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SISIS scarifier and seminars improve Rykneld BC

November 16, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Lucy Nicholls

SISIS scarifier and seminars improve Rykneld BC: Rykneld Bowling Club, in Derbyshire, has not only benefited from a new SISIS Auto Rotorake Mk5 but has also seen major improvements to the green after various committee members enhanced their greenkeeping knowledge through the Dennis and SISIS virtual bowls seminar portal. Founded in 1918, Rykneld is one […]

EcoBunker aids transformation at Skylark

November 16, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Adam Lawrence

EcoBunker aids transformation at Skylark: Seven years ago, Skylark Golf & County Club in Hampshire in the south of England, was in a sorry state. “The course was opened in the late 1990s, and it was known at Quinn Dell,” says course manager Simon Bell-Tye. “And when I got here in 2014, it had been […]

SISIS scarifier and seminars improve Rykneld BC

November 16, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Lucy Nicholls

EcoBunker aids transformation at Skylark

November 16, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Adam Lawrence

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SISIS scarifier and seminars improve Rykneld BC

November 16, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Lucy Nicholls

SISIS scarifier and seminars improve Rykneld BC: Rykneld Bowling Club, in Derbyshire, has not only benefited from a new SISIS Auto Rotorake Mk5 but has also seen major improvements to the green after various committee members enhanced their greenkeeping knowledge through the Dennis and SISIS virtual bowls seminar portal.

Founded in 1918, Rykneld is one of the longest running bowling clubs in the county and over recent years has also become one of the most successful. It boasts a thriving membership and some of the best players in Derbyshire, which is testament to just how good the green has become.

SISIS scarifier and seminars improve Rykneld BC

“Lately we have been getting great feedback,” said committee member Malcolm Holden. “That is not only from our own members but also from visiting teams. The improved surface has enabled us to have a South Derbyshire Premier League team excelling at the club.”

Looking after the green at Rykneld is very much a team effort as five committee members work hard to maintain it. They have recently enhanced their greenkeeping knowledge after becoming members of the free Dennis and SISIS virtual bowls seminar portal.

On the portal, members have access to regular, updated video seminar sessions on a wide range of relevant topics written and hosted by expert speakers. At the click of a button, users can also ask questions to the various experts and tap into their vast amount of experience and knowledge. Other resources on the portal include downloadable PDF’s containing seminar content, case studies, more informative videos, links to key products and vital information on funding.

“We have been following the videos on the portal religiously,” said Malcolm. “The portal is fantastic, and it covers every kind of topic you can think of when it comes to greenkeeping. We document everything we do, and the virtual seminars are helping us to continuously improve the green.”

Thatch is one particular issue that Malcolm and the team have been trying to solve through the seminar portal. Recently their efforts were boosted after the club purchased a SISIS Auto Rotorake Mk.5.

The SISIS Auto Rotorake Mk.5 is a powerful self-propelled heavy duty scarifier designed for the removal and control of thatch on fine turf. It features a contra-rotating reel with specially designed tipped blades for a clean, consistent cut and maximum thatch removal. A variety of maintenance tasks can also be carried out due to a selection of seven different interchangeable reels.

“The green has built up about 100 years of thatch, and it is slowing the green down,” said Malcolm. “It is not going to be a quick fix, but we are really stepping things up with the SISIS Auto Rotorake now.

“We’re already starting to see progress because of the amount of air it is helping us to get into the soil. Prior to the Auto Rotorake we were using a hand pulled spiker which was incredibly tough to pull – it was physically exhausting! The Auto Rotorake is just a brilliant machine which we are using on a fortnightly basis.

“That is what you get from Dennis and SISIS. Of all the suppliers we deal with, they have got to be the best. If they say they’ll do something, they will always do it – they keep their word, and I can’t fault them at all.”

For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact SISIS on 01332 824 777 or visit www.sisis.com

For more news, reviews and insightful views, you can follow SISIS on Twitter or Instagram @SISISMachinery and like the company’s Facebook page – www.facebook.com/SISISMachinery. You can also view the latest SISIS videos by visiting www.youtube.com/SISISMachinery

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EcoBunker aids transformation at Skylark

November 16, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Adam Lawrence

EcoBunker aids transformation at Skylark: Seven years ago, Skylark Golf & County Club in Hampshire in the south of England, was in a sorry state.

“The course was opened in the late 1990s, and it was known at Quinn Dell,” says course manager Simon Bell-Tye. “And when I got here in 2014, it had been neglected and run down for most of that time. It was a field with holes in it.”

EcoBunker aids transformation at Skylark

But the arrival of its new course manager was a sign that the place was on the up. Acquired by local company JDI (Just Develop It) in late 2013, the renamed Skylark hasn’t looked back.

“My boss at the time, Dan Richards, an ex-golf pro, had a real vision for the place, starting with making the course more presentable and playable,” says Bell-Tye. “But it was a big job. There was a weed called toad rush in the greens. I didn’t know what it was – I’d never come across it before – and the bunkers were just scoops in the ground.”

Now, though, Skylark’s bunkers are among its best-regarded features, thanks to the installation of synthetic edging system EcoBunker over several years. “I’m a member at Royal Winchester and I saw them doing the EcoBunkers there,” says Simon. “I mentioned this to Dan and he said ‘Good idea, get them in’. Rich Allen came and explained their process, and we took him and their construction manager Llewelyn Matthews to the eleventh hole, which had our very worst bunkers. Then Llew spent a week showing us how to build the EcoBunkers, and we haven’t looked back since.”

But the ‘normal’ EcoBunker method wasn’t enough for Skylark. To reduce the bunker maintenance still further, EcoBunker CEO Richard Allen devised a new add-on, named EcoEdge – which sees top quality artificial grass, backed with rubber, used as a rim for the bunkers. Compared to the usual EcoBunker Advanced methodology, where natural grass is planted on top of the synthetic edge, this obviously reduces the maintenance requirement for bunker edging still further. “Skylark was the first club in the world to use the EcoEdge system, although since, a number of other clubs have invested in it,” says Allen.

The reaction to the EcoBunkers was immediate. “Members loved them, so I got a budget to do a number of bunkers each year,” says Bell-Tye. “Ultimately, we have added fourteen extra bunkers to the golf course. We build them all in house – last winter I used forty pallets of material in four bunkers – and they look wonderful. They are huge, and they just pop out at you.”

Skylark’s success has come both on and off the course. From hosting one or two weddings a year, the club now does 140-150. And the golf? “When I joined we had 200-250 golf members. Now we’re up to 750, and we are full, with a joining fee,” says Bell-Tye.

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)

SISIS scarifier and seminars improve Rykneld BC

EcoBunker aids transformation at Skylark

SISIS scarifier and seminars improve Rykneld BC

EcoBunker aids transformation at Skylark

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

SISIS scarifier and seminars improve Rykneld BC

EcoBunker aids transformation at Skylark

EcoBunker aids transformation at Skylark: Seven years ago, Skylark Golf & County Club in Hampshire in the south of England, was in a sorry state.

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