tech was the first such scheme to be introduced in the UK and won a National Training Award at the end of 1997, the only one ever made to an agricultural machinery apprenticeship programme. Since the first programme started in 1992, well over 700 apprentices have graduated through the three main schemes and are now working in the company’s nationwide dealer network.

John Deere Apprentice Awards

Allan Cochran took over the role of John Deere Limited branch training manager for the UK & Ireland from his predecessor Richard Halsall at the beginning of March, and works closely with training partner ProVQ on the John Deere apprenticeship programmes.

Allan joined the company in 1997 as a management trainee after completing an HND in mechanisation, planning and business management at SAC Auchincruive. His subsequent responsibilities have included sales demonstrator instructor for tractors, service training instructor, area manager product support for Scotland and then Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and product specialist for tractors and loaders.

In 2005 Allan was promoted to technical services manager and then senior product support specialist, and from 2009 he was technical support specialist for the tractor dealer technical assistance centre (DTAC) system and a harvesting customer support specialist.

For more information, visit: www.JohnDeere.co.uk

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SISIS Praised At Shrewsbury School

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SISIS Praised At Shrewsbury School: Andy Richards, grounds manager at Shrewsbury School, has reported excellent results from using a range of SISIS turf maintenance equipment to look after the School’s widely praised sports pitches.

Shrewsbury School is one of the country’s leading co-educational independent schools for 13-18-year-olds and attracts boys and girls from all over the country. It is one of the original seven public schools as defined by the Public Schools Act 1868, and its impressive list of previous pupils boasts a certain Mr Charles Darwin. In line with the work of its most famous “Old Salopian”, the school continues to evolve in a dynamic way, achieving both outstanding academic and sporting results.

SISIS Praised At Shrewsbury School

“We have a good blend of academics and sports at Shrewsbury School,” says Andy. “Sport is a massive part of the School and there is a very strong house sport system – in fact the students are willing to run through a brick wall for their school and their house in sporting competitions!”

It is for this reason that Andy and his team leave absolutely no stone un-turned when it comes to preparing and maintaining sports pitches of the highest standard. In fact, cricket-writer Sir Neville Cardus once famously described them as “the most beautiful playing fields in the world, spreading and imperceptibly mingling with the pasture land of Shropshire”. However, these truly wonderful facilities don’t come easily.

Andy and his team work tirelessly throughout the year to provide sports pitches of the highest quality, and when it comes to his cricket wickets he puts his faith in the SISIS Auto Rotorake MK5

“We use the Auto Rotorake specifically for cricket because it does such a good job,” says Andy. “The amount of material you can take out of a wicket with the brush reel and the verticutting reel sometimes needs to be seen to be believed. We use it all the way through the cricket season. In summer we do 30 match wickets a week and it will be part of the preparation for every one of those. From the middle of April through to the last cricket match in August we play host to approximately 250 matches and the Auto Rotorake is used on every one of those.”

The SISIS Auto Rotorake MK5 is a powerful self-propelled heavy duty scarifier designed for the removal and control of thatch on fine turf. It features a contra-rotating reel with specially designed tipped blades for clean, consistent cut and maximum thatch removal. As Andy says, a variety of maintenance tasks can be carried out due to a selection of seven different interchangeable reels.

In further discussing his maintenance procedures, Andy pin-pointed aeration as one of the most vital.

“We have one of the highest pitch usages in the country. On each pitch we average 10-15 hours per week and we’ve got limited drainage. Therefore, one of the most important things we do is aeration and we aerate pitches all of the time. Grass lives and needs air like anyone else,” he says.

Breathing life into Andy’s grass is his newly purchased SISIS Javelin Aer-Aid tractor mounted aerator, and he had no problem in running it past the School’s bursars – as he explains.

“It was the machine I wanted because I had previously trialled it and had good results. For example I Clegg hammered the pitches before and after using the Aer-Aid and had noticed a massive reduction in hardness. I know that the Aer-Aid had recently undergone extensive Sports Turf Research Institute (STRI) trials and it came out with excellent results – which always gives you confidence and makes it easier to explain to the bursars why you want to purchase it.”

The Javelin Aer-Aid recently gained rave reviews from the STRI following a three month period in which extensive trials led by Dr Christian Spring were carried out. Described by Christian as “a very useful tool in a greenkeeper’s or groundsman’s arsenal,” the Javelin Aer-Aid is indeed becoming the number one choice for many turf managers looking for the best aeration results.

With 10mm diameter ‘tipped’ tines working at 75mm (3ins) spacing, air is introduced from the Aer-Aid at a rate of 88 litres (3cu.ft.) per minute. These air injection tines are specially designed to use the maximum air available from the compressor and produces clean, fresh air, while also ensuring that surface disturbance is kept to a minimum. The cam trigger mechanism ensures that the air is always expelled at the bottom of the tine penetration, enabling treatment to be targeted precisely and consistently.

“It’s a really good machine,” says Andy. “It’s easy to use and we can see significant improvements since using the Aer-Aid.

“For me, SISIS signals simplicity and reliability. It may be a cliché but the equipment does what it says on the tin and that’s what I expect. The machines are built to last and I’ve never had any problems with SISIS equipment.”

For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact SISIS on 01332 824 777 or visit www.sisis.com

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Colwyn Bay Groundsman Praised

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Colwyn Bay Groundsman Praised: Elfyn Jones, groundsman at Colwyn Bay, recently received national praise for his effort on the club’s playing pitch.

