Vandals Rip Up Furness GC

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Vandals Rip Up Furness GC: Golfers have called on the community to ‘grass up’ the mindless vandals who caused a ‘hole’ lot of damage on their course.

Over the last two decades officials at Furness Golf Club on Walney have had to contend with regular incidents of criminal damage on the greens.

These have ranged from someone using a pitchfork to leave a trail of holes across the course to fires being started in the gorse.

As a result the club has had to fork out thousands of pounds on repairs with the greenkeeper’s time spent painstakingly fixing the divots.

Greens chairman Jon Clarke said the club hopes the community will keep a close eye out for any culprits after the latest incident this week where wedges of turf had been pulled from the green.

“I can’t see what anyone would get out of it; it’s completely mindless and senseless,” he said.

“It’s been going on for the last 15 or 20 years; every year there’s been at least 10 examples of vandalism.

“We had one where it looked like somebody had gone across the green and used a pitchfork to put holes all over the place.

“Just four weeks ago the gorse was set on fire and it took 48 hours to put out. That’s not just a drain on our resources but also for the police and fire.”

Club members have spent hundreds of hours repairing the damage which also impacts on them indirectly through increased membership fees.

“It’s incredibly frustrating because all golf courses now are struggling to keep going and it is our members who end up having to pay for the repairs because we need to recoup the costs somehow,” Mr Clarke added.

Over the years club officials estimate they have spent half a million pounds repairing damage caused by vandals.

Every year maintenance of the course costs around £250,000.

Barrow Police have confirmed they are investigating reports of vandalism to the golf course.

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GM3 At West Herts 50 Years On

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GM3 At West Herts 50 Years On: The first Toro Greensmaster 3 ride-on mower was sold to the West Herts Golf Club in Hertfordshire in 1969. And fifty years later the GM3 is back at the club where it all began, united with the person who sold it all those years ago.

Rochelle Bedford, marketing manager at Reesink Turfcare, the sole Toro distributor in the UK for golf and sports fields equipment and irrigation products, says: “As Toro celebrates its centennial milestone serving the golf industry across the world, it encouraged us to look back at how it all began for Toro in the UK.

Andy Smith – Course Manager and John Cockburn – (former) Oliver Landpower

 

“We discovered that the very first GM3 sold in the UK was still going 50 years later! Also uncovered was the club that bought the machine and who sold it!”

The person in question, John Cockburn, tells us how it all came about: “I was working for Flymo in 1968 when I was told we’d be receiving a prototype of a new machine to trial and debut at a three-day exhibition in Meyrick Park in Bournemouth. That machine was the Toro Greensmaster 3.

“I was working with two demonstrators, Graham Pooley and Geoff Urquhart, at the time and seeing as none of us had used the machine, we decided to ask Meyrick Park Golf Club, which neighboured the exhibition centre, if we could trial the machine there. They kindly said yes, so early in the morning of the first day of the show we cut all the greens at the club to see how the machine performed.

“We were all really impressed, and with a better knowledge of how well the machine worked we cleaned it down and returned it to our show stand. We were able to demonstrate the machine with more confidence and got good feedback from customers.”

And it was this positive response which led to Flymo ordering 14 machines when they launched, the first of which John promptly installed at West Herts Golf Club. Many things have changed over the years, but there are some constants. Installation training upon delivery and the brand’s reputation for producing long-lasting, reliable mowers to name just a couple.

John says: “The machines proved to be extremely reliable, doing a first-class job and quickly building up a good reputation. We easily sold all 14 of the GM3 mowers in that first year, along with others that followed.”

Andy Smith, course manager at West Herts Golf Club since 1993, says it was a ‘blast from the past’ having the GM3 back at the club: “Seeing the GM3 really took me back to how things used to be. West Herts is a Toro club through and through. From the very beginning it recognised the quality of Toro and all these years later, we still consider it to be the brand to be beaten.”

In the early-80s Lely UK, as now Reesink, took over the distribution of Toro and what has built up since is a reputation centered on reliability, durability and support, says David Cole, managing director of Reesink.

“The Toro Greensmaster 3 was an innovative ride-on product born from Toro’s established golf focus and it projected the brand into the UK as a producer of high quality, innovative golf equipment. Since then a mutual trust has developed between our customers, us as distributor and Toro which can be truly viewed as a partnership. We’re extremely proud to have represented Toro and its product values for so many years and we thank our UK golf customers for their long-standing loyalty, confidence and trust.”

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Ernest Doe Acquire Bartram Mowers

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Ernest Doe Acquire Bartram Mowers: Ernest Doe & Sons Ltd has purchased the business of Bartram Mowers.

Mark Bartram approached Ernest Doe to buy the Bartram Mowers business following notification that Ransomes Jacobsen were expanding Ernest Doe’s territory for their franchise to incorporate Suffolk and Norfolk.

Ernest Doe Acquire Bartram Mowers

Ernest Doe’s Managing Director, Colin Doe, said:

“The Bartram Mowers business is a good fit for Ernest Doe. We have three branches in Norfolk and three in Suffolk from which to support customers in the area. The Bartram Ipswich depot has moved to our Framlingham branch today, but we will trade from Bartram’s Norwich site for three months before moving it to our North Walsham branch.”

