Headland Keeps School Disease Free

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Headland Keeps School Disease Free: Thanks to help from Headland Amenity, the 17 hectares of grounds for rugby, tennis and cricket at Kings Bruton School have come through the winter of 2017 disease-free and stronger than ever before.  For a relatively small school, they punch well above their weight when it comes to sport and the facilities they offer their 350 pupils.

Grounds Manager, Adie Davis, and his team of 6 groundstaff are kept busy looking after the facilities. “I have been familiar with Headland products for a long time and have enjoyed success with their programmes here at the school for a number of years. On our cricket outfields & rugby pitches we’ve been using Multigreen 28-0-0 which delivers results for the full 5-6 months it promises it will.” Applied in April and then again in September for strength through the autumn/winter, this is complemented on the fine turf areas by C-Complex in various formulations: 4-3-4 used during renovation work; 7-0-7 through the cricket playing season and 5-2-10 as a spring-starter.

Headland Keeps School Disease Free

On the cricket squares, Adie has found success with the combination of Multigreen Mini and Headland’s 20/20/30 non-pesticidal tank mix. “We apply the Multigreen Mini in early autumn to take us through the winter and then once a month between October and March we supplement this with a spray of the 20/20/30 enhanced plant health mix.” Headland’s industry-leading 20-20-30 mix combines Seamac ProTurf Fe and Liquid Turf Hardener plant protectants and Turfite elicitor that work together to strengthen the plant against disease. The combination of products applied at Kings Bruton delivers enhanced root development, disease resistance and strong colour. “This programme has kept all disease, including Fusarium and Dollar Spot, at bay – which I know groundsmen at other schools are suffering from.”

As the school heads towards its 500-year anniversary celebrations in 2019, Adie is delighted with the success achieved with their current nutritional regime. “I’ve worked closely with Headland’s Alex Hawkes, who is very knowledgeable, for a number of years and it’s thanks to him that we now have a combination of products that are really working. We get a lot of comments from staff, parents and local clubs that they’ve never seen turf quite like ours, our cricket areas in particular, which makes all the hard work worthwhile.”

For more information, visit: www.headlandamenity.com

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New Agency For Adare Manor

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New Agency For Adare Manor: As its major renovation programme nears completion, Adare Manor has appointed Performance54 as its exclusive golf marketing agency, with immediate effect.

Performance54 has been commissioned to create and manage an international golf PR and Communications programme around the launch of the new Tom Fazio-designed golf course. Its team of dedicated golf marketing experts will work with Adare Manor sales & marketing representatives, developing an impactful narrative to position the property in the minds of golfers around the world.

New Agency For Adare Manor

“We are delighted to be working with Performance 54 as we unveil this next chapter in Adare Manor’s legacy,” said Colm Hannon, Chief Executive Officer of Adare Manor.  “The Golf Course at Adare Manor will provide an unforgettable experience for golfers when it launches this April. It has been masterfully designed to inspire, challenge, and captivate the most demanding golf enthusiasts in the world.”

Jed Moore, Performance54 Managing Director, commented: “We are delighted to be working with the team at Adare Manor. The name will be familiar to many golfers but, with the strategic investment made into this astonishing refurbishment, the golf course and hotel, alike, will immediately establish Adare Manor as a bucket list experience for discerning golfers at all levels of the game.”

Adare Manor re-opened to the public in November 2017, following an 18-month programme of redevelopment, which returned the historic Co. Limerick resort to five-star opulence.

Among the comprehensive improvements were the thorough refurbishment of the famous manor house, now a luxurious 104-bedroom hotel, and a complete overhaul of the golf course which, with each hole redesigned and reconstructed, now holds major ambitions of staging top-level tournament play over the years to come. Without question, the transformation has already seen the resort recognised as the finest Ireland has to offer.

