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Milestone in sustainable golf development

September 23, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Jamie Graham

Milestone in sustainable golf development: Second edition of the international voluntary sustainability standard for golf developments demonstrates golf’s continuing proactive leadership and progress in the construction industry. Developed through close collaboration, both within and outside the golf industry, the release of this latest edition of the Sustainable Golf Development Standard represents another major step forward […]

Unveiling of RoviMo at Manchester City

September 22, 2021/in News, Press Release/by External Source

Unveiling of RoviMo at Manchester City: The GGM Group have hosted the prestigious UK unveiling of a ground-breaking Cylinder Cassette Mower for Professional Sports Turf. The event, which was held at Manchester City FC Training Ground, showcased the RoviMo robotic mower for sports turf, saving potentially thousands of man hours in the maintenance of sports […]

Milestone in sustainable golf development

September 23, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Jamie Graham

Unveiling of RoviMo at Manchester City

September 22, 2021/in News, Press Release/by External Source

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Milestone in sustainable golf development

September 23, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Jamie Graham

Milestone in sustainable golf development: Second edition of the international voluntary sustainability standard for golf developments demonstrates golf’s continuing proactive leadership and progress in the construction industry.

Developed through close collaboration, both within and outside the golf industry, the release of this latest edition of the Sustainable Golf Development Standard represents another major step forward in golf’s journey to becoming a leader in sustainable sport, land use and development.

Milestone in sustainable golf development

Available to all new developments from September 2021, this simplified new edition raises the bar on sustainability expectations and focuses on the most relevant issues and challenges in the current climate. Renewed emphasis is placed on areas such as increased transparency, carbon impacts, flexible construction timelines, circular economy and the impacts of agronomic decision-making.

Facilitated by GEO Foundation (GEO), six months of open public consultation and dedicated work by the international expert working group for sustainable golf development has led to the release of the second edition of this credible, accessible and relevant voluntary standard for any golf development. The milestone document provides a tighter framework, which can guide the process of delivering any new golf developments and renovations, from site selection through to opening day – delivering positive social and environmental value throughout.

Sam Thomas, Director of Golf Development for GEO, the international organization dedicated to helping advance sustainability in and through golf said: “The process of working with public comments and the international expert group’s knowledge was a great insight into what we’ve seen change in the sustainability space over the past five years. There were invaluable inputs shared into the ways in which everyone felt that golf developments, done in the right way, can continue to make real positive contributions to their environment, climate and community. Going forward, we are excited to adopt this 2nd edition of the standard at all new golf development sites seeking to gain GEO Certified Development status and, over the next five years, see how we can all push on to deliver even greater positive impacts.”

The seven members of the International Expert Working Group, which helped shape this latest edition, included representatives from the Society of Australian Golf Course Architects; American Society of Golf Course Architects; The European Institutes of Golf Course Architects; Golf course builders – through Landscapes Unlimited; Australian National University, Former European Commission representatives and Wetlands International.

Richard Holland, Director, Operations and Network Development, Wetlands International commented: “Congratulations to all involved in this significant milestone for the golf development industry. The 2nd edition builds on the solid foundations of the original standard and raises the bar for new sustainable golf developments. These voluntary standards can also provide valuable guidance for policymakers and regulators in their responsibilities to deliver the best possible outcomes for the environment and local communities.”

The revision of the standard was carried out in line with ISEAL Alliance’s Code of Good Practice for Standard Setting. GEO has been part of the ISEAL Alliance since 2015 and the rigour and credibility of that code are central to the revision of the voluntary sustainability standard. These same codes of good practice are followed by other well-known sustainability bodies including Fairtrade, The Rainforest Alliance and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

Tom Mackenzie, Director at Mackenzie & Ebert and Past President of European Institute of Golf Course Architects stated: “It is great to see the release of the 2nd edition of this standard. It now better represents the current sustainability issues we face as designers and I was very pleased to be able to represent the European Institute of Golf Course Architects (EIGCA) on the expert working group. Along with EIGCA’s Raising the Standard of Sustainable Golf Course Design educational programme, which was created with GEO, this renewed sustainability standard represents another meaningful point of connection with GEO for our members.”

The document and further explanation can be viewed here along with information on the OnCourse Developments programme, which provides practical support to assist all types of golf developments and the GEO Certified Developments mark, which provides credible recognition to new projects.

