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‘Top notch’ says super at Echo Valley

December 6, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Adam Lawrence

‘Top notch’ says super at Echo Valley: The Echo Valley Country Club has just completed installing the Capillary Bunkers liner on all of its 27 holes, and head superintendent Ryan Lux says he is delighted with the results. Echo Valley was founded in the 1960s, and its initial eighteen holes were designed by architect Larry […]

New digital Turfgrass Seed guide launched

December 6, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Sarah Allin

New digital Turfgrass Seed guide launched: The British Society of Plant Breeders (BSPB) has launched a new digital version of its Turfgrass Seed guide. The annually produced guide will continue to be printed. However, to reduce the reliance on paper and make the information in-guide more widely available, a new section has been added to […]

‘Top notch’ says super at Echo Valley

December 6, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Adam Lawrence

New digital Turfgrass Seed guide launched

December 6, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Sarah Allin

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‘Top notch’ says super at Echo Valley

December 6, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Adam Lawrence

‘Top notch’ says super at Echo Valley: The Echo Valley Country Club has just completed installing the Capillary Bunkers liner on all of its 27 holes, and head superintendent Ryan Lux says he is delighted with the results.

Echo Valley was founded in the 1960s, and its initial eighteen holes were designed by architect Larry Packard. More recently, North Carolina-based architect Rick Robbins added the Ridge nine. But, according to Lux, the time had come to pay some attention to the course’s bunkers.

‘Top notch’ says super at Echo Valley

“Before we started this project, we had 76 bunkers on the property and maybe five per cent of them drained properly,” says. “It wasn’t the actual drainage tile – that was working fine – but layers of sand and silt were preventing the water getting into the drains in the first place. I had done some digging in our older bunkers, and the layering of silt, contamination and other stuff was obvious. Our labour costs were excrutiatingly high and it would take eight or nine guys three days to get the course back into condition after a significant weather event.”

Lux and the club management concluded that a bunker renovation, and the installation of a modern liner system, was needed, and after a review of the market, selected the Capillary Bunkers liner technology. “We figured our best bet was to do something that would last, and we really liked the ten year warranty that Capillary Bunkers offers – it gave us a lot of confidence in the technology,” he says. “Through talking with other people, we found that there were very few problems that people had had with it. We wanted it to be top-notch. We were going with the best sand we could find and we didn’t want contamination.”

The first nine holes, the Vale, was completed in October 2021. The second nine, the newer Ridge, started construction late this April and was done by mid-July. On the final nine, the Creek, Lux and his team decided to rebuild the bunkers completely; the work began in July and finished in October.

“Since doing the work, the improvement is huge, and obvious,” he says. “Before, the washing we were getting was just terrible. The worst weather we have had since has been three inches of rain in about nineteen house, and what I have seen is that we’re not repairing bunkers any more. Now, one guy can go out and it’s a half hour job to fix the bunkers. The liner system will pay itself over the life of the ten year guarantee, easily.”

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New digital Turfgrass Seed guide launched

December 6, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Sarah Allin

New digital Turfgrass Seed guide launched: The British Society of Plant Breeders (BSPB) has launched a new digital version of its Turfgrass Seed guide. The annually produced guide will continue to be printed. However, to reduce the reliance on paper and make the information in-guide more widely available, a new section has been added to the BSPB website.

Commenting on the move, BSPB technical manager Jeremy Widdowson said:

“This is the first time the Turfgrass Seed guide has been published fully on an interactive platform to offer greater accessibility for all UK users.”

New digital Turfgrass Seed guide launched

The first guide was published in November 1976 and the following year it gained the title ‘Buying Turfgrass Seed’ which has since been simplified. Turfgrass Seed 2023 includes data and information to help guide seed choice for the amenity and sports grass sector. The information in the guide is largely provided from trials carried out by the Sports Turf Research Institute (STRI) to an agreed protocol.

“Trials conducted at Bingley, West Yorkshire, by STRI help to identify the characteristics of different cultivars. The guide reflects this by using parameters such as shoot density, recovery, colour and visual merit to help decision-making for pitch care, ground care and amenity professionals,” added Mr Widdowson.

It is hoped, by publishing the data and advice on the BSPB website, that more people in the industry will benefit from its content. Mr Widdowson was also keen to emphasise the environmental benefits of offering the guide in both digital and printed forms:

“BSPB is reducing its reliance on paper-based methods of communication and the Turfgrass Seed guide is another example where our operating practices can be made more sustainable. A little over 5000 copies will still be printed. However, this number may start to reduce in future years as users choose to access content digitally and minimise the environmental impact of producing guides like this.”

The Turfgrass Seed guide can be viewed at www.bspb.co.uk/turfgrass-list

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

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You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

‘Top notch’ says super at Echo Valley

New digital Turfgrass Seed guide launched

‘Top notch’ says super at Echo Valley

New digital Turfgrass Seed guide launched

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

‘Top notch’ says super at Echo Valley

‘Top notch’ says super at Echo Valley: The Echo Valley Country Club has just completed installing the Capillary Bunkers liner on all of its 27 holes, and head superintendent Ryan Lux says he is delighted with the results.

New digital Turfgrass Seed guide launched

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