New Verti-Drain at Rotherham GC

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New Verti-Drain at Rotherham GC: After delivering more than 25 years of reliable service, a Redexim Verti-Drain has been replaced by… another Redexim Verti-Drain at Rotherham Golf Club!

With ever-increasing restrictions on chemical usage impacting on plant growth and root development, Course Manager Andy Unwin cites an increase in the amount of aeration work taking place as the stimulus for the purchase of their new Verti-Drain 7316, delivered in March 2022.

New Verti-Drain at Rotherham GC

New Verti-Drain at Rotherham GC

Rotherham offers a true test for golfer and greenkeepers alike, as Andy and his team of five deal with thousands of mature trees and historic push-up greens across the 18-hole parkland course. “A lot of work has gone into the greens over the years, lots of aeration and topdressing which now means we’re in a good position with sandy, free-draining greens” explains Andy, who took over as Course Manager last year. “However, things are always changing and one of the biggest issues we now face is the changes in chemical legislation, making aeration more important than ever for retaining root strength and plant health.”

“With our Verti-Drain® 105-145 we would traditionally have two main ‘aeration weeks’ – one in March and one in August, with spot treatments as and where required. This machine was purchased in 1994 and gave us years of trouble-free and effective aeration, but with more work on the cards, the time was right for an upgrade. Redexim’s Andy O’Neill and Tony Dodson of Cheshire Turf Machinery brought in a 7316 and it ticked every box.”

With a 1.6m working width, the 7316 is one of the most versatile models in the Redexim Verti-Drain® range. Small enough to suit smaller chassis tractors, but weighty enough to handle compacted ground, it is available with a range of tine options to suit all sports turf applications and maintenance tasks throughout the calendar.

“Of course we’re all noticing the differences between the two machines. This one is smoother, with much less vibration during operation, and it’s all really user-friendly – adjustments to speed and depth are nice and straight forward.” Andy adds, “With the Verti-Drain® you know what you’re going to get and that’s reliability, which is going to be critical as we continue to undertake more aeration work around the course over the next few years.”

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MM and Designer terrific for Truro

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MM and Designer terrific for Truro: After experimenting with various seeds, Dominic Gibbard – Head Greenkeeper at Truro Golf Club, found that the market leading MM and Designer brands of grass seed produced the best results.

Dominic has been working at Truro Golf Club for four years. He spent three of those as the Deputy Head Greenkeeper but last year his hard work and dedication to the role was rewarded with a promotion.

MM and Designer terrific for Truro

MM and Designer terrific for Truro

He now oversees a team of three who work around the clock to maintain the stunning 18-hole, par 67 parkland course in Cornwall.

“It’s a great place to work,” said Dominic. “Truro is a short, tight and challenging course, which attracts a lot of golfers – in fact we are picking up members all the time.”

One look at the course will tell you why Truro is so popular – it is beautifully maintained by the team, and Dominic is considerably careful when it comes to selecting the correct products.

“Over the years I have experimented with lots of various seeds, but I haven’t found any particular benefits from using others compared to the MM and Designer brands,” he said.

MM is one of the most respected brands in the UK amenity industry, with over 40 years of experience and knowledge. The extensive product portfolio is second to none with performance proven mixtures that are used at many leading venues in the UK and Europe.

All the varieties have an excellent breeding pedigree and have been selected and bred for their ability to deliver a range of quality turf characteristics. The Designer range is also formulated specifically to meet the needs of landscapers, local authorities and sports clubs.

Investing in the Designer range offers true value for money as they combine high performance with competitive pricing.

At Truro Golf Club, Dominic relies on two specific mixtures from the MM and Designer brands which he purchases through David Bevan of Agrovista Amenity.

For the greens he uses Elite Green from the Designer range which is an excellent, all bent (70% Sefton Browntop bent and 30% Arletta Browntop bent) mixture that produces a fine, dense hard-wearing surface.

“It is a brilliant seed which gives us great germination,” he said. “We are really increasing the amount of bent and reducing the Poa in the greens and this mixture is helping us.

“I have found it is quite soil temperature dependent for us, so I don’t tend to overseed with Elite Green until mid-summer after our big golf week. I’ll follow up with another overseed towards the end of September, early October, and these two big hits work incredibly well for us. The greens are in a great condition and the seed has been integral.”

On the tees Dominic relies on MM50 which possesses exceptional shoot density along with tolerance to close mowing making. This superior mix contains the perennial ryegrass cultivars, Venice, Alison and Malibu, which are renowned for providing a great sward for golf use.

“It is great for repairing divots and worn areas,” he said. “We have even used MM50 really early in the season in February and we had germination in temperatures of 6-7 degrees Celsius, which it is not even meant to do. We couldn’t believe it.”

