GKB return to BTME

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GKB return to BTME: With all eyes set firmly on spring renovations, GKB Machines return to BTME to showcase an impressive line-up of equipment whether its scarification, aeration or overseeding on the agenda.

After making its UK debut at BTME in March 2022, the VCollector will be back in Harrogate, showcasing the benefits of effective organic matter removal and collection of the extracted material in one quick and simple pass.

GKB return to BTME

GKB return to BTME

The VCollector is available in two working widths – 1.2m and 1.6m – and is equipped with precision-engineered steel blades, spaced at 25, 50, 75 or 100mm, for the accurate removal of thatch, surface debris and lateral growth down to depths of 40mm. At the heart of the VCollector is the unique GKB CombiRotor®, fitted with wind paddles to generate the suction required to effectively vacuum the removed material up and into the 400L hopper – hydraulically lifted and emptied at the touch of a button.

Alongside the VCollector with be the GKB Deep Tine Aerator (DTA). Precision engineered and built for durability and strength, the DTA is available in four working widths from 1.2m to 2.6m meaning there’s a model suited to most fine turf and sports turf applications. Smaller models like the DTA 120 and DTA 160 are ideally suited to aeration tasks around the golf course, offering a maximum working depth of 250mm and a heave angle of up to 25 degrees.

Completing the line-up will be the versatile Combiseeder, available in four working widths to meet the needs of greenkeepers, sports turf managers and contractors alike and capable of both seeding and routine overseeding work. The tried and trusted combination of two spiked rollers and two brushes create the optimal number of holes in the ground, allowing for accurate seed distribution and creating the ideal conditions for germination.

The GKB Technical Team will be on hand to discuss these products, and many more from their innovative golf and sports turf portfolio, across the three days on stand 644.

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Sustainable seed formulations the focus for BTME

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Sustainable seed formulations the focus for BTME: Sustainable management of fine turf and sports turf surfaces doesn’t have to mean a compromise in visual merit or performance.

Demonstrating exactly that at BTME 2023 will be DLF, who return with a raft of new mixture formulations in their Johnsons Sports Seed range – incorporating new cultivars that promise to improve play quality and be kinder to the environment, and budgets, thanks to reduced reliance on chemical inputs.

Sustainable seed formulations the focus for BTME

Sustainable seed formulations the focus for BTME

With the ever-changing climatic pressures and growing demands of players and governing bodies, DLF are utilising research conducted across their global breeding centres to create mixtures with enhanced sustainability, that combat some of the biggest challenges faced today and those in the future. New for 2023 will be J Intense 50, a new renovation mixture for golf tees, pathways and high wear areas. This mix promises improved drought tolerance, disease resistance and rapid establishment thanks to the inclusion of DLF’s 4turf® perennial ryegrass.

One of Johnsons leading golf mixtures – J All Bent – has also been reformulated for 2023. With Browntop Bent (Agrostis Tenuis) demonstrating better wear tolerance under close mown conditions and a much lower need for water and fertiliser than Poa annua or Creeping Bent, J All Bent now incorporates Cleek alongside Arrowtown and Manor to make a three-cultivar blend. As a top performer in STRI close mown trials, Cleek will help to create a mixture with maximum shoot density, excellent playing quality and the highest level of fusarium tolerance.

Cleek is just one of several new cultivars chosen for inclusion across the portfolio in 2023. Orienette Chewings Fescue, Seroa Slender Creeping Red Fescue and Crystal Hard Fescue are amongst the others, and all are included in the 2023 J Premier Fairway formulation. These new cultivars will deliver the ultimate fairway sward in terms of density, visual merit and sustainable management, with the increase of hard and sheeps fescue improving tolerance of disease, drought and salt.

Along with changes to the sports turf mixtures across the Johnsons Sports Seed, MM Seed and Masterline ranges, information will also be available on the recently extended Colour Boost and UK native Pro Flora wild flower seed collections, which are ideal for increasing biodiversity and creating eye-catching focal points around the golf course.

The DLF technical team would also like to hear from you on what issues are impacting your management programmes in order to shape future educational and training events. Those who stop by stand 130 over the three days and share their thoughts can also pick up a free Johnsons snood and be entered into a draw for a chance to win a ‘Greens Tester’ – the perfect tool for monitoring speed, trueness and greens performance.

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Four acres of Capillary Bunkers at Sagamore

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Four acres of Capillary Bunkers at Sagamore: Founded in 2004, the Sagamore Club to the north of Indianapolis has a lot of bunker sand. In fact, according to superintendent Dan Grogan, who has been with the club since 2006, it has a total of four acres of formal bunkers, with high-sand flashed faces into the bargain.

It isn’t surprising, then, that bunker maintenance has always been a big job at Sagamore. “When the course was built, there was a liner installed under the original sand, but as the bunkers were repeatedly edged, more and more soil was exposed around them and the sand got more and more contaminated,” says Grogan. “Inevitably, it took us a long time to get the bunkers back into condition after severe rain – we had to pump them out, which took a lot of time and a huge amount of labour. We had to do something about it.”

Four acres of Capillary Bunkers at Sagamore

Four acres of Capillary Bunkers at Sagamore

Grogan started looking at the best options available to line his bunkers. After research, he concluded that the Capillary Bunkers solution seemed best for Sagamore’s needs. “I started doing some homework and talking to other superintendents about bunker liner technology, and I realised that Capillary Bunkers had one key advantage for us over competing products – we could install it ourselves,” he says. “So, in 2016, we did so on an initial test bunker. We picked one that washed out regularly and didn’t drain too well, and we were very pleased with the results. Based on that, we started an in-house bunker update project, picking off the bunkers one by one.”

This went on for a while. “Eventually, we had done more than fifty bunkers in-house – more than two and a half acres of them,” he says. “There was only one greenside bunker left, but it was an enormous one, more than 20,000 square feet. I realised it was time to bring in the cavalry!”

The cavalry, in this case, was a crew from contractor Landscapes Unlimited, which owned Sagamore at the time. “They mobilised on site in September 2018 and were onsite for two and a half months to complete the remaining bunkers,” says Grogan.

Four years on, Dan Grogan is still extremely happy with his decision. “We are delighted with our bunkers,” he says. “Sometimes we get a huge rain event, and there’s a tiny bit of contamination, but it isn’t anything we can’t easily deal with, and apart from that, there’s nothing. Before we installed the Capillary Bunkers liner, if we had an inch of rain, half of our bunkers would need to be pumped out. Maybe a third of them would be back in play the first day after the rain. Now, we are fully back up and running by lunchtime on the first day. This fall, we had six and a half inches of rain in eighteen hours. There were definitely some washouts – we have steep faces that are eight to ten feet high – but we were back to normal in two days. That would have been an impossible dream beforehand.”

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Modry Las celebrates pivotal year

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Modry Las celebrates pivotal year: Celebrating a remarkable chain of events with the golfing community in Poland, the team at Modry Las Golf Resort has described 2022 as “momentous”. With successes on and off the course, The PGA National Poland enjoyed a remarkable season receiving a trio of international accolades that have cemented its reputation as a world-class venue providing incredible value.

The optimistic tone was set during the first half of 2022 when Poland’s only signature-designed golf resort unveiled a luxurious spa complex along with new accommodation options. The investment paid off a couple of months later when Golf Monthly magazine published its compendium of Europe’s lesser-known destinations that offer quality golf and excellent value. Not surprisingly, Modry Las was in the mix.

Modry Las celebrates pivotal year

Modry Las celebrates pivotal year

“One of the best is Modry Las Golf Resort in Choszczno in the north west of the country,” noted Golf Monthly’s contributing editor Fergus Bisset. “It’s a Gary Player design in an area of rolling terrain with lakes and thick woodland. It’s an excellent layout carved through the forests with lakes and wildflowers abounding. Modry Las offers exceptional value.”

In October, Golf World unveiled its list of the best golf resorts in Continental Europe which, according to the magazine, rewarded venues that “excel with accommodation” and have “the wow factor”. Highlighting the “delightful cottage” options, Golf World concluded Modry Las was one of the most tranquil break destinations in its rundown. “This Gary Player design has flair and imagination, and it’s in fabulous nick,” noted the review. “We loved the chalets nestled in the silence of the woodland that surrounds the course. If you want to get away from it all, this Polish bolthole is for you.”

The assessment followed the magazine’s spotlight on the Best Value Golf Resorts in Continental Europe published a year earlier. Taking third spot, Modry Las was identified as the kind of resort that would attract golfers “who appreciate a high-calibre modern course in fabulous condition.”

To round off the year, the chairman of Modry Las, Arthur Gromadzki, gratefully collected a seventh national title at the renowned World Golf Awards; the leading authority to recognise and reward excellence in golf tourism. Speaking in November, he noted the 2022 season had been “a momentous year for both Modry Las and Poland on the international stage”.

His remarks correspond to the historic win this summer by Adrain Meronk who became the first Polish golfer to triumph on the DP World Tour. He repeated the feat at the Australian Open in December and was also joined in the Polish winners’ circle by Mateusz Gradecki who recorded his maiden win on the Challenge Tour in 2022.