Performance54 is a dedicated global golf sales and marketing agency, located in London and Singapore, providing a complete roster of services, including: Brand Development, PR and Communications, Event Management, Campaign Activation, and Sales and Trade Marketing. The company works on behalf of some of the world’s most recognised brands, destinations and events.

For more information, visit: www.Performance54.com

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New Ransomes Jacobsen Dealer

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New Ransomes Jacobsen Dealer: Andrew Symons Ltd has been appointed as a new Ransomes Jacobsen dealer, representing the Ransomes, Jacobsen, E-Z-GO, Cushman, Turfco and Smithco brands. Andrew Symons Ltd. will cover a territory that includes Devon, Cornwall and Somerset.

Ransomes Jacobsen, a Textron Inc. company, operates as part of Textron Specialized Vehicles Inc., the manufacturer of Jacobsen and Ransomes turf-care equipment, E-Z-GO golf cars, and Cushman utility vehicles. In addition, Ransomes Jacobsen is the distributor for Turfco and Smithco equipment in the United Kingdom.

New Ransomes Jacobsen Dealer

Andrew Symons is a major agricultural, construction and groundcare business, with an exceptional reputation in the area. The company was set up in 1987 by current owners Andrew and Lisa Symons. It has flourished over the years and is now one of the most reputable distributors in the region, employing more than 40 full-time staff and offering an impressive portfolio of agricultural and groundcare equipment.

Andrew Symons, Managing Director of Andrew Symons Ltd said,

“We are very proud of the addition of Ransomes Jacobsen to our groundcare portfolio. It is testament to the success of our business; we recently opened another depot in Crediton in 2017 which offers parts, service and sales in a first class, modern facility. Customers are the focus of everything we do, and we are very excited to be representing such reputable brands and backing them up with fantastic customer service.”

Speaking after the signing of the distribution agreement, Nathan Walker, National Accounts Manager at Textron Specialized Vehicles, said,

“Andrew Symons Ltd is a well-established and highly professional business in the area and we are delighted to welcome them as a new distributor. The level of service and enthusiasm for the industry that its personnel display is second to none, and I am confident that they will do a good job of enhancing our presence in Devon, Cornwall and Somerset.”

For more information, visit: www.jacobsen.com/europe

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Revenge Is Best Served… Fresh!

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Revenge Is Best Served… Fresh!: Remember last year, when pests decimated your carefully planned and sowed plants and flowers before you even had a chance to enjoy them? This year start plotting your revenge now, by ordering a season’s worth of fresh nematodes, to be delivered straight to your door to provide ongoing protection. 

Nematodes offer a biological solution to pest control, and the various species grown by BASF, in the only specialist nematode production facility in Britain, can protect your plants from a variety of pests.   Nematodes are naturally occurring microscopic animal organisms that act as natural pest controls.

Revenge Is Best Served… Fresh!

BASF grow a range of nematode products including Nemaslug and Nemasys Chafer Grub Killer, Leatherjacket Killer, Vine Weevil Killer and No Ants. There is, even, a nematode product, containing a variety of different nematode species, created specifically for fruit and vegetable pests, making it perfect for gardeners who are passionate about ‘grow your own’.

BASF grows fresh nematodes, rather than dehydrated, and is passionate about doing so as this ensures the quality of the product remains high and consistently effective.

Nematodes attack the pest by entering natural body openings, releasing a bacteria which quickly and safely kills it. The nematodes then reproduce inside the dead pest and release a new generation of hungry nematodes, which disperse and search for further prey.

Unlike alternative pest control solutions, nematodes can be used as a preventative control, so even if you are lucky enough to have not seen any damage yet, treating the garden to a dose of nematodes will keep the critters at bay before they become a real problem.

Simply mix with water and either apply from a watering can with a coarse rose or spray the nematodes onto the foliage and soil, depending on the variety. There is no need to keep children or pets away from treated areas and the whole programme is entirely biological so that all the Nemasys products can be used by organic gardeners.

