Sherriff taking Bovey Castle back to the top

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Sherriff taking Bovey Castle back to the top: Scott Duff, head greenkeeper at Bovey Castle in Devon, is using a range of Sherriff Amenity products to help the club get back into the Top 100 Golf Courses.

Designed in 1926 by J F Abercromby, one of the finest British golf course designers of the last century, Bovey Castle’s 18 hole championship golf course is challenging and surrounded by the natural beauty of the Dartmoor.

Sherriff taking Bovey Castle back to the top

Scott, who has been at Bovey Castle for four years, started his turf career in football at Torquay United FC before switching to greenkeeping. He admits that it was somewhat of a challenging transition but claims that he has no regrets.

“When I was in football groundsmanship, I had always wanted to try greenkeeping but to be honest I was always worried that I would be out of my depth,” he said. “I went from looking after just one surface which had a fairly consistent maintenance regime to suddenly looking after a multitude of different areas – each with their own requirements. It was the biggest challenge in my career but also the best because I can confidently say that I love my job.”

Scott excelled in his new role and was rewarded two years ago when he was promoted to the position of head greenkeeper. Now, alongside Sean Bennett – course manager, the two of them have a very clear goal.

“We are a championship course which used to be in the top 100 but not anymore unfortunately. Quite simply our goal is to get back in there. I think with Sean’s knowledge of managing a course, his drive and his passion, along with the improvements he wants to make, I think it is very realistic.

“We are not a million miles away but we still have a lot of work to do and with people like David Chammings from Sherriff Amenity on-board then this will only boost our chances. David has really changed the way we approach our feed programmes and also some of the work we do out on the course because he draws up management plans which concentrate on what we should be doing throughout certain periods of the year.”

After consultation, David recommended a tank mixture consisting of iNTrench fertiliser 15.0.9 and GoGreen Energy bio-stimulant for the greens – two products which perfectly complement one another.

iNTrench is a controlled uptake nitrogen fertiliser designed specifically for the needs of professional sports turf. It gives up to ten weeks of improved blade colour and a higher quality turf with 66% the nitrogen rate of leading competitors. Its tank-mix partner, GoGreen Energy, is a concentrated bio-stimulant, formulated to assist plant health and relieve stress symptoms.

“Every course is different and you have to work out what is best for your site,” said Scott. “With iNTrench and GoGreen, we find that if we go at half rate (20 l/ha) every two weeks, then the greens seem to hold the nutrients a lot better. By applying it like this we notice healthier greens and also better longevity out of the products. This tank-mix has worked really well for us and there has been a big improvement in the greens.

“In fact, we also use this mix with the addition of seaweed on our tees if they need some instant colour-up.”

Scott also reported excellent results from Sherriff Amenity’s Aqua-Zorb 45 – a unique wetting agent, which helped him through a somewhat difficult summer last year.

“Last year, Aqua-Zorb was a real saviour for us. I would say that at least 90% of courses in the UK would say that the disease period for golf was horrendous last year and a good wetting agent could have saved money on fungicides and relieved the drought stress.

“We had such intense heat last year and Aqua-Zorb still worked incredibly well considering we were frequently seeing temperatures of 30°C plus.

“I feel we have been going through a massive transition period and this year we will see even more improvements to the course. The Sherriff Amenity products have played a big role in the success over the past couple of years and I can’t fault the service from David whatsoever.”

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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AMS Contractors Invest in Shelton Universal

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AMS Contractors Invest in Shelton Universal: Chichester based AMS Contractors Ltd were the first to invest in the latest machine from Lincolnshire based drainage experts Shelton Drainage Ltd after a visit to the BTME in January where Shelton launched the machine onto the market.

The 6 Tonne Universal Sand and Gravel Hopper has been designed to give the ability to backfill either gravel or sand at the flick of a switch, therefore reducing manual handling of the hoppers and giving improved efficiencies as the backfilling operation is much quicker and can keep up with the trencher, reducing downtime.

AMS Contractors Invest in Shelton Universal

AMS Contracting offer a range of service in the amenity, groundworks and landscaping sector and already had a Shelton 3 Tonne Fast Flow in their fleet prior to purchase. AMS Director Myles Strange explained why they chose to invest and how the machine is performing: “We were looking for a machine that would allow us to do as many jobs as possible using one operator and one tractor, allowing us to reduce haulage and machinery costs associated with each job. Every job is different, you never know when you can backfill behind the trencher or use the central feed hopper following behind, so having a machine that does both was a no brainer! The machine also doubles up as a material handler which is very helpful with secondary drainage jobs. We opted to have the spreaders fitted on the back of ours which worked very well. We were previously using a 3T Fast Flow, which is a great machine on single pitch applications, but longer runs meant more fill ups and did take a bit more time, none the less, it’s great if you don’t have a bigger chassis tractor available. The machine was very easy to use, far more nimble than we expected as it is quite a large machine. The control box is very straightforward, with a lot of fine adjustments so you can get the machine to do exactly as you want. We were very impressed with how easily you could swap between gravel and sand, just one adjustment in the hopper which takes 2 minutes and you’re away. We opted for the sand spinners and stainless hopper extras on our machine.

All of our Shelton products have been excellent and I would recommend to all companies in sportsturf. Richard is always at the end of the phone if you have any questions and is very helpful at all times! This machine cut out a lot of hire, operator and haulage costs and we look forward to doing more business in the future.”

AMS Contractors Invest in Shelton Universal

The unique design of the Universal means customers can choose from a number of different combinations: A stand alone Universal base unit or with the addition of any or all of the following options: A Gravel Cart (Side Discharge Unit), Sand Spreader or 6 Tonne Fast Flow (Centre Fill Unit).

Shelton will be on stand B112 with the Universal Sand and Gravel Hopper at IOG SALTEX.

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AGS awarded ISO 9001 accreditation

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AGS awarded ISO 9001 accreditation: Advance Grass Solutions Ltd is pleased to announce it has recently been awarded ISO 9001 accreditation.  Certified by UKAS, the new 2015 standard places significantly higher requirements on companies than previous versions of the standard.

ISO certification is based on international quality management principles including strong customer focus, motivation and implication of top management, the process approach, and continual improvement and review. The goal is to ensure customers receive consistently high quality products, support and services.

AGS awarded ISO 9001 accreditation

“Being ISO certified means our customers can have confidence AGS is committed to quality and outstanding customer service” says Jamie Bennett. CEO “We are extremely proud of our team and their efforts to attain the ISO 9001 certification. It means that quality is not just a concept, but a reality and proves that we don’t just talk about quality, we live by it every day.”

Sam Honeyborne. MD added “The decision to certify AGS once again underlines our positioning as a premium supplier and certification reflects our commitment to our customers.”

Accreditation lasts for 3 years with annual audits. AGS is committed to delivering continuous improvement and ultimately providing our customers with an outstanding level of service and support.

For more information on AGS or to enquire about ongoing opportunities to join the team  please call 01183-914540 or email info@advancegrass.com.

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SISIS the choice for Warwick School

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SISIS the choice for Warwick School: Duncan Toon, Grounds Manager at Warwick Independent Schools Foundation, believes that both his new SISIS Flexibrush and SISIS TM1000 have helped produce significant improvements to the schools’ sports surfaces.

Duncan is nine months into his new position after joining the Foundation from Birmingham City FC and is responsible for the grounds at Warwick School, Warwick Junior School, King’s High School and Warwick Preparatory School – which all fall under the Warwick Independent Schools Foundation umbrella.

SISIS the choice for Warwick School

The schools are justly proud of their sporting success, including national awards, and ability to provide all its pupils the opportunity to play their chosen sport.  Essential to their achievements are high quality and well-maintained sports pitches.  The appointment of Duncan was part of the Foundation’s commitment to improve the grounds at its schools, alongside making additional investment in its grounds equipment.

“We have a great team in place now and we have started to build a fantastic line-up of maintenance equipment. Personally, I was looking for reliable and trusted machinery and that is why I chose the SISIS Flexibrush and the SISIS TM1000,” Duncan said.

The SISIS Flexibrush is a tractor-mounted brush which is equally effective at dispersing top dressing, removing excess material on natural turf and synthetic surfaces, dew dispersal and improving 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.

“For us it has eliminated the previously time-consuming task of dew removal,” said Duncan. “Everything gets a bit hectic here on a school day but the Flexibrush gives us a big head start because we can start nice and early at 7am and knock all the dew off the grass before the children start classes. It has helped us to reduce disease and I also use it for presentation.”

The SISIS Rotorake TM1000 is a tractor-mounted heavy-duty scarifier and linear aerator and is unrivalled when it comes to removing and controlling thatch. It includes a collector box and floating unit to follow ground contours and its contra-rotating reel throws debris forward ensuring a clean, consistent groove resulting in an excellent finish. The TM1000 also features interchangeable blades and a quick, simple depth setting without tools.

“We mainly bought the TM1000 for in-house cricket renovations but it is also used for regular maintenance work on the squares,” Duncan explained. “It is great for verticutting and we also have the 2mm scarifying removal reel and the brush reel which we use for cleaning up. It is such a simple, yet effective piece of equipment – in fact I would say it is a must-have tool for any groundsman to have in their 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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Matrax Pens Deal with Mercedes-Benz Stadium

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Matrax Pens Deal with Mercedes-Benz Stadium: 2019’s Sports Facility of the Year closes on the acquisition of a 108,150 square foot Matrax heavy duty turf protection event flooring system

Mercedes-Benz Stadium is a sports and entertainment stadium located in the heart of Atlanta, Georgia that serves as the official home to NFL’s Atlanta Falcons and MLS’ Atlanta United. In 2019, the stadium was named Sports Facility of the Year at the annual Sports Business Awards and was also named Facility of the Year at the World Football Summit this past September in Madrid. The stadium is host to a wide array of major sporting and non-sporting events including Super Bowl LIII, the college football national championship, the 2018 MLS Cup and MLS All-Star game and will play host to the Men’s NCAA Final Four in April of 2020. Over the years, the stadium has hosted major music artists such as Garth Brooks, Kenny Chesney, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, and Ed Sheeran.  Most recently, the venue was host to George Strait, joined by musical guests Christ Stapleton, Chris Janson, and Ashley McBryde.

Matrax Pens Deal with Mercedes-Benz Stadium

As the intensity and frequency of non-sporting events continues to increase at stadium venues like Mercedes-Benz Stadium, there is greater demand to ensure the playing surface is protected from heavy loads and vehicular traffic.  Where other field covering systems are designed from a flooring perspective, Matrax was engineered with temporary road building and heavy vehicular traffic in mind.

To meet the increasing operational demands, an official request for proposal was issued by the stadium in July 2019 seeking 108,150 square feet of heavy duty, drivable flooring. Additionally, Matrax was able to broker the re-sale of the depreciated asset, thus offering additional value to the RFP process.

“As a world class venue, we hold all of our vendors to the highest standard. Matrax was selected for its proven track record of superior field performance and durability. Matrax is a solid investment for our operations and will be an integral component to our success on the field during these non-sporting events.”  David Duernberger, Director of Stadium Operations, Mercedes-Benz Stadium

The first deployment of the new Matrax 4×4 HD system will occur in early November 2019 to support an epic weekend of live music to include musical artists Keith Urban, Blake Shelton, Sam Hunt, Sugarland, Judah & the Lion, Cale Dodds, Eric Church, Luke Combs, Brothers Osborne, and Caylee Hammack.

Matrax has become the system of choice by many industry professionals and has been utilized at countless notable venues worldwide including but not limited to Banc of California Stadium, Petco Park, Fenway Park, Yankee Stadium, San Siro Stadium, MetLife Stadium, and Gillette Stadium.

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