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Unveiling of RoviMo at Manchester City

September 22, 2021/in News, Press Release/by External Source

Unveiling of RoviMo at Manchester City: The GGM Group have hosted the prestigious UK unveiling of a ground-breaking Cylinder Cassette Mower for Professional Sports Turf.

The event, which was held at Manchester City FC Training Ground, showcased the RoviMo robotic mower for sports turf, saving potentially thousands of man hours in the maintenance of sports fields and stadiums.

Unveiling of RoviMo at Manchester City

The day was attended by several Premier League football clubs and highlighted a real game changer for the maintenance of professional sports turf and a glimpse of the future as guests which included Groundsman from a number of other premier league football clubs, turf advisors and professionals had the opportunity to see the machine in action and speak to the manufacturer first-hand.

The RoviMo is the world’s first intelligent electric vehicle capable of mowing patterns autonomously according to the guidelines of national football associations, UEFA, or FIFA, precisely and over the shortest distance, horizontally, vertically and with chessboard pattern, at the touch of a button. Supervision of the mowing process by an employee is not necessary.

Operated simply and efficiently remotely via an app, RoviMo^® can also be used for mowing other large green areas, and will be developed to be utilised by golf courses. RoviMo^® is a multifunctional equipment carrier, which will be able to carry out other work processes such as maintenance of artificial turf, line marking and various other labour-intensive tasks.

GGM Group Sales Andy Melville explains more:

“The event was a huge success, and we were thrilled to unveil the RoviMo to some of the UK’s leading football clubs at such a superb venue, where our guests were given a real glimpse of the future. RoviMo is the future of turfcare and it adds state of art technology to our portfolio, allowing us to offer customers the next generation of intelligent mowers.

“We are thrilled to have been involved from the early stages of development of these new innovative machines; they are the perfect addition to our product range as we continue to grow in the sports ground sectors”.

RoviMo is currently in its final stages of development and the event provided an opportunity for industry professionals to see the pre-production prototype first hand and meet the manufacturers in person, as well as having a two-way dialogue on the many ways in which it will benefit the industry.

Daniel Lewis from Manchester City said:

“The event was a great success and the new machine certainly lived up to expectations. The quality of the cut and the neat finish are essential boxes that needed to be ticked, and the RoviMo did just that.

“The fact that the attendees from other clubs were willing to offer comments freely on future development of the machine demonstrated that the interest is there. The machine could benefit the industry by saving on the continuous labour of grass cutting, allowing staff to get on with the more intricate demands of the job.”

The GGM Group announced they have signed a distribution agreement with Swiss manufacturer Ronovatec back in January this year.

The GGM Group, based in Colne, Lancashire, has a rich heritage and proactively seeks new solutions on an ongoing basis. The new deal with Ronovatec marries perfectly with its strong values of professionalism, innovation, and providing progressive solutions that support its commitment to work towards carbon neutrality.

Andy Melville continued:

“Over recent years there has been a trend for turfcare professionals to increase their green credentials and RoviMo not only offers this but achieves reduced cost and increased efficiency simultaneously. A fully charged RoviMo will mow circa 16’000 m2 in 5-6 hours depending on pattern and terrain, all without employee supervision of the mowing process and saving many man hours. In addition, RoviMo^® is fully electric, CO₂-free, and autonomous with low noise pollution and is therefore ecologically sustainable and economically unbeatable. It’s a win-win for the customer and the future of sports turf maintenance has never looked more exciting”.

A video of the event can be viewed on the GGM Groundscare YouTube channel or by using:

https://youtu.be/Xo48htmG_pA

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)

Milestone in sustainable golf development

Unveiling of RoviMo at Manchester City

Milestone in sustainable golf development

Unveiling of RoviMo at Manchester City

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Milestone in sustainable golf development

Milestone in sustainable golf development: Second edition of the international voluntary sustainability standard for golf developments demonstrates golf’s continuing proactive leadership and progress in the construction industry.

Unveiling of RoviMo at Manchester City

Unveiling of RoviMo at Manchester City: The GGM Group have hosted the prestigious UK unveiling of a ground-breaking Cylinder Cassette Mower for Professional Sports Turf.

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