The significance of these achievements were not lost on Gromadzki. “In many ways, this season has been full of challenges both political and environmental, and yet it has been a watershed moment for Poland. Despite the hurdles, not only did the country record its first win on the DP World Tour, but we also received international recognition that Poland offers incredible value while delivering a world-class golfing experience.”

He continues: “In fact, during these uncertain times, I would argue Poland has become an increasingly important golfing destination for those golfers wanting to enjoy world-class golf despite a challenging economic headwind. After all, Poland provides an alternative to the more established and expensive European golf locations. So, in many ways, it’s been a pivotal year and the perfect preparation for 2023.”

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Driving Change at Lac Blanc

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Driving Change at Lac Blanc: Polaris Off Road continues its Ranger Stories video series in a new light with the introduction of the ‘Ranger Stories: Driving Change’ initiative.

Polaris is a firm believer that a product comes to life through its applications, partnerships but most importantly, via the people who use it; which is why once again, Polaris has embarked on a journey across Europe, the Middle East and Africa to discover and capture how its customers are driving change alongside the Polaris RANGER. Dedicated to the good that Polaris customers do, Ranger Stories: Driving Change is inspired by the many Polaris customers that are working hard to make a positive impact on the world.

Driving Change at Lac Blanc

Driving Change at Lac Blanc

Episode 2 – Lac Blanc Bike Park in Alsace, France

As a popular ski resort for over 50 years, Lac Blanc came alive during the winter time, welcoming skiers and snowboarders from all over the world. In the summer, however, the snow had cleared and all that was left were hikers to explore the natural surroundings that Lac Blanc had to offer. So, in 2007, Lac Blanc opened its Bike Park to make the most of the quiet summer months and welcome a new audience to the area. Downhill mountain biking is rapidly growing in popularity – giving riders a fast-paced, adrenaline-filled challenge with a backdrop of beautiful, natural landscapes – so it’s no surprise that the summer months at Lac Blanc Bike Park are now as busy as the winter months.

Carved out of the mountains in Alsace, France, the bike park offers downhill mountain bike riders nine different route options ranging in difficulty and technicality. From families with young children, to serious World Cup competitors that train on the black line, Lac Blanc Bike Park welcomes all skill levels.

Joining the ‘Driving Change’ spin-off series, Polaris joins the Lac Blanc Bike Park Site Development Director, Michael Barthelme, to see and hear how the Polaris Ranger helps to manage a resort of this size, juggling trail maintenance, rider safety and the extreme terrain that comes with this mountainous setting.

Lac Blanc’s intricate trails snake through 170 acres of land, in and out of forests and over extreme gradients. Whilst the riders and their bikes can navigate thanks to the chair lift, the safety team need to be able to access all areas of the site – every trail, tree and corner – to ensure they can keep every inch of the trail clear and reach injured riders.

The Ranger XP 1000 not only gives the Lac Blanc team the power and stability needed to combat these gradients quickly, but is also equipped with on-demand all-wheel drive, meaning that all four wheels engage automatically when the vehicle needs more traction.

For situations involving a rider accident, the team can navigate tight trails within the forest thanks to the Ranger’s tight turning radius and 33cm ground clearance to navigate over rocks and tree roots. The cab comfortably seats up to three people in case the rider needs to be transported to a safer or more comfortable location, whilst the 27.9cm front and rear suspension travel ensures the ride is as smooth as possible. The 454kg cargo bed capacity can easily take the weight and size of a mountain bike, if it needs to be transported with the rider, alongside the safety team’s essential equipment including medical bags and maintenance tools.

When Lac Blanc Bike Park closes for the winter, Lac Blanc Ski Resort opens; and there’s no shortage of use for the Ranger XP 1000 in the winter months either. The team swap out the tyres for tyre tracks, and the Ranger becomes the ultimate snow vehicle, servicing the ski resort throughout the snowy months.

The Lac Blanc Bike Park team also chose to add extra accessories to its Ranger XP 1000 for added comfort and convenience, including a full cab kit – including full doors, windshield, rear panel and roof – with an in-cab heater to manage extreme temperatures in the winter. There’s also a LED light bar when daylight hours are reduced, a winch for helping to move fallen trees or assist with extreme hill climbs, and not forgetting the Polaris Lock&Ride tip-down headache rack fitted to the cargo bed for carrying their equipment securely.

For more information on Lac Blanc Bike Park, please visit their website here.

CATCH THE SECOND EPISODE OF RANGER STORIES: DRIVING CHANGE HERE.

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