Groundsman’s ECB commendation

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Groundsman’s ECB commendation: Radlett Cricket Club head groundsman Nick Searle has received a commendation in this year’s annual ECB Groundsman of the Year Awards.

The Award, in the out-ground venues category, is awarded to groundsmen around the country who have hosted matches across any of the three formats and are judged based on the pitch performance and ratings provided by the ECB’s Cricket Liaison Officers who are present at the matches, having taken feedback from both umpires and both competing captains.

A busy year for Radlett Cricket Club in 2019 saw the club’s Brunton Memorial Ground host Middlesex matches across all three competition formats, holding first-class County Championship and Vitality Blast matches there for the first time ever and hosting its seventh List-A clash for Middlesex.

2020 will see Radlett again being utilised by Middlesex as one of its preferred out-ground venues, with the club being used as the home base for all four of Middlesex’s fifty-over Royal London Cup matches next season.

Speaking of receiving the ECB commendation, Searle, commented: “A huge amount of work goes in to making the quality of the pitches here at Radlett as good as possible, and it’s always nice to have that effort recognised by the officials at the game and by the ECB.

“We are extremely proud to host Middlesex games in Radlett, and the challenges that come with hosting matches for a professional side are something that the ground-staff here rise to and enjoy.

“I’d like to thank my number two, Jez Menzies, and the rest of the team for their efforts and we very much look forward to hosting Middlesex again this summer in the Royal London Cup.”

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Lochemse raise standards with Jacobsen

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Lochemse raise standards with Jacobsen: After greenkeepers and members became frustrated with the quality of cut and condition of the fairways at Lochemse Golf Club, head greenkeeper, Geert Olthuis, switched brands to Jacobsen and has used a Fairway 305 to turn things around.

No stone was left unturned by Geert in his search for a new fairway mower. He trialled five machines from different suppliers before the cut quality, and simplicity of the Jacobsen 305 was picked to elevate the fairways aesthetics and performance.

Lochemse raise standards with Jacobsen

Initially, Geert was sceptical about the mower specification compared to the machine he had been using, but he explains how his opinion was soon changed.

“When we saw the cutting finish, we couldn’t believe it because it was so good. I was unsure of the Fairway 305 when I first saw it because it only had seven blades and no groomers, but it cut better than our mower that had groomers and 11 blades.

“We were looking for a simple machine with a better quality of cut and higher capacity. We had demos of four other mowers but the 2.94m cutting width, cut quality and simplicity of the 305 really impressed us.

“Nicely cut fairways make a course better, but our members, and us as greenkeepers, weren’t happy with the results of our old machine, even when we were mowing three times a week. Now, we as greenkeepers and our members are very happy with our fairways again.”

The success of the 305 stems from its simplicity. It’s a machine that’s built to be reliable and gives operators unsurpassed productivity while providing an unrivalled quality of cut.

This cut quality comes from the five 66cm floating head cutting units that follow all contours and undulations to ensure an even cut on all areas. The floating head system works with the four-wheel-drive – provided as standard – which provides greater traction and causes reduced turf compaction.

Productivity is increased across the machine in several areas, including the cutting units that don’t require any tools to adjust the reel to bedknife. Quick changes from collection to rear discharge can be easily made using the adjustable grass discharge section, and for prolonged use, the radiator pack and hood have been optimised to increase airflow in hot, dusty conditions, preventing downtime due to overheating.

Because of the increased productivity of the 305, operators spend less time cutting the course, but operator comfort remains a priority. An arm-rest mounted joystick is used for all mower lift and lower functions, and a deluxe adjustable high-back suspension seat has been fitted for optimum operator comfort.

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Hole in one at BTME for Sherriff

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Hole in one at BTME for Sherriff: Sherriff Amenity will be on Stand 164 in the Blue Zone at BTME 2020 and visitors can look forward to new product information, refreshments and will also be able test their golfing skills on the putting green.

Visitors will be able to pick up a copy of the recently launched 2020 product brochure – which features an all-encompassing range of products for turf managers.

Hole in one at BTME for Sherriff

As the industry leading supplier of professional products and specialist advice, Sherriff Amenity has an extensive range of products and solutions which are trusted by turf managers throughout the UK and beyond.

The new 2020 brochure contains in-depth information on the complete range of products which includes granular fertilisers such as the Marathon range and Evolution range; liquid and soluble fertilisers such the E2 Pro range and iNTrench range, wetting agents featuring the highly regarded Aqua-Zorb; herbicides, fungicides, grass seed and much, much more.

The brochure will also contain valuable advice on how to get the best results from the products, including recommended period of use, directions for use and application rates.

Sherriff Amenity’s established team of BASIS qualified Amenity Specialists, will be on hand throughout the event to provide professional technical advice and recommendations based on each customer’s specific requirements.

On the stand, why not also grab a much-needed coffee from the barista team and go for glory on the putting green?