All Nemasys products can be ordered online, with an entire season’s worth being ordered and sent out as and when needed. This means that all of your planning can be done now, and you can concentrate of planting and growing, safe in the knowledge that your pest control is taken care of.

For more information, visit: www.basf.com

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Greenmaster Aids Recovery

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Greenmaster Aids Recovery: Following a severe Microdochium Nivale outbreak which left scars on the greens at Blackpool North Shore Golf Club, Head Greenkeeper Andy Moore, turned to two products from the ICL Greenmaster Pro-Lite range in order to assist the recovery.

Designed by legendary golf course architect Harry Colt, Blackpool North Shore was established in 1904, and has been an Open Championship qualifying venue. The course can even boast the fact that it hosted the first ever fund raising event of The Duke of Edinburgh Awards Scheme in 1963 and attracted a number of golfing greats such as Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player. The course has continued to flourish and has been home to the PGA Lancashire Open for over 17 consecutive years.

Greenmaster Aids Recovery

Andy, who was promoted from Deputy to Head Greenkeeper in March 2017 immediately had his work cut out, as he explains:

“We got hit quite hard in autumn 2016 and almost every green was infected with Microdochium. After that we were left with a lot of scars and my first six months were all about trying to get the greens back and to try and achieve a truer surface,” he said.

As a result from the outbreak, members were forced to play on temporary surfaces for a period of six months, and Andy knew he had to turn things around incredibly quickly.

“The members knew the full extent of it and although they were understanding they still needed to see improvements. If we were going into April, May or June and we still hadn’t done anything about the scarring then the members could have remained on temporary greens for nine months. They pay good money to be part of this club and I wanted to give them something they could be proud of. I spoke to Phil Collinson (ICL Technical Area Sales Manager) and am pleased I did because the two Greenmaster Pro-Lite products have worked wonders for us.”

Greenmaster Aids Recovery

Andy and Phil decided that ICL’s Greenmaster Pro-Lite Cold Start 11-5-5 and Greenmaster Pro-Lite Invigorator 4-0-8, would be the best course of action, and it wasn’t long before Andy started seeing the results.

“Initially, I felt that we had to alleviate the disease scars and encourage the poa so that we could produce a truer and smoother surface the members could start to enjoy playing on again.As well as providing nutrition we also carried out some solid tining maintenance  along with overseeding. We started with one application of Cold Start at 25g/m2 and then we applied Invigorator at 30g/m2every four weeks. We went with both products, to get the recovery as quickly as possible. The trial work carried out by ICL backed up Phil’s recommendations and this gave me even more confidence in the approach.

“We started by applying Cold Start in February 2017 and it  gave us fantastic recovery at a time of year when conditions were challenging for growth. We followed this up with an application of Invigorator 4 weeks later to keep driving the recovery we needed. Once we got the greens to a good standard, and the recovery was gained, we appliedGreenmaster Cold Start at a low rate again in mid-April . They no longer required any further applications of Invigorator because its main use was to get the greens back to a puttable standard, and it did just that .It was at this point we switched to the ICL liquid products that have given us the consistency we wanted over the summer.”

With the greens back to the excellent standard expected by both Andy and the club members, he has since embarked on a full ICL iTurf programme, which he devised with Phil Collinson.

Greenmaster Aids Recovery

“I’m fairly new into the management side of things but I was always aware of what products worked for us and what didn’t. With that in mind I wanted to embark on an ICL iTurf programme and I always had a good relationship with Phil so it just felt right. A programme has now been put in place and we’ve had great success with it. I think the combination of the ICL products and the site conditions here have worked really well. The course is close to the best it has ever been and that is according to the members. In my opinion, that is the best feedback I can get.”

“We are now working with Phil to put in place an integrated management programme that will help avoid a repeat of the disease problems that the club experienced last year.”

Please contact ICL on 01473 237100 or visit www.icl-sf.co.uk or www.icl-sf.ie if you are in Ireland.

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