Both the Designer and MM seeds are treated with HEADSTART® GOLD – a unique seaweed-based seed treatment which helps to ensure rapid and even germination. This tried and tested grass seed treatment helps the seed get off to the best possible start.

“I’m really impressed with the products, and they are very good value for money,” said Dominic. “It is for these reasons why we keep choosing MM and Designer.”

For further information, please contact MM Sports Seed on 01386 791102 or visit the company’s new website www.mm-seeds.co.uk. You can also follow the company on Twitter: @MM_Seed

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Applications open for Bernhard BIGGA Delegation experience

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Applications open for Bernhard BIGGA Delegation experience: Industry-leader in sports turf technologies, Bernhard and Company, has today announced that the application process is officially open for the 2023 BIGGA Delegation trip.

Open to all full BIGGA members, the Bernhard and Company BIGGA Delegation is one of the most highly regarded and sought-after personal development opportunities for greenkeepers and turf professionals in the UK.

Applications open for Bernhard BIGGA Delegation experience

Applications open for Bernhard BIGGA Delegation experience

The 10 successful applicants will embark on a week-long trip with BIGGA and Bernhard and Company to the coveted GCSAA Trade Show and Conference in Orlando, USA, in February 2023. During the trip, delegates will participate in numerous specialist educational experiences, and benefit from site visits to leading golf facilities.

In its 20 years of running, the delegation has adapted and evolved to continue offering the very best experience for British greenkeepers. All seminars and educational classes are carefully selected to deliver the very best and most relevant material that will enable delegates to enhance their skillset and elevate their careers.

Whilst on the trip, the chosen BIGGA members will represent the UK’s greenkeeping industry, as they strive to develop their network with likeminded turf professionals from around the globe. They will also have full access to the largest turf management exhibition in the world, where they can navigate the exhibition floor, and enjoy time with the Bernhard and Company team on the stand.

Lucy Sellick, Head Greenkeeper at Wenvoe Castle, and a member of the 2020 delegation party to Orlando, commented: “Whether it is improving yourself, or deepening your knowledge of the turf industry and the people in it, Bernhard and Company has you covered. Take some time to apply for this amazing opportunity – you really won’t regret it.”

Steven Nixon, Managing Director of Bernhard and Company, added: “We are once again excited to take the successful applicants on this incredible educational experience. We are passionate about giving back to the industry we love so much and, in collaboration with BIGGA, we are able to offer 10 of its members a potentially career-defining opportunity.

“You don’t have to be an Assistant or Head Greenkeeper to be accepted onto the trip. Turf professionals with varying levels of experience will benefit hugely from the delegation – it really can offer something for everybody.”

The GCSAA educational conference takes place from the 6th – 9th February 2023, in Orlando, and the deadline for applications is Sunday 18th September 2022 at 5pm BST.

To apply, head online to: https://bernhard.co.uk/delegation/

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No boundaries for Baroness

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No boundaries for Baroness: It’s a recognised fact in cricket that a good groundsman wins matches and is as much a part of the side as a pacy seam bowler or a gifted spinner. After more than 20 years in the game and winning a good few awards along the way, Simon Lee, for the past two years Head Groundsman at the Ageas Bowl home of Hampshire CC, knows his craft supremely well.

He also knows a thing or two about the equipment he needs to keep his wickets and wider grounds up to international standard. The arrival of Baroness mowers in the Ageas fleet on the outskirts of Southampton is, therefore, a significant accolade for a brand that has become a favourite on many golf courses across the UK.

No boundaries for Baroness

No boundaries for Baroness

Now regarded as one of the best cricket grounds in the country, the Ageas Bowl has taken delivery of three Baroness machines from Lister Wilder in recent months. Simon and his team have a five-unit mid-weight LM551B for outfields and an LM56GC pedestrian cylinder mower for pitch preparation. Meanwhile, the Boundary Lakes golf course that is another key element of the wider Ageas leisure offering has a three-unit LM315 greens mower.

The decision to opt for Baroness against other big-name competition was one that Simon did not take lightly. “I spoke to other top-level groundsmen and it came highly recommended by others who have had experience of using them,” he says. “You can read all you like about grass cutting machinery but when the verdict comes from someone you trust then you know you are making a good decision.

“When we demoed the machines, we found the Baroness mowers were cutting tighter and neater than the competition and giving us better presentation at the same level of cut.”

The reality of living with the new machines has matched up to the promise from the demo. “It isn’t just the quality of the cut that everyone talks about and how long the cut lasts,” says Simon. “I really like the way the Baroness machines are engineered – the fact that they are very user-friendly puts a big tick in the box for me given that they are being operated and maintained by staff at different skill levels. That makes life a lot easier for me in managing the whole process.”

Common to all the Baroness machines is the approach to the cutting cylinders, which are individually balanced before being installed and with a heat treatment process ensuring that the cutting edges of both cutting cylinders and bed-knives stay sharp and true.

