Sprayed in 60 minutes!

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Sprayed in 60 minutes!: A weather forecast of significant rainfall combined with warm, humid temperatures means only one thing for grounds managers – high disease pressure.

For Leicester Tigers Rugby Club Head Groundsman Ed Mowe, the question was how to maximise the efficacy of a fungicide application given the approaching conditions. The answer was a tank mix of Dedicate and Tangent SDR from Headland Amenity – applied in a window of just 60 minutes with phenomenal results!

Sprayed in 60 minutes!

Sprayed in 60 minutes!

Assisting Ed with the maintenance at the Welford Road Stadium and Oval Park Training Ground is a team of two grounds-staff and an apprentice; with Headland’s Sports Turf Specialist Alex Hawkes on hand to provide advice on all things nutritional. “While we wouldn’t ordinarily gamble on spraying in a weather window as tight as literally one hour, we trusted Alex’s recommendation and it was a decision that paid off. We sprayed the Dedicate and Tangent SDR mix, it ‘stuck’ to the plant and we emerged from the extremely high-pressure period with a stadium pitch clear of disease. I have no doubt that without the inclusion of Tangent SDR, we would not have seen such impeccable protection.”

Applied in June, Tangent SDR is a natural spray additive that utilises the sticking effect of Terpineol to enhance spray retention on the grass leaf and improve uptake of the applied spray. “It has fantastic low dilution rates making it a cost-effective way of making applications rainfast to maximise results” comments Ed. On this occasion, it was tank-mixed with Dedicate turf fungicide as a protectant against Fusarium Patch and Leaf Spot.

“We have also been using Tangent SDR with a plant growth regulator at our training ground which is frequently subject to strong winds. The ‘sticking’ effect has undoubtably helped us to save on chemical, and therefore money, there as well.”

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From gastronomy to agronomy

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From gastronomy to agronomy: Sentosa Golf Club is set to install two digesters that will make it the first club in Asia with the ability to grind down food and horticultural waste to reuse as fertiliser on the golf course.

Using a Golf Sustainability Fund Grant awarded by The R&A, the Singapore-based club set on Sentosa Island will reuse 40kg of food waste generated each day along with the one tonne of horticultural waste produced every month.

From gastronomy to agronomy

From gastronomy to agronomy

The grant is part of a project that will also help bring sustainable organic waste management practices to golf courses in Asia with Sentosa Golf Club estimating cost savings of up to 30% on monthly waste disposal over a one-year period.

It also comes shortly after Sentosa Golf Club was announced as the world’s first golf club to sign the UN’s Sports for Climate Action Initiative.

Embarking on a two-stage process, the first will see Sentosa using a food waste bio-digester to process and grind down waste from its three F&B outlets on site.  Once microbes are added to the waste it is ready for use as organic fertiliser on the golf courses, SMBC Singapore Open venue, The Serapong, and The New Tanjong, which hosts the HSBC Women’s World Championship and was also the chosen venue for the 10th edition of the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC) and the inaugural Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific (WAAP) in 2018.

The second stage of the project will introduce a heavy duty woodchipper and bio-digester shredder to grind an estimated one tonne of horticulture waste that is generated per month at the club.  The club does not currently purchase and apply compost material on the golf course, but foresees that a suitable compost by-product can be derived from this project and used to improve the golf course, including the retention of vital moisture across the fairways, thereby reducing the need for irrigation.

Andrew Johnston, Director of Agronomy and General Manager at Sentosa Golf Club, said: “It is very humbling for Sentosa Golf Club to be chosen by The R&A to be part of its Golf Sustainability Fund. Personally, I’m very proud of what the club has achieved in recent years with its environmental efforts. The entire team at the club can be recognised for their hard work and dedication towards creating an environmentally sustainable environment – it has become a way of life at the club.

“This grant will help us go a long way towards further achieving our goals and the waste recycling project along with all the other initiatives we have implemented here at the club, will hopefully inspire other clubs around the world to play their part in becoming more sustainable.”

On the importance of such an initiative, Johnston added: “Most horticultural and golf course waste is currently disposed through the process of waste incineration or burial administered by the local authorities. This adds to air pollution and applies pressure to landfill sites, which is particularly pertinent to land-starved Singapore.”

Both The R&A and leadership team at Sentosa Golf Club envision achieving a major leap in golf course specific waste recycling and fertiliser use across the fairways of courses all over the world along with a major change in the consideration of how golf clubs approach their waste management strategies. The club’s initiative will also help with the research and development of bi-product fertilisers that can be used on primary roughs and fairways and shared with other golf clubs in Asia and around the world.

