Pitchmark announce Fusion & Eco Lite

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Pitchmark announce Fusion & Eco Lite: Since its inception in 2010, the Pitchmark name has been synonymous with engineering excellence, marking it as a leading manufacturer in the sports turf and amenity industry.

In just a few weeks’ time, Pitchmark will partner with sister organisation and UK-distributors, Turfix, in launching two new spray line marking machines at turf management show, SALTEX 2021, on the 3rd and 4th November at the NEC Birmingham.

Pitchmark announce Fusion & Eco Lite

Pitchmark announce Fusion & Eco Lite

Joining Pitchmark’s existing, popular range of machines will be the Fusion and Eco Lite Spray Line Markers. The Fusion will mimic both the style and engineering design from the bestselling unique Hybrid, but will boast a new-styled high-density polyethylene (HDPE) body to replace the steel chassis. Additionally, the Eco Lite will continue the Eco Range’s four-wheeled design, but will also include this HDPE material to complete Pitchmark’s latest design.

Head over to Turfix’s E125 stand at SALTEX 2021 to exclusively see Pitchmark’s Fusion and Eco Lite Spray Markers.

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Flexibrush key to fantastic fairways

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Flexibrush key to fantastic fairways: Worm cast dispersal, dew removal, standing grasses up prior to mowing and excellent presentation – the versatile SISIS Flexibrush is having a positive impact on the fairways at the Herefordshire Golf Club according to Head Greenkeeper Jeremy Browne.

Jeremy has seen many changes in the 31 years he has been at the club, but he believes the arrival of the new owners is proving to be one of the most beneficial.

Flexibrush key to fantastic fairways

Flexibrush key to fantastic fairways

“The new owners have come in and are really starting to make a difference,” he said. “They have invested in the club house which is having a renovation; they are planning on introducing more drainage around the course and they are committed to investing in new equipment.”

As an ex-mechanic, Jeremy has always prolonged the life of his greenkeeping equipment by servicing and repairing it himself, however he admitted that the opportunity to get his hands on new machinery was music to his ears.

“I like repairing machinery but all the time I’m doing that, I’m not out on the course,” he said. “I was delighted when the owners came to me directly and asked what I needed. I told them that to keep me out on the course, then I needed the most reliable equipment.

With fairways being his first port of call, and with an increasing amount of worm casts appearing, Jeremy narrowed his search down to two possible machines.

“We thought that the SISIS Flexibrush would be the better product for us,” he said. “With all the moving brushes it seemed to follow the contours and the undulations on the course a lot better than the alternative.”

The SISIS Flexibrush is a tractor mounted brush which is equally effective dispersing top dressing and removing excess material on natural turf or synthetic surfaces. The versatile Flexibrush can also be used for dew dispersal and striping for improved presentation. It has a 5.35 metre working width, its brush sections ‘float’ to follow ground contours and the outer sections fold for transport and storage.

“Wormcasts was the main issue, obviously they smear when you are cutting and can be a bit of a nuisance,” said Jeremy. “With less chemicals now available, we must look at going back to more effective natural ways and the SISIS Flexibrush was the best solution because it can be used for multiple tasks.

Flexibrush key to fantastic fairways

Flexibrush key to fantastic fairways

“For example, in the winter when we are unable to cut the grass, we can use the Flexibrush to stripe and ensure that the fairways are nicely presented. We have also used the Fleixbrush to stand the grasses up before cutting because it provides us with a better finish; and it is great for knocking the dew off.

“The size and width of the machine are ideal,” continued Jeremy. “We can cover larger areas and it folds up so it can be stored nicely, and you can get through small gaps if needed.

“I wanted something reliable, and I have that in SISIS. The Flexibrush is certainly an important part in our armoury.”

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

For more news, reviews and insightful views, you can follow SISIS on Twitter or Instagram @SISISMachinery and like the company’s Facebook page – www.facebook.com/SISISMachinery. You can also view the latest SISIS videos by visiting www.youtube.com/SISISMachinery

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Municipal course maintains high standards

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Municipal course maintains high standards: Adjoining Normanby Hall Country Park near Scunthorpe in North Lincolnshire, the beautiful 18-hole, par 72 golf course is set in 117 acres of mature woodland and parkland and is considered to be one of the best municipal courses in the country.

Significant investment has been made here over the past year by North Lincolnshire Council. Improvements to the course have included new tees, pathways and drainage, the installation of a three-bay covered driving range with additional practice facilities, and refurbishment of the clubhouse – as well as a new John Deere course maintenance equipment fleet supplied by local dealer F G Adamson & Son at Langworth.

Municipal course maintains high standards

Municipal course maintains high standards

Normanby Hall Golf Course senior greenkeeper Michael Burgin attended the first John Deere sponsored TPC Sawgrass volunteer programme in 2015, as a member of the Florida course’s maintenance team preparing for the Players Championship. Michael won the greenkeepers’ nearest the pin competition at the famous 17th hole and still has the signed flag to prove it.

Michael has been back to TPC Sawgrass as a volunteer every year since, and as he says, “Ever since my first trip there, I said this is the equipment that I want to be working with.”

The golf course is now being maintained immaculately by the new fleet, which includes a 2550E hybrid electric triplex greens & surrounds mower, 7700A PrecisionCut fairway mower, 9009A TerrainCut rotary rough mower, 2030A ProGator with Dakota top dresser attachment, HPX 815E and TE electric Gator utility vehicles and a 3046R compact tractor, plus a Tru-Turf R50-11 greens roller and Charterhouse Redexim Speed Brush.

“Having been promoted from assistant greenkeeper four years ago, I inherited a lot of equipment that was on its last legs and repair bills were mounting up,” says Michael. “The Council’s new management team had committed to maintaining and improving the course and its facilities, and ultimately investment in a new machinery fleet became a key part of this commitment.

“We went through a formal tender process in the end before reaching a final decision, essentially looking at value for money. Adamsons and John Deere won it by a country mile, ticking all the boxes for lead times, value, service and parts backup – all the criteria were more than met.

“We already had some older John Deere machines, including compact tractors, and had established an excellent relationship with the dealership, so Adamson’s depot manager Simon Fountain and I looked at various options and we came up with a list of what we needed.

“I knew I had to have specialist equipment for the greens, including a brush, top dresser and greens iron, to bring them up to the next level. Having our own top dresser has been a godsend, as we used to hire one in from the dealer just twice a year. Now we aim to top dress little and often, every two weeks or so, and we’ve already put on 40 tonnes of sand this year. It causes minimal disruption to play, but it’s made a huge difference to the standard of the greens.

“I also wanted to run two fairway mowers to make the job quicker, plus we were spending a lot of money to keep our old rough mower going, so we definitely needed a replacement for that. The John Deere 9009A provides a great quality of cut, but the main thing for me is it’s so easy to maintain. You can grease the whole machine in five minutes, and it’s not a messy job at all any more.

“The after-sales service from Simon and the dealership has also been phenomenal, whenever I call they’re always available to sort out anything I need straight away.

“We’ve now gone back to over 350 members, and picked up over 100 since we reopened in March after the last lockdown. I believe this is primarily due to the fact that the course is in such good condition now, and word’s gone round. It’s come on phenomenally, we’ve definitely been able to step things up to a higher level since we got the new machines.”

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BTME in natural environment

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BTME in natural environment: The British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) has launched registration for its annual exhibition, which returns to the Harrogate Convention Centre in January 2022.

The BIGGA Turf Management Exhibition (BTME) is Europe’s premier trade exhibition for the golf and sportsturf industry and takes place on Tuesday 25 to Thursday 27 January.

BTME in natural environment

BTME in natural environment

Registration has today (Friday 8 October) opened for the event, which is free to attend and will feature a line-up of more than 150 exhibitors spread across four halls in the Harrogate Convention Centre. An unrivalled networking opportunity, BTME brings together many of the leading names in the sportsturf industry, with a number of exciting events and initiatives yet to be announced.

For more information about BTME 2022, head to the new, dedicated BTME website, https://www.btme.org.uk.

The launch has coincided with the unveiling of the Continue to Learn 2022 education programme. Taking place from Sunday 23 to Wednesday 26 January 2022, BIGGA’s world-leading learning programme features a spectacular range of professional development opportunities, each year providing the equivalent of more than two hours’ education for every golf club in the country. As such, Continue to Learn and BTME are considered among the most influential events in the golfing calendar.

BIGGA members can find out more about Continue to Learn and begin booking their education experience today by heading to https://www.btme.org.uk/continue-to-learn.html.

On the opening evening of BTME, BIGGA will be hosting the Welcome Celebration, an informal event that celebrates the achievements of BIGGA members throughout the previous year.

Announced at the Welcome Celebration will be the winners of the BIGGA Awards 2022 and nominations are being invited for each of the following categories:

  • Outstanding Contribution of the Year sponsored by Bernhard and Company
  • Greenkeeping Project of the Year sponsored by Baroness
  • Championship Greenkeeping Performance of the Year sponsored by Origin Amenity Solutions

The BIGGA Awards recognise that high performance levels from a dedicated and knowledgeable team are essential to the success of any golf course or championship. The Greenkeeping Project and Championship Greenkeeping Performance awards are an opportunity to showcase a team’s successes, both in the redevelopment or renovation of a course or through the hosting of a major event. Meanwhile, the Outstanding Contribution award celebrates a member of the association who has done exceptional work to support fellow BIGGA members, the industry or the wider community.