The LM551B with its 45hp Kubota engine is equipped with a 22-inch standard reel along with optional mower units and accessories, allowing users to create the best configuration to meet their own turf conditions. The forward and backward slide function of the rear cutting units increase contour following whilst minimising uncut turf.

The pedestrian LM56GC is amongst the lightest in its class, but is very solidly built, with high manoeuvrability and a solid 5-year warranty as standard. Like other Baroness mowers, it is completely gear-driven and hence much easer to maintain and more durable than competitors driven by belts or chains. Equipped with bi-directional front grooming reel, de-thatching reel or brush (all of which are changeable in five minutes), you effectively get a complete turf maintenance system for the price of one mower.

The LM315GC is available in 7, 9 or 11-blade reel options, with bed-knives from 1.5mm to 5mm thickness. Cable drive to the cutting units eliminates potential hydraulic oil leaks where they are most likely to occur.

Particularly important to Simon is the back-up he gets to ensure that each of his machines performs at is best and that any problems are quickly dealt with. He has been very impressed by the support he has received to date from Lister Wilder’s Area Sales Manager Graham Merritt and from his Baroness Area Manager Luke Collins.

“They have been fantastic and have helped us every step of the way,” says Simon. “If you call them with the very tiniest issue they are there straight away. It’s the first thing you want with a dealer that is new to you because it means you can build a relationship that works.”

To view the complete Baroness range and to find your local dealer please visit www.baronessuk.com

#lessstresswithbaroness

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Three of a kind for Reesink

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Three of a kind for Reesink: Continuing with its firm focus on sales, servicing, training and parts for all brands with a locally-focused team, Reesink UK has opened its third branch in Burwell, Cambridgeshire.

The branch which serves the areas of Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and Leicestershire, joins Reesink Scotland and Reesink South East and opens up direct access to local turf machinery specialists in an extensive new area.

Three of a kind for Reesink

Three of a kind for Reesink

The brief for branch manager, Trevor Chard, was to set up a dealership that builds relationships on a local level, deals directly with customers and responds to specific customer needs for the area. Not only has that been achieved but surpassed, as he explains: “The pleasure of managing a branch is that the autonomy to make decisions in terms of what we stock, distribute and deliver is, to a degree, for us to determine based on the specific needs of customers in the area.”

Customers will be familiar with the brands Reesink UK distributes: Toro fine turf and groundscare machinery, STAR EV utility vehicles and golf buggies, Farmtrac tractors and TYM tractors which are all available through the branch, about which Trevor comments: “These brands, in particular STAR EV, are doing very well in this area, but breaking it down even further customers are particularly interested in the sustainable options offered by each brand. The all-electric Greensmaster eTriFlex 3370 riding greens mower, Workman GTX Lithium Ion utility vehicle and the Reelmaster 5010-H hybrid from Toro, and the FT25G all-electric compact tractor from Farmtrac for example.

“As a result, we’ve been able to fine-tune the range we offer our customers, we’ve taken on board new brands specific to what the market here is responding to and that’s proving to be a winning formula.”

The wide-spread interest in reducing CO2 emissions by businesses in the area led to Reesink Burwell widening its offering since opening to include Cramer, the biggest amperage available for battery-driven power tools, and Biocircle for sustainable cleaning of turfcare machinery.

Alongside the brands it offers its customers, a large part of the branch’s business is servicing maintenance contracts. The ReeAssure scheme has three plans available for machines and what particularly appeals to customers is that you can put certain machines on different plans.

Trevor continues: “This is a key part of the business – we have 77 ReeAssure Maintenance contracts of which 21 percent are Gold. As the customer puts individual machines on a plan and not necessarily the whole fleet, we have many customers with machines in all three plans. That takes some managing and it’s why we’ve staffed the division up with three really experienced mobile technicians. These guys can do everything from routine maintenance to scheduled servicing on mowers, sprayers, aerators, you name it. Our customers need to know that with their machines on plan with us, downtime becomes a thing of the past, especially with our parts distribution running as the head office’s does, on 24 hours delivery.”

Completing the offering available through the branch is training, with space on site to accommodate practical training in the workshops and forecourt and theory in meeting rooms. Trevors explains: “Again, we have the autonomy to produce and provide training specific to what our customers want and need, stepping away from the general plans available through head office. We can design our own packages, making training even easier for customers.”

What is next for the branch, which thanks to remodelling an office in COVID restricted times, is a little later than planned? Trevor says: “We just want people to know we’re here. That through us they can get access to the best international brands available on the UK market, but with the benefit of working with local turf machinery specialists. We’re independent, we don’t funnel into a system, we can respond instantly to local market changes and design our business to offer the right products for the local industry as it moves forward in new directions.”

To speak to Reesink Burwell about what brands, services and expertise it can offer, call 01638 594 340.

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