Dominic Wall, Director – Asia-Pacific at the R&A, said: “Sentosa Golf Club has introduced many environmental-friendly golf course practices over the last few years and The R&A is excited to work with them on this project, not only to allow them to further a more sustainable environment at the club, but also to provide the vital research needed for other clubs in Asia and around the world to use as best practice.”

Chris Gray, Head of Sustainability and Agronomy – Asia-Pacific at The R&A, added: “The R&A is extremely pleased to be able to work closely with Sentosa Golf Club through our sustainability fund and help them continue to raise the bar and act as a model for other golf clubs around the world to follow in terms of environmental sustainability.”

Sentosa Golf Club’s green agenda was initially brought to the attention of the golfing world with the launch of its #KeepItGreen campaign at the SMBC Singapore Open in January 2018. It saw a number of key environmental features implemented at the club, such as the creation of their own Bee colonies; using rechargeable lithium batteries in their golf carts; banning single use plastics from the golf course and replacing them with water stations; as well as installing electric vehicle charging sockets and building their own sustainable herb garden.

The club also unveiled a new global campaign, GAME ON, at the start of the year, which is designed to unite the global golf community in addressing the growing concerns of climate change. The aim is to educate and inspire the global golfing community, helping golf clubs around the world to better prepare by introducing modern sustainability practices to reduce their environmental impact.

The campaign is closely aligned with The R&A’s 2030 Golf Course Initiative that considers the impacts, both positive and negative, of the changing climate, resource constraints and regulation on course condition and playability. The R&A has also recently pledged their support of the GAME ON initiative.

For more information on Sentosa Golf Club visit www.sentosagolf.com or follow the club on social media:

Twitter: @SentosaGolfClub

Instagram: @sentosagolfclub

Facebook: @SentosaGolfClub

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Double A to acquire Nairn Brown

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Double A to acquire Nairn Brown: John Deere turf dealership The Double A Trading Company Ltd, which has its head office in Cupar, Fife and a second outlet at Kintore in Aberdeenshire, has agreed to acquire Nairn Brown (Glasgow) Ltd of Busby.

The purchase, which has been agreed by Double A owners Sandy and Aileen Armit and by Nairn Brown, will see all the existing staff and assets of the latter business transferred to Double A as of 30th September 2020.

Double A to acquire Nairn Brown

Double A to acquire Nairn Brown

Nairn Brown Ltd was founded in 1964 and became the first John Deere golf & turf dealership to be established in the west of Scotland in September 1996. The company has a long and successful track record of supplying machinery to golf courses, local authorities, contractors and private customers across a large area extending from Argyll to Dumfries & Galloway, containing well over 200 golf courses.

Double A dealer principal Sandy Armit and his wife Aileen started their business working from home in 1996 before joining the John Deere dealer network in October 1999. The business initially sold to customers in Fife, Tayside and Clackmannanshire before being appointed to take over the Aberdeenshire area in October 2011.

Double A currently employs 25 people across its two outlets and was awarded the title of UK Professional Turfcare Dealer of the Year in 2011 by the AEA and Service Dealer magazine, as well as the runner-up spot in 2019. In addition to the full John Deere range of professional turf equipment, it supplies a number of other market leading golf course and turf machinery brands including Timberwolf, Campey, Tru-Turf, Gianni Ferrari, Reform and Lastec.

“We are delighted to be given this opportunity to extend our sales territory into western Scotland, and look forward to continuing to build on the very successful business established by Nairn Brown, his family and experienced staff,” said Sandy Armit.

“Double A is a highly professional operation that has developed over the last 20-plus years to become one of the largest John Deere turf dealerships in the UK, providing outstanding customer service and total commitment to after-sales support,” said John Deere Limited golf & turf division sales manager Brian D’Arcy. “We are very pleased that Sandy, Aileen and their team have agreed to this expansion into the west of Scotland, and look forward to their continued business growth.”

Nairn Brown added: “Although sad for me to be leaving the industry, I have to say how lucky we have been to have held the John Deere turf dealership in the west of Scotland for 25 years. I would like to thank John Deere for their staunch support and help over this time – it has been a pleasure dealing with them.

“Most of all, I am extremely proud of all the staff that have helped to make Nairn Brown (Glasgow) the dealership it is today, and wish everyone continued success in the Double A team!”

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Big plans for Palace brings in more Toro

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Big plans for Palace brings in more Toro: With Crystal Palace Football Club currently investing in the development of its stadium and academy training ground facilities, its grounds team knows the importance of ensuring the club has a fleet of reliable machinery. Which is why they’ve invested in yet more Toro machines.

