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Gullane and Toro partnership to hit 25 years

April 19, 2021/in Machinery, News, Press Release/by Izzy Cutler

Gullane and Toro partnership to hit 25 years: Gullane Golf Club in Scotland and Toro certainly have history. With the latest deal taking it to 25 years, it’s a partnership claimed to have produced putting surfaces as close to perfection as nature will allow. That accolade was made about the effect of the Greensmaster TriFlex […]

Choosing the right topdressing brush

April 19, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Marcus Oliver

Choosing the right topdressing brush: Topdressing has been an essential greenkeeping technique for over 150 years, since the days of Old Tom Morris. It serves multiple purposes; to help maintain a true surface, to balance and dilute the buildup of organic matter, to fill coring holes, and to maintain a free-draining surface. Modern topdressers can […]

Gullane and Toro partnership to hit 25 years

April 19, 2021/in Machinery, News, Press Release/by Izzy Cutler

Choosing the right topdressing brush

April 19, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Marcus Oliver

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Gullane and Toro partnership to hit 25 years

April 19, 2021/in Machinery, News, Press Release/by Izzy Cutler

Gullane and Toro partnership to hit 25 years: Gullane Golf Club in Scotland and Toro certainly have history. With the latest deal taking it to 25 years, it’s a partnership claimed to have produced putting surfaces as close to perfection as nature will allow.

That accolade was made about the effect of the Greensmaster TriFlex Hybrid 3420 mowers on the course for the Scottish Open three years ago and with a new machine in the club’s last order, clearly the Toro effect continues.

Gullane and Toro partnership to hit 25 years

“Toro gave us the attention to detail to create near-perfect conditions. It always has, and it’s why this latest deal takes our relationship to a quarter of a century,” says course manager Stewart Duff.

With three 18-hole courses, Gullane No. 1 carved into ancient links turf, Gullane No. 2 sweeