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Mega Twister blows in new era

August 12, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Val Graham

Mega Twister blows in new era: Buchanan Castle Golf Club, at Drymen, is within touching distance of Loch Lomond. Twenty miles from both Glasgow and Stirling, the parkland course, designed by the legendary James Braid, lies in the foothills of the Scottish Highlands. At the start of summer, Buchanan Castle’s well known head greenkeeper, Ronnie […]

Overmarking accuracy makes the difference

August 12, 2022/in News, Press Release/by CharmianRobson

Overmarking accuracy makes the difference: Five minutes into a demo of the Turf Tank One, Haileybury School Grounds Manager, Andy Richards, knew he needed one. Andy, who has been at the private school for three years, was sceptical about the overmarking ability of the robot, having looked at alternatives over a three-year period. But, the […]

Mega Twister blows in new era

August 12, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Val Graham

Overmarking accuracy makes the difference

August 12, 2022/in News, Press Release/by CharmianRobson

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Mega Twister blows in new era

August 12, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Val Graham

Mega Twister blows in new era: Buchanan Castle Golf Club, at Drymen, is within touching distance of Loch Lomond. Twenty miles from both Glasgow and Stirling, the parkland course, designed by the legendary James Braid, lies in the foothills of the Scottish Highlands.

At the start of summer, Buchanan Castle’s well known head greenkeeper, Ronnie Myles, retired after 15 years, and his role has been taken up by two joint Head Greenkeepers, Chris Prior and James Macdonald.

Mega Twister blows in new era

Chris and James have been with the club for 3 years and 4 years, respectively. They share a commitment to present the best course they can for members and visitors all year round.

“Communication is key and, so far, we’re into a good system,” said Chris. “We discuss and agree priorities and projects well ahead. Every morning, first thing, we confirm that day’s tasks.”

“We know what the other is working on,” continued James. “When things change, we keep in touch.”

One of their first decisions was the purchase of a Wiedenmann Mega Twister blower from Scottish dealer, Fairways GM at Inchinnan, Renfrew, when their existing blower started to fail. The Mega Twister offers a 390 m³/minute capacity and a 230° swivel action.

Buchanan Castle’s team of five normally cut grass across the whole course on Mondays and Thursdays during the season, using a blower to tidy loose clippings from the surface.

“This blower has everything we were looking for,” said James. “It’s turning circle comes in very handy. Getting in and around greens and bunkers is a whole lot easier. With our earlier blower you had to drive over greens to blow cuttings and debris out of play. This has extra power, in-cab hydraulic controls and easy rotation. You can park up in one spot yet still achieve more. Making fewer tractor movements ultimately is kinder to the turf and quicker. The Mega Twister has been here less than a fortnight but already we are saving lots of time on the fairways alone.”

The Mega Twister is the second Wiedenmann machine in the club’s fleet.

“Last season, we purchased a Super 500 primarily for leaf collection,” continued Chris. “When you have as many leaves as we do, there comes a point where collecting them is the only way. Last year the old blower blew leaves into sections and the Super 500 lifted them. That made a real difference. Come this autumn when the leaves start to fall, the Mega Twister and the Super 500 combined, will make the whole operation easier and faster still.”

Fairways GM’s Stuart Cameron, said: “The continuous airflow on the Mega Twister is powerful enough to shift leaves and debris effectively across wide areas, even while damp.

“With the hydraulic ram option, the operator in the cab can adjust the nozzle height up and down as well as from side to side, letting you react to conditions. With all that swivel going on there’s no need to back up or stop. The goose neck nozzle which Chris and James chose, provides even more precision. The support wheels also protect the turf. It’s a topflight blower.”

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Overmarking accuracy makes the difference

August 12, 2022/in News, Press Release/by CharmianRobson

Overmarking accuracy makes the difference: Five minutes into a demo of the Turf Tank One, Haileybury School Grounds Manager, Andy Richards, knew he needed one.

Andy, who has been at the private school for three years, was sceptical about the overmarking ability of the robot, having looked at alternatives over a three-year period. But, the accuracy, quality of the lines and undulation capabilities sold it to him.

Overmarking accuracy makes the difference

With 20 sports pitches split between football, rugby and lacrosse to mark and athletics in the summer, Andy’s primary focus was initial marking. During renovations and changeovers between sports, he found his skilled groundsmen were removed from crucial maintenance for up to two weeks.

To combat that, he had to become over reliant on using contractors. This became a costly exercise and was not as flexible as determining your own pitch line-marking schedule. So, when Andy weighed up the costs for the initial marking against having the accuracy of the Turf Tank One all year round for consistent and regular over-marking, the robot more than justified itself.

“My main concern has always been overmarking because I never thought GPS robots were accurate enough to overmark. So, when we had the demo from Turf Tank, overmarking was the major thing.

“To be honest, because I’d seen so many other GPS markers, either push ones or robots, I was sceptical. But we within five minutes of seeing the Turf Tank in action on the demo, I said I’d buy it because I was so impressed with the quality and precision of the line.

“I’ve used laser markers in the past, and I genuinely thought we’d still use one on our first team rugby and football pitch. But it would be hard for most people to tell the difference between the two, which has been a massive eye opener for me.”

For Andy, utilising the Turf Tank One is also a direct response to the skilled labour shortage in the turf industry, and it was a primary consideration of the school when weighing up their decision.

“Skilled labour is difficult to get, and line marking is a technical job. So, in some ways, that is what got it over the line with the Bursar because we are short staffed, it’s hard to get labour, and it’s hard to get skilled labour.

“To take out one of your most skilled jobs and give it to a robot is almost a no brainer. I’ve got someone now from a different field of expertise, but very keen to learn, and we can now send him out with the robot, and within two hours, he can mark out a running track, a lacrosse pitch, discus, javelin and shotput before break time. And it’s done accurately and perfectly, and it’s just unbelievable because it would have taken one or even two skilled groundsmen until lunchtime. Now I can use their skills and time to improve other areas of our maintenance programme.”

Since receiving their robot in December 2021, Haileybury has seen the full benefit. For example, marking six rugby pitches has gone from taking three people over two days to one person in two hours. Likewise, facilitating a last-minute request for a lacrosse pitch took 15 minutes to line, whereas before, it wouldn’t have happened.

These advantages, along with the service from Turf Tank’s Alex Robinson and Liam Pindred, have led Andy to give some simple advice to anyone considering GPS line marking: “Buy a Turf Tank. I honestly can’t see a downside of it.”

For more information on the Turf Tank One or to have a demonstration contact alex@turftank.co.uk (southern UK) or matt@turftank.co.uk (northern UK).

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.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

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)

Mega Twister blows in new era

Overmarking accuracy makes the difference

Mega Twister blows in new era

Overmarking accuracy makes the difference

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Mega Twister blows in new era

Mega Twister blows in new era: Buchanan Castle Golf Club, at Drymen, is within touching distance of Loch Lomond. Twenty miles from both Glasgow and Stirling, the parkland course, designed by the legendary James Braid, lies in the foothills of the Scottish Highlands.

Overmarking accuracy makes the difference

Overmarking accuracy makes the difference: Five minutes into a demo of the Turf Tank One, Haileybury School Grounds Manager, Andy Richards, knew he needed one.

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