Fineturf A Fine Choice

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Fineturf A Fine Choice: Reesink Turfcare has welcomed Fineturf Machinery as its new appointed dealer for Toro golf and fine turf machinery, Toro grounds machinery, and TYM tractors in the Lincolnshire and North Nottinghamshire areas.

Having been carefully chosen by Reesink, Fineturf Machinery steps into the role of dealer for the area vacated by Chris Sellars Groundcare, as Nigel Lovatt, regional manager at Reesink, explains: “We looked no further than Fineturf Machinery to take on this role. It is a company that is well established with a fantastic reputation and has expanded significantly in recent years. It has the same goals and ambitions as we do for the area and has invested in new staff to ensure these are achieved.”

Fineturf A Fine Choice

Simon Hutton, managing director of Fineturf Machinery, says he is delighted to become an official Reesink dealer and service centre for Toro and TYM: “We’re looking forward to our association with Toro golf, groundscare and TYM products and hope our depth of knowledge across the golf, groundscare and sports turf industry will benefit new customers, with existing customers gaining direct access to more premium turfcare brands.”

Chris Sellars Groundcare will continue to work closely with Reesink to provide warranty support throughout the transition period, as Nigel confirms: “We enjoyed a good working relationship with Chris Sellars Groundcare for many years. But 2018 sees a change in direction for them, and us. Chris Sellars Groundcare, Reesink Turfcare and Fineturf Machinery will all work together to ensure a smooth transition period for customers, and we wish the greatest success to Chris Sellars with its future endeavours.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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New Cub Cadet Website

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New Cub Cadet Website: After months of designing and building, Cub Cadet has now launched its new website. The site has been created with the end user at the forefront of the design. It offers easier navigation and offers an enhanced user journey. The website is fully responsive, meaning that it looks just as great when viewed on smart phones and tablets as it does on a regular laptop or pc, and makes it easier for consumers to browse the site, even when they are on the go or even browsing in a dealer’s showroom.

Designed with the customer in mind, the site clearly defines the brand’s products and categories, with all existing products and new season models featured. Each product has a section on both the features and the specifications, making it simple for consumers to review and compare products.

New Cub Cadet Website

The service and dealer locator pages guide people to locate their nearest dealer, and this is linked through from every product page. The new 2018 catalogue is also available to download, and there are informative pages on the history of the company and its many innovative designs, such as the xTreme Tight Turn and Cub Connect App.

The new website is a continued reflection of the importance that the company places on customer engagement and innovative design.

“We are pleased to launch our new, user-friendly website, which we are confident provides an enhanced customer experience and will further develop our reputation as being at the forefront of garden machinery innovations,” said Phil Noble, field sales and technical manager for Cub Cadet UK.

For more information please visit www.cubcadet.co.uk

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Groundsman Wins Award Hat-Trick

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Groundsman Wins Award Hat-Trick: Kidderminster Cricket Club’s top groundsman has been presented with his hat-trick trophy for producing the best ground in the Birmingham and District Premier League for the third year in a row.

Making the presentation to Chris Longmore in front of captain Neil Pinner and the rest of the team, Birmingham and District Premier league president Robin Viner said: “Chris is so consistent and Kidderminster is very lucky to have a groundsman with such knowledge and dedication.”

Groundsman Wins Award Hat-Trick

Mr Longmore, who has been associated with the Chester Road outfit for 58 years, said he was “delighted” to the win the award again.

He added: “There is hardly a day without cricket at Kidderminster this season and, as always, to make that work requires an awful lot of time as well as investment.”

Mr Longmore’s hard work was acknowledged by the club, which presented him the Denis Jones Award for outstanding contribution behind the scenes in 2017 at the annual presentation last autumn.

The league’s umpires also marked the club’s 1st XI team fifth in the Fair Play table for 2017.

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Maxicrop Becomes Valagro UK

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Maxicrop Becomes Valagro UK: Valagro, a leader in the production and marketing of biostimulants and specialty nutrients, announces that its subsidiary Maxicrop (UK) Ltd, has changed name to Valagro UK Ltd.

The seaweed extract fertiliser and biostimulant company became part of the Italian global plant nutrition group Valagro in 2002, but has continued to trade as Maxicrop UK until now. Following the signing of the strategic partnership agreement with SBM Company last September, for the distribution and sale of Maxicrop garden products, Valagro UK is now firmly focussed on the professional grower markets. This is in line with Valagro’s global strategy to become a leading player in Ag Nutrition and Biologicals by integrating and delivering advanced products and value-added tech-based services to farmers globally. The name change to Valagro UK therefore further aligns the company with the Valagro corporate approach.