For further information, please contact Sherriff Amenity on 01638 721 888 or visit www.sherriffamenity.com

For more news and insightful views, you can follow Sherriff Amenity on Twitter @SherriffAmenity.

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Toro a driving force at The Drift

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Toro a driving force at The Drift: The Drift Golf Club in Surrey has continued its investment in Toro as it embarks on a £1 million project to bring in new facilities and continue the improvement in the course seen over recent years.

In an enduring relationship with Toro, the club has purchased some equipment to run alongside its Toro lease deal, citing the brand’s quality and longevity.

Toro a driving force at The Drift

Course manager Mark Ogden says: “We see the value in both leasing and purchasing Toro. With a lease deal we can spread our budget across the year and upgrading to new machines every five years decreases the maintenance time needed and ensures the best quality cut at all times.

“I’ve always been a big fan of Toro as the quality of their machines is clear. We’re so confident with the quality and robustness of the Toro machines we bought some equipment alongside the lease deal, so we’re in a win-win situation.”

The new fleet comes at a prime time for The Drift, with the course undergoing extensive improvements and developments, as Mark explains: “We’ve just started work on our driving range, which is a £1 million project to bring in new facilities, and part of a wider plan to improve the course. Having new Toro machinery is a large part of that process. Ensuring we have high quality equipment to keep up with the maintenance of the improved course is vital.”

With a Groundsmaster 4300-D, two Greensmaster TriFlex 3400 mowers, two Reelmaster 5610-D mowers and two Workman MDX-D utility vehicles, it’s a fleet more than capable of not only maintaining but also improving the impressive 18-hole championship course.

“Most of these machines are like-for-like upgrades,” says Mark. “Which is great for us because it means the whole team is familiar with them. We’ve also brought in two new Toro Greensmaster TriFlex 3400 machines for the tees and approaches and we’re already seeing a huge difference in both the aesthetics and quality of the playing surface.”

Mark concludes by saying: “The course has really flourished recently with a growing membership to prove it. Having Toro on board keeps the team and our members safe in the knowledge the course will be maintained to a consistently high standard.”

And with Toro clearly more than worth the investment, the owner of The Drift has also chosen Toro for its second club – Badgemore Park Golf Club in Oxfordshire!

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Mansfield Sand head to BTME

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Mansfield Sand head to BTME: Mansfield Sand will feature a wide range of innovative products for sports, landscaping and equestrian uses on Stand 126 in the Blue Zone at BTME 2020.

Pioneers in the development and production of premium quality silica sand-based products for over 170 years, Mansfield Sand is the market leader in supplying to some of the most prestigious sporting venues across the UK and Europe.

Mansfield Sand head to BTME

Here is a taster of just some of the products that could well make a significant improvement to your turf.

Mansil Silica Sand Sports Range

Sourced from the company’s Two Oaks Quarry in Mansfield where the Mansil range of Silica Sands is produced. These products are predominantly used in the construction and maintenance of a wide range of sports surfaces – from winter sports pitches, golf courses, bowling greens and all amenity turf areas.

Top Dressing

Produced for the fine turf market, Mansfield Sand’s Soil Top Dressing is a manufactured homogenous product made from their own premium silica sands combined with top quality soils. All passed through a sterilising unit, over a 3mm screen to produce an easy to spread, stone and pebble free dressing. Mansfield Sand can also produce bespoke dressing blends and combine soil amendments into any product.

Sand Soil Rootzones

Mansfield Sand understands exactly what is needed to achieve the surface that turf managers require week-in-week-out and that is why their rootzones contain only the best quality materials to meet that demand. For renovation or construction, the company’s superior rootzone blend Mansil 40 Silica Sand with a quality screened topsoil, guarantees the perfect start.

Sand Compost Rootzones

A range of premium quality sand organic material blends which are perfect for creating a rootzone where an organic rich material is required within the profile, aiding in the retention of nutrients whilst providing increased drought resistance.

Reinforced Rootzone

A range of reinforced rootzones developed to obtain greater use from natural turf surfaces whilst maintaining the high standards demanded by today’s sports industry and meeting the expectations of ground staff at all levels. Mansfield Sand’s reinforcement technology provides stability and durability to all sand dominated rootzones allowing the pitch to remain free draining and consistent over the whole surface.

Products include Fibre Reinforced Rootzone – reinforced with polypropylene fibres; Fibrelastic Rootzone – reinforced with polypropylene fibres and flexible elastane fibres and Fibresand – particularly advantageous when grass cover has been reduced due to heavy usage and wear during the winter period.

This is just a snapshot of what visitors can expect from Mansfield Sand at BTME 2020. If you are involved in groundscare, sports turf, amenities, estates or green-space management, then ensure that a trip to Stand 126 in the Blue Zone is on your BTME 2020 agenda.

For more information visit www.mansfield-sand.co.uk

You can also follow Mansfield Sand on Twitter – @MansfieldSand

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