The hard-working volunteer finished third in the EVO-STIK League Groundsman of the Year Award at a glitzy ceremony at the FA’s St George’s Park, and he also received a high commendation nationally.

Jones is in his third season volunteering with the Seagulls after previously holding a position with Warrington Town, and he has also assisted at National League side Chester at times during the campaign.

He spends between 25 and 30 hours a week working on the pitch at Llanelian Road, combining his time at the club with the tanning salon he runs in the area, where he spends 35 hours a week on average.

The league’s representatives were honoured after a series of on-site assessments at nominated grounds last season that not only looked at the quality of the pitches but also took into consideration the skills and knowledge of the finalists, their ambitions for the pitch, the resources available, pitch use and the amount of time they were able to work on their surfaces during one of the worst winters and toughest seasons in years.

More than 100 groundsmen from all levels of the game were rewarded for their work at this season’s ceremony in front of their peers.

League representative Paul Hatt, along with Brent Clayton from the NPL’s sponsors at the Frank Whittle Partnership, were also at the prestigious state-of-the-art venue near Burton to congratulate the 2018 winners.

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Rigby Taylor Renews Life At Lees Hall GC

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Rigby Taylor Renews Life At Lees Hall GC: When joining 18-hole Lees Hall Golf Club in 2016, Ian Whitehead knew that simply by applying common sense greenkeeping practices – coupled with the right amenity products – he would be able to make a difference. The badly-presented, badly-playing course was effectively “playing second fiddle to the club’s social/bar facilities” and members were drifting away.

Today, part-way through what Ian reckons could be a ten-year programme of improvements to the course, there is a massive turnaround with ‘lost’ members returning and new ones joining – to the extent that over 100 new members have signed up during the past year.

Rigby Taylor Renews Life At Lees Hall GC

With more than 30 years’ experience of greenkeeping in the Sheffield area, starting on a YTS course at Hallamshire GC, then at Stocksbridge GC before moving to Hillsborough GC as head greenkeeper aged 24 – plus having Levels 2 and 3 accreditations in greenkeeping and Level 3 in management – 48-year-old Ian joined the Sheffield-based club “when the greens chairman wanted someone to help out the greens staff”.

Ian picks up the story: “I immediately saw that with a bit of TLC the course (tees, greens and fairways) could be turned around. So, within a few weeks, I had borrowed the appropriate machinery and I set about double cutting and getting some stripes in. I also instigated a regime of regular scarification and aeration (we’re on clay), and applied fertilsers and topdressing – a normal regime!

“In fact, we’ve applied a lot of topdressing – 80 tonnes last year and more than 100 tonnes this year – and we now also regularly Shockwave and slit the fairways.

“The first thing I did was to double-cut the 1st and 17th tees down to 10 mm – the tees that are in view when you arrive at the course. First impressions count!”

Andy Rossington, the club’s resident professional, and the greens committee could immediately see that what Ian was doing was working and they were very supportive by for example, investing in a number of new machines “that have made a big difference, including new mowers for the tees, greens and semi-rough areas”.

As a result, Ian was appointed head greenkeeper four months later, in November 2016. “That gave me a full winter to get everything organised and ‘tidied up’ ready for the new season. We’re now in the second season and we’re getting there!”

Support was not only forthcoming from the greens committee and Andy. Over a number of years Ian has worked with Rigby Taylor’s Technical Representative Mike Brear, who had put together programmes of treatments to benefit the courses Ian had worked on.

Rigby Taylor Renews Life At Lees Hall GC

“To an extent, I simply followed that programme here,” says Ian. “But these were old push-up greens and I didn’t want to ‘open them up’ too soon and too quickly, so I took a measured approach during the first season, waiting until the course looked a bit ‘tired’. Also, being north facing, this parkland course battles all the elements and in the spring suffers relatively slow growth rates.

Now, Ian applies his full Rigby Taylor programme, and he particularly highlights the Breaker Biolinks wetting agent which is applied six times a year as an indispensable product for Dry Patch prevention and root generation.

With an annual overseed of Rigby Taylor’s R105 Browntop bent blend, the current programme includes regular (twice a year, in April and September) use of Microlite micro-granular fertiliser, plus Microflow controlled-release liquid fertiliser in May, June and July, along with applications of Magnet Rapide liquid iron and Magnet Dynamic (turf colour enhancers, twice and once, respectively), Maintain NT plant growth regulator for dense swarf and improved root mass (seven times a year), K-Form potassium supplement (five times) and the Spike ‘tournament preparation’ mixture of potassium and silica (twice).

“These products have never let me down in the past,” adds Ian, “and I see no reason why they will now.”

He concludes: “There’s still a lot to do, especially with thatch levels on the greens and approaches, as well as work to the bunkers and the drainage, plus to the trees that shade many of the greens and tees. I think the approaches alone will take three to four years to get them where I want them. But I’m already seeing massive improvements in the fairways (through slitting).

“My goal is to make this the leading golf club in Sheffield, and with the backing of the committee and the members plus the continued technical support from Rigby Taylor, there is no reason why this can’t be the case.”

The last word is with Andy Rossington, the resident pro: “It’s no exaggeration to say that before Ian’s input, the first green here resembled the moon – it was desperate! But news of the improvements to the course has travelled, as is reflected in the boost to membership.

“Importantly, too, the greenkeeping team as a whole can now be proud of what they are achieving. Everyone here agrees with that, especially the golfers.”