Maxicrop Becomes Valagro UK

Valagro UK Country Manager Shane Deaville: “ Valagro UK will continue to market the Maxicrop Professional range of seaweed extract – based biostimulants. In addition, the company will supply other Valagro biostimulant and plant nutrition products, such as Megafol, Radifarm and Erger . Sales of Maxicrop Professional products have seen significant growth in recent years, and with the very late Spring this year, there are signs that growers are turning to these products to give backward crops a growth boost and reduce plant stress.”

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Yobs Trash Cricket Wickets

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Yobs Trash Cricket Wickets: Yobs smashed a pick axe into two wickets at a cricket club just weeks into the new season.

Shocking images show dozens and dozens of divots were taken out of the surfaces.

Yobs Trash Cricket Wickets

Club officials at Ashton Ladysmith Cricket Club in Ashton-under-Lyne, Tameside , said they were baffled over the motive behind the vandal attack.

The small club, based on Rose Hill Road, survives because of community spirit and its members, who all volunteer to help out.

Groundsman John Hillson gave up hours of his free time to get the ground fit and ready for the new season after the winter’s bad weather.

Members arrived at the ground on Bank Holiday Monday to discover the damage.

The club field two teams in the Greater Manchester Cricket League.

John said: “We think it is a pick axe and it has been done with some force. Someone has gone to the trouble of climbing over the gate taking a heavy implement with them.

“It has definitely been done with real purpose.

“If it is someone we have upset, then we want to put it right. People put hours into this cricket club in terms of volunteering and it’s a terrible thing to do. We think it may have happened on the Sunday evening before it went dark.

“The team met for a game on the Sunday and there was nothing untoward then.

“It’s three weeks into the start of the new season and they have targeted our two wickets – they are the two that we have been using.

“There are 10 wickets altogether and we had just prepared the two. Obviously we are interested in who might have done this and if anyone has heard anything they should let us know.

“We don’t want it happening again.”

On each wicket, the crease area where balls land and batsmen stand had been targeted in a bid to cause the most damage to the surfaces.

The sods of soil displaced have been put back into the holes left behind.

Both wickets then were watered then rolled.

John said he believes no serious damage has been caused, although other wickets have been cut and are now being used.

The incident hasn’t been reported to police.

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CMAE A New John Deere Supplier

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CMAE A New John Deere Supplier: John Deere has confirmed a new official supplier agreement with the Club Managers Association of Europe (CMAE), to assist the association’s vision of being the leading organisation for club management educational programmes.

John Deere is an industry leading, full range supplier of sports club maintenance equipment including mowers, tractors and Gator utility vehicles. The CMAE is a non-profit professional association which is the leading authority for club manager education.

CMAE A New John Deere Supplier

“We are delighted to partner with the CMAE and so make ourselves available to its membership for advice and support,” says Carlos Aragones, John Deere’s European turf sales & marketing manager. “Continued education is a core pillar of the John Deere philosophy and we look forward to supporting the CMAE in its quest to increase club manager education across Europe.”

The CMAE’s director of education Torbjorn Johansson adds: “As the CMAE continues to grow and evolve we are always pleased to welcome industry leading brands such as John Deere. Our stated aim is to continue with our evolution and execution of educational programmes.”

Under the terms of the agreement, both organisations will begin working together on the lead up to the CMAE’s annual conference, which will take place in November this year in Marbella, Spain.

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

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Dennis Prepare For The World Cup

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Dennis Prepare For The World Cup: The national football team won’t be the only team of professionals making the trip from England to Russia this summer. In fact, a whole fleet of Dennis G860 cylinder mowers will already be making their mark in Russia before the England squad is even announced.

Dennis Prepare For The World Cup

A staggering 88 Dennis mowers will have the task of preparing stadium and training complex pitches for the world’s greatest football players throughout the tournament while some venues will also utilise the Dennis Premier in conjunction with the G860 for matchday preparation.

7 of the 11 stadiums will use Dennis mowers, including those hosting the quarter finals, the semi-finals and the final, and 70% of the training camps will also be maintained by Dennis.

Steven Rienks – managing director of Queens Grass, who are the official Dennis dealer in Russia, has orchestrated proceedings and admits it is a proud moment for himself and his company.

