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First tournament with synthetic bunkers

August 11, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Adam Lawrence

First tournament with synthetic bunkers: The Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open, which takes place this week on the new Dumbarnie Links course in Fife, will be the first tier one professional event in Europe ever to be played at a venue with synthetic-edged bunkers. Dumbarnie, which was designed by Clive Clark and opened last year […]

It’s Multigreen® magic for W R Sandow

August 10, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Louise Challiss

It’s Multigreen® magic for W R Sandow: Sports turf contractors W R Sandow have come to swear by Multigreen® temperature-controlled release fertiliser from Headland Amenity, to satisfy the nutritional requirements of more than 60 winter sport pitches. The introduction of feeding programmes is a relatively recent addition to the list of services offered by the […]

First tournament with synthetic bunkers

August 11, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Adam Lawrence

It’s Multigreen® magic for W R Sandow

August 10, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Louise Challiss

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

First tournament with synthetic bunkers

August 11, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Adam Lawrence

First tournament with synthetic bunkers: The Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open, which takes place this week on the new Dumbarnie Links course in Fife, will be the first tier one professional event in Europe ever to be played at a venue with synthetic-edged bunkers.

Dumbarnie, which was designed by Clive Clark and opened last year will play host to its first major event as the Ladies European Tour descends on the course as part of a two-week links swing that will be completed by next week’s Women’s British Open at Carnoustie.

First tournament with synthetic bunkers

“Dumbarnie features some really impressive, bold revetted bunker walls, some of which are in the region eight to nine feet high,” says Richard Allen, CEO of EcoBunker Ltd. “Back in 2007 my original aim was to invent a resilient and affordable system for low edge bunkers, but soon I was designing solutions for higher and higher links style bunkers. The change in design parameters prompted me to invent a new construction method, which is now Patent Pending, using a cement modified backfill for increased stiffness and stability. It was the perfect solution for Dumbarnie, and the EcoBunker walls built by our team in 2018 are maturing naturally and beautifully.”

The course’s fairway bunkers are built in a naturalistic style, with a ragged fescue edge, but the majority of bunkers are hard against greens, or surrounded by short grass, and these are fully revetted using EcoBunkerʼs synthetic solution.

Dumbarnie, promoted OB Sports and Landscapes Unlimited, was one of EcoBunker’s first and largest contracting jobs. Construction manager Llewelyn Matthews – like architect Clark a former Walker Cup player – led a five-strong construction crew to build the bunkers, over a eighteen week period.

EcoBunker CEO Richard Allen, the inventor both of synthetic revetting and of the later Ecobunker Advanced method, says: “All our team look back with immense pride on the Dumbarnie job. It was truly the job on which Llew Matthews came of age as one of the world’s best bunker builders, and we are delighted to have played a part in the construction of such a stunning course. To see the world’s leading women professionals playing over the course this week will be wonderful, and I’m prepared to bet that course manager Grahame Taylor will spend less time worrying about his bunkers than most people who are hosting a tournament of this stature.”

Richard Allen, the inventor both of synthetic revetting and of the later Ecobunker Advanced method, adds: “All our team look back with immense pride on the Dumbarnie job. It was truly the job on which Llew Matthews came of age as one of the world’s best bunker builders, and we are delighted to have played a part in the construction of such a stunning course. To see the world’s leading women professionals playing over the course this week will be wonderful, and I’m prepared to bet that course manager Grahame Taylor will spend less time worrying about his bunkers than most people who are hosting a tournament of this stature.”

Architect Clive Clark says: “As the golf course matures, seeds fly into the tiny crevices in the bunker walls, and just like a natural sod bunker, you get grasses in the face that dominate. If 100 golfers played this course, I doubt if five would notice that the bunkers weren’t natural sod.”

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It’s Multigreen® magic for W R Sandow

August 10, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Louise Challiss

It’s Multigreen® magic for W R Sandow: Sports turf contractors W R Sandow have come to swear by Multigreen^® temperature-controlled release fertiliser from Headland Amenity, to satisfy the nutritional requirements of more than 60 winter sport pitches.

The introduction of feeding programmes is a relatively recent addition to the list of services offered by the Cornish contractors, but in a short space of time the consistency of results and superior technical support from the Headland team has really impressed Director Andrew Sandow.

It’s Multigreen® magic for W R Sandow

Established in 1964 and based just outside Penzance, family-run W R Sandow offer the full package when it comes to the construction, installation and maintenance of both natural and artificial playing surfaces. “Until recently, we would go in and do the mechanical maintenance and leave clubs to apply product themselves, but you’d often find that due to time or financial constraints, this wasn’t being done” explains Andrew. “After many discussions and support from the Pitch Advisory Service at The GMA, we began advocating fertiliser programmes based around Headland’s Multigreen^®.”

Multigreen^® features urea or potassium nitrate prills within a permeable polymer-resin coating which only start to release their solubilised nutrients once soil temperatures rise above 6^oc – in line with the requirements of the grass. Nutrient availability is gentle and controlled by temperature alone, avoiding ‘flush’ growth and producing a strong, healthy sward that is sustained for up to six months depending on the analysis.

“We had conducted some trials of controlled-release products and were seriously impressed with the long-lasting results we achieved with Multigreen^®. On the back of this, we now use Multigreen^® on the vast majority of our football pitches, together with a number of rugby surfaces and cricket outfields, in two different formulations – 28-3-15 which is applied in the spring, following any renovation work and 15-0-22+5MgO which goes down in the autumn. Its consistent release pattern gives the clubs season-long nutrition from a single application, with minimal leaching and without flushes of growth.”

In addition to the performance of the product, Andrew has also been impressed with the support received from Headland. “Whenever we’ve needed technical advice our Regional Technical Manager Andy Lane has been fantastic. Headland were even kind enough to donate some product for a recovery project we were working on, following vandalism at one of our clubs in the spring of 2020. With Headland, alongside the right equipment and expertise, we now consider ourselves to be a one-stop shop to support our customers with their surface needs – from sports pitches to amenity areas, from Lands End to Exeter.”

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)

First tournament with synthetic bunkers

It’s Multigreen® magic for W R Sandow

First tournament with synthetic bunkers

It’s Multigreen® magic for W R Sandow

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

First tournament with synthetic bunkers

First tournament with synthetic bunkers: The Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open, which takes place this week on the new Dumbarnie Links course in Fife, will be the first tier one professional event in Europe ever to be played at a venue with synthetic-edged bunkers.

It’s Multigreen® magic for W R Sandow

It’s Multigreen® magic for W R Sandow: Sports turf contractors W R Sandow have come to swear by Multigreen^® temperature-controlled release fertiliser from Headland Amenity, to satisfy the nutritional requirements of more than 60 winter sport pitches.

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