Bruce Elliot, head of grounds and estates, explains: “We’ve now been awarded Category 1 status and are focussed on becoming one of the country’s leading academies, and a huge part of that is investment in the training grounds. We have planning permission for a new full-sized pitch and nine new pitches at the academy with work having started this summer. With such a big project planned for the 2020/2021 season, it was important we upgraded and expanded our machinery fleet beforehand to prepare for it.

Big plans for Palace brings in more Toro

Big plans for Palace brings in more Toro

“Toro is a worldwide recognised brand, and the reason for that is the build quality and reliability of the machines. We’ve had Toro machines at the club and performing well for the last four years and while we did look into other brands, there was really no comparison.”

With TYM tractors also included in the deal, it’s an investment in distributor Reesink Turfcare as much as anything else, says Bruce: “We first added Toro and TYM machines to our fleet in 2016 and have always been impressed by the work they’ve done, so we decided to make our biggest purchase with Reesink Turfcare yet. We needed to replace some older machines at the academy and we also wanted to expand the fleet at our main training ground and stadium.”

And it’s a significant investment which will benefit the Selhurst Park stadium, academy grounds and training grounds. New to the club are a ProCore 648 pedestrian aerator and TYM T293 tractor for the stadium, a Reelmaster 3575-D mower and Workman MDX utility vehicle for the academy grounds and two Greensmaster TriFlex Hybrid 3420 mowers and a ProCore 864 tractor-mounted aerator with TYM T393 tractor for the main training ground. These join the ProCore SR70, Workman MDX-D and TYM T353 purchased in 2016 for the training ground.

Having seen Toro in action at the club for several years already, Toro was always the first choice for Bruce when looking to expand the fleet, he says: “We’ve been impressed with Toro since it arrived on site four years ago. Take the ProCore 648 as an example. I consider that to be the pedestrian aerator on the market to beat, it’s outstanding. Previously, we were hiring one in every time we needed to aerate the grounds, so when the opportunity came to purchase one, there was no question for us that we were going to get it.”

With Toro and TYM in use across all the grounds at Crystal Palace and doing a good job, Bruce is looking to the future. He says: “We started to see the benefits of Toro and TYM very quickly four years ago and it’s important we maintain those standards now. Plus, the timing of bringing these new machines on board is perfect with such a big project underway.

“We’re confident we’ll be able to rely on Toro and TYM to provide the excellent standard of turfcare maintenance we need and it’s highly likely we will be investing in more Toro and TYM as the club’s facilities expand.”

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Turf Tank make Robotic Line-Marking affordable

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Turf Tank make Robotic Line-Marking affordable: Makers of the world’s most accurate GPS line marking robot, Turf Tank, has announced  new affordable subscription options for the United Kingdom.

The new subscription packages aim to make robotic line marking affordable for all, take the customer experience to an entirely new level and allow users to benefit from an instant return on investment. The benefits of a subscription include unlimited software updates, access to a world-class support team, limited product warranty and an annual supply of paint.

Turf Tank make Robotic Line-Marking affordable

Turf Tank make Robotic Line-Marking affordable

Lettering and number stencilling, plus all the accessories for operating the robot including the tablet and nozzles come as standard, and customers can choose from three different subscriptions for a package that best suits their needs.

Offering the robot in this way has proved very successful in the USA, and Turf Tank CEO, Olav Jørgensen, hopes providing the same opportunity in the UK will open the Turf Tank One up to more grounds professionals and contractors.

“With positive feedback from our US customers, we are now ready to focus more on the European market and introduce our subscription choice to sports facilities all over the UK,” he said. “Our generous leasing options are suitable for organisations of all types and sizes. We offer services for small clubs with one sports field to more complex packages for schools, universities, parks and recreation, pro teams and stadiums, which include annual paint supply, 24/7 customer support, logo creation and unique robot wrapping solutions.”

The return on investment using the Turf Tank One can be seen almost instantly with a significant amount of time saved when marking and less paint needed to complete pitches. Marking an 11-a-side football pitch from scratch takes just 29-minutes and 45 seconds, while overmarking takes no more than 12 minutes. Larger templates such as a 400m running track can be completed in 1 hour 45 minutes with numerous other fully customisable templates available for track and field events and other sports such as rugby, hockey, American football and lacrosse. By having access to Turf Tank’s support team, any template you need can quickly be created, so you’re able to mark out on any site for any sport.

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