“This is the greatest show on earth and is not just another contract.  Yes, it is fantastic to be a part of it but it is also a responsibility,” he says. “After all, the quality of play depends on the quality of the pitch. But this is why the G860 has been chosen – due to the quality and the presentation it offers. They all want that perfect stripe which the G860 provides because they know it will be watched by a worldwide audience.”

However, the task of preparing the pitches is made slightly more difficult by unfavourable weather conditions, as Steven remarks: “In Russia, the weather is not ideal – for instance, in one area we only have around 60 days of sunlight over the course of a year. The interchangeable cassette system really helps with maintenance procedures in a difficult climate. Also, the mowing height may differ and the sandy materials on the pitches are different.”

While the games will no doubt attract billions of viewers worldwide, many will be oblivious to actually what goes into ensuring the pitch is up to the standards expected for a tournament as prestigious as the World Cup. Even before the pitch is prepared, contracts must be concluded and signed and Steven admits that it can be somewhat of a rigorous process.

“Russia is a whole different ball game and one of the attractions of working with companies such as ourselves is the fact that we have been working with the groundsmen at the stadiums since 2001. Russian clubs prefer to be supported by local companies that supply European machines but quick, straightforward contracts are hard to make.”

“Every offer was made specifically for each stadium and training complex and all were tendered by the Russian Government. Then of course there are the complications of dealing with an eastern European country – let us say that the customs and borders in Russia are an interesting challenge.

“It is not easy but of course it is fantastic to work at such a tournament. We love our profession and it is a nice challenge to have!”

For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact Dennis 01332 824 777 or visit www.dennisuk.com

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Irrigation At Bush Hill Park

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Irrigation At Bush Hill Park: Bush Hill Park Golf Club is based a stone’s throw from Enfield Town in North London. Originally 9 holes, this 100-acre parkland course was designed by Open Championship winners James Braid and Harry Vardon and boasts a running reputation for being the best maintained in the area.

Much of the irrigation system was installed 25 years ago, had deteriorated and needed a complete overhaul. Head Greenkeeper Graham Careford has worked at Bush Hill Park since 1986 and explains,

Irrigation At Bush Hill Park

“The ground here is clay so very dry in summer. With only a small number of heads on tees, irrigation coverage was poor, combined with leaks and frequent system breakdowns. The challenge any club like us faces is that you can’t see how badly the irrigation system’s deteriorated because the pipework’s buried underground. Extra watering takes place in the early hours or at night, and staff working overtime to keep the course in the best condition won’t usually be seen by most club members and players. Keeping an unreliable and ageing irrigation system going becomes increasingly expensive.”

To help build the case for investment in a new irrigation system, Graham began keeping a detailed timeline, recording all system faults, breakdowns and overtime as well as taking photographs of course conditions. This information was presented to the management committee to inform decision-making and help the club properly evaluate its various options.

The club appointed Irritech Limited to undertake the irrigation system design and specification and to coordinate a competitive tender process for a fixed price contract including warranties and retentions.

The committee decided that the major investment of £300k in a new Rain Bird IC™ Stratus™ II Central Control System with Windows™ 10 functionality and mapping for greens, approaches and tees would provide the system reliability and future water efficiencies that would maintain the quality of the course for many years to come.

Irrigation At Bush Hill Park

With over 300 sprinkler heads, 7 miles of piping, 6.5 miles of cable and 3,500-man hours, the contractor, Irrigation & Water brought the project in within budget. The new system will be operational this spring.

Irrigation & Water Director Ashley Proctor, comments,

“Our biggest challenge has been heavy clay and high water table which meant adopting a more sympathetic approach to ground conditions. It’s taken a little more time and care but that’s been essential to minimise damage to the course. This is our first complete Rain Bird renovation and we’ve had a superb Rain Bird team working with us providing all the technical support, training and back-up we needed to make sure the system was installed to the right standards. We’re delighted to have been involved in what’s been a landmark project.”

Jimmy Sandison, Regional Golf Sales Manager for the UK, Ireland, Iceland and Scandinavia, adds, “We were thrilled to be awarded this project and Graham Careford and the project team were a delight to work with from the start. We all knew ground conditions were going to be a challenge but Bush Hill Park now has a highly efficient irrigation system that can be upgraded easily upgraded in future years, reducing the cost of overall ownership.”

For more information, visit: www.rainbird.eu/golf

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Charterhouse Doubles Aeration Regime

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Charterhouse Doubles Aeration Regime: Set in an area of outstanding natural beauty in Berkshire, Goring and Streatley Golf Club offers a challenging 18 holes over a half downland and half parkland course. Despite the challenges this brings to Course Manager Matt Aplin and his team when it comes to maintenance, the greens are renowned for being fast, true and in great condition all year round. The combination of a Redexim Carrier and Verti-Drain 1513 from Charterhouse Turf Machinery is the latest weapon in Matt’s armoury to improve the greens, tees and approaches even further.

“Though we have quite a large machinery fleet, we only have one tractor” explains Matt, who heads up a team of six greenkeepers. “This meant when it came to greens maintenance, if we were using the tractor to hollow tine, we then couldn’t topdress on the same day as the tractor was tied up. Fundamentally this restricted us being able to conduct some operations, especially aeration, as much as we’d like to.” Matt spoke to his local dealer Lister Wilder, who demonstrated a number of power unit and aerator combinations. “With a lot of the competitor machines, the aerator was limited to 4” penetration depths, whereas the Verti-Drain could go down to 6”, making a big difference to root depths, along with creating heave.” They took delivery of the Carrier and Verti-Drain 1513 in combination early last year.

Charterhouse Doubles Aeration Regime

As well as easing the strain on the club’s tractor, another key factor for the purchase was to use a lighter weight unit on the greens. “It’s simple to use, safer being outside the cab and more efficient for the team than navigating the tractor with a heavy spiker on the back around the hills on our course.” Though a number of machines can be connected to the Carrier, for Matt it is being used solely for aeration, and has already conducted upwards of 220 hours of aeration at the club. “We used to pencil tine the greens four or five times a year, that’s now 10 or 12 times. Our tees and approaches were aerated very infrequently, they’re now being done six times a year. That equates to a 200% increase on our previous aeration programme.”

That increase isn’t unnoticed by members who are commenting on the knock-on improvements in green and tee conditions. “We have four greens that are built on pure clay and can lay very wet. The massive increase in aeration, and more frequent topdressing has meant these are drier than they’ve ever been. It shows us that our cultural practices are working, and that’ll hopefully only continue to improve as the years go on.”

For more information, visit: www.charterhouse-tm.co.uk

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Ernest Doe A New Etesia Dealer

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Ernest Doe A New Etesia Dealer: The Ernest Doe branch in Esher has been appointed as a new Etesia dealer and will be distributing the complete Etesia range throughout Surrey.

The renowned Ernest Doe brand can be traced all the way back to June 1898 when Ernest took the lease on a blacksmiths shop at Ulting near Maldon, Essex. From this small shop, work in those days consisted mainly of shoeing horses and repairing agricultural implements.

Ernest Doe A New Etesia Dealer

It is safe to say that business prospered significantly over the years but Ernest Doe is still very much a family firm. Current Managing Director Colin Doe is the fourth generation of the family to have taken the helm during the company’s 100+ years of trading.

Ernest Doe now boasts a network of branches in the South and East of England and are trusted providers of quality products and first-class service facilities. Of the 19 branches, the Esher depot based in Surrey is the only branch purely dedicated to groundcare machinery.

Insistent on working only with the most reliable and top performing brands, Ernest Doe is delighted to be working with Etesia – according to general sales manager Andy Turbin.

“Etesia is a brand that we have known about for a number of years and we have a lot of customers who use the equipment so we thought it would be good to get the franchise and support these customers. Quite simply, it seemed a great opportunity for us.

“The Esher branch has a massive customer base including contractors and local authorities – so the Etesia equipment will be ideal for them.”

Specialists in manufacturing high quality grass cutting machinery for both the professional and domestic market, Etesia’s extensive range of products have been in consistent high demand for a number of years. It is for this reason that the company’s vast dealer network continues to grow. From the UK to Ireland, Etesia dealers are providing their customers with innovative solutions for their green space requirements.

Ernest Doe’s Surrey based customers will now be able to choose from Etesia’s 12 product families which includes ride-on mowers, scarifiers, brush cutters, green technology and pedestrian mowers – something which Steve is particularly excited about.

“I think the Etesia pedestrian mowers will arguably be the most popular with our customer base. They are well respected machines in the marketplace, extremely versatile and are capable of cutting and collecting in all conditions.”

For further information, please contact Etesia UK on 01295 680120 or visit www.etesia.co.uk.

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