This year there are some brilliant prizes on offer in each of the three categories. More information and the nomination form can be found on the BIGGA website.

BTME 2022 and Continue to Learn 2022 take place from 23 to 27 January 2022 at the Harrogate Convention Centre in North Yorkshire.

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Eco Village products announced

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Eco Village products announced: The Eco Village at SALTEX 2021, sponsored by Avant UK, will feature a programme of daily demonstrations of cutting-edge sustainable technology – offering visitors an opportunity of seeing a number of products in action.

Across the two-day event, visitors can expect to see the following products being demonstrated in a dedicated area on the show floor.

Eco Village products announced

Eco Village products announced

Avant UK – Leguan 135 NEO

The Leguan 135 NEO represents a new generation of spider lifts, combining easy-to-use interface, heavy lifting capacity, and efficiency-enhancing technology. The state-of-the-art joystick control allows simultaneous use of multiple boom movements with just one hand. Setting-up or finishing the operation is efficient with the help of the smart automatic levelling function and the home function that brings booms automatically back to transport position.

Avant UK – e6 Loader

The Avant e6 is the first compact loader with a lithium-ion battery. The e6 can be fully charged in just over an hour and you can operate between two to four hours with a full battery. The short charge time will practically allow you to work a full workday with because you can charge the battery during your lunch break to full again.

Dennis – ES-860

This 34″ battery powered turf management system delivers maximum versatility and the range of 13 interchangeable cassettes provide a solution to many day-to-day maintenance tasks such as cutting, scarifying and brushing. The power of the battery system ensures the machine is capable of cutting at least 2 pitches on a single charge or verticutting a full pitch without anxiety.

Dennis – ES-510

The ES-510 is more than capable of cutting 4-5 bowling greens or approx. 10km on just one single charge. Furthermore, it features a rapid 2-3 hour recharge. As with every model in the Dennis E-Series, the ES-510 has a robust LCD keypad screen which provides the operator with a multitude of information options including speed, clip rate, service checks, lifetime running reports and battery information.

Campey Turf Care Systems – AllTrec Tool Carrier

Mowing, brushing, thermal weed control, leaf blowing, and hedge trimming can be done CO2 emissions-free with the AllTrec Tool Carrier. The 100% electric machine can work all year round on regular maintenance and uses a universal hooking system that enables operators to easily carry out different activities in one day.

Overton UK – Mean Green Rival Mower

The Mean Green range of electric commercial mowers have been manufactured in the US for almost 12 years and this will be Overton UK’s 6th year of exhibiting them at SALTEX. With up to 7 hours of continuous mowing time, the choice of a 52″ or 60″ deck, speeds up to 11.5 mph, and horsepower comparable to a 36hp gas mower, the Rival zero turn mower is sure to please most mowing operators.

GroundWOW® – SFX Pro

A genuine world first technology, GroundWOW® SFX Pro can print any logo, any colour, any size, on any surface. Deployable in under 10 mins, autonomous vehicle technology, artificial intelligence, machine learning and an end-to-end Cloud SAAS (Software As A Service) platform combine to create ground-printed images as accurate as a blade of grass.

Toro UK – HD Proline

The Toro® 60V HD Proline features a 6mm thick cast aluminium deck and is designed to withstand the demands from professional gardeners and landscapers. The 60V HD Proline is the ideal choice for those with slightly larger areas of land, where a standard consumer lawnmower would not be suitable, and a ride on would be too large an investment – the 60V HD Proline fits perfectly in this gap.

Allett Mowers – to be unveiled at the show

The company is keeping all information under wraps until the show. Managing Director Austin Jarrett said: “Battery power is our future at Allett. Our battery products, first launched only 5 years ago at SALTEX, have now become our biggest selling mowers. Our customers love the quietness, efficiency and cleanliness of these electric products and are choosing these models instead of traditional engine powered mowers.”

You can view the Eco Village demonstration timetable here.

Pre-registration to SALTEX 2021 is essential this year. Attendees must print off their badges for entry to the show.

Register for SALTEX free here

The safety of all our exhibitors, partners, visitors, contractors, and staff is our highest priority. For more information on Covid safety measures please click here

Follow SALTEX on Twitter @GMA_SALTEX and Facebook – www.facebook.com/GMASALTEX

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