As part of the deal, Ernest Doe has also acquired Bartram’s established lawnmowersdirect e-commerce platform.
Colin Doe commented further:

“With our network of established branches in Norfolk and Suffolk, we are focussed on building on the high level of service Bartram have provided to their customers and are looking forward to fresh challenges as we enter this exciting new phase of our business.”

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PSD’s Landscaping Solutions At SALTEX

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PSD’s Landscaping Solutions At SALTEX: PSD Groundscare are giving visitors to Saltex the opportunity to view a fantastic range of innovative, time-saving solutions to assist with a host of landscaping requirements including the launch of the next evolution in green waste shredding from innovative Belgium manufacturer Eliet, that follows the proven Eliet shredding principle and gives improved functionality and performance.

From the management of long grass and banks mowing, general turf care or the disposal of green waste from the maintenance of trees and hedges, the PSD range of niche specialist landscaping equipment has an unrivalled range of products, all designed to improve productivity and performance in a multitude of grounds maintenance and turf care operations.

PSD's Landscaping Solutions At SALTEX

Showcasing on the stand will be a range of high-quality machinery to manage the challenge of long grass and banks mowing including the New Taurus 2-wheel tractor with optional remote control functionality from innovative German manufacturer Koppl. This addition to the range is popular with local authorities and contractors and is capable of operating on slopes up to 120% (50°) and is equipped with the Köppl Easy-Drive as standard. A new feature is the finger joystick control on the handlebar, which can be used to conveniently (both forwards and backwards) control the shift of the implement’s centre of gravity.

Visitors will also be able to view the AS Motor AS 1040 Yak ride-on flail mower with benefits including a flail rotor drive which diminishes the need for path overlap and guarantees high work rates, reaching 6,800 m²/h and, making it a highly efficient alternative to traditional rotary mowing.

For efficient lawn and turfcare maintenance, PSD will showcase a number of machines that expands the Eliet range; including the Turfaway 600 turf cutter, which is highly effective for major lawn renovation and complete reconstruction. Its’ unique concept allows the user to quickly loosen a complete layer of turf with precision, in to 60 cm wide sods. In addition, visitors will be able to view the new Eliet self-propelled C550 scarifier, with a collection feature which gathers discarded material into narrow rows for easy disposal, reducing the cleaning-up process time by 50% and the DZC600 Pedestrian overseeder which is fast becoming the machine of choice of groundsmen and contractors when renovating sports turf or ornamental lawns.

PSD also offer a comprehensive range of debris clearance machinery including the lightweight and agile AS30 E battery powered weedbrush from AS Motor, a timesaver when it comes to removing weeds on uneven surfaces such as cobblestones, along walls and kerb stones, and in narrow areas. With a quiet rechargeable battery drive, the machine is highly effective in residential areas and hospitals, where noise can be a concern.

PSD also offer a range of innovative green waste shredders, capable for dealing with material up to 6 inch with wheeled, tracked and trailed models.

Chris Gibson (Managing Director) of PSD Groundscare said:

“We are exceptionally excited about our attendance at Saltex this year, and we are very much looking forward to unveiling our innovative new products. We believe that the new additions to our range will ensure we continue to be able to offer machinery that revolutionise groundscare and maintenance.

“Saltex is the perfect place for the unveiling of the exciting new machine from Eliet, as it is arguably the industry’s show stopper event. It’s part of our ethos to speak to our customers face-to-face wherever possible and with over 8,000 attendees expected, it will be the perfect platform to show what PSD Groundscare has to offer”.

PSD Groundscare will be exhibiting on stand G120

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Toro Joins PGA Partnership Network

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Toro Joins PGA Partnership Network: The Toro Company has further strengthened its relationship with The PGA after agreeing to become a PGA Partner in a milestone year for the American company.

Toro first entered the golf equipment business 100 years ago with a mower designed to maintain the fairways at The Minikahda Club in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Today, the U.S.-based company has cemented itself as one of the world’s leading brands of turf and landscape maintenance equipment.

Toro Joins PGA Partnership Network

Toro now has professional distributors, dealers and retailers in more than 125 countries, and offers a wide range of products for the golf course market. The company’s products are currently being used around the world at notable facilities such as Carnoustie Golf Links, St Andrews Links, Torrey Pines Golf Course and Pinehurst Resort.

As part of the agreement, Toro will look to establish relationships with other PGA Partners and PGA Branded Properties to provide solutions that help golf courses maintain healthy turf and outstanding conditions for players.

The partnership will also allow Toro to support The PGA National Training Academy with its educational objectives, providing educational material from key industry experts at the continuing professional development (CPD) and degree level.

Andy Brown, senior sales manager at The Toro Company, commented: “Becoming a PGA Partner is the perfect way to celebrate our landmark 100 years in the golf industry.
“The PGA is at the heart of golf, and we share the same values of integrity and commitment. As a PGA Partner, we are proud to support The PGA in all of its work to advance the game and the success of the industry overall.”

Robert Maxfield, chief executive of The PGA, added: “Toro has been a valued PGA Official Supplier for more than three years, so The PGA is delighted to welcome them on board as a PGA Partner as they celebrate 100 years serving the golf industry.

“Many PGA Members work closely with greenkeeping staff on a day-to-day basis and through Toro, they have a unique opportunity to expand their knowledge base. We look forward to continuing our relationship with one of the most trusted brands in turf landscape and maintenance. We recognise Toro as the leader in their field and the company offers a great service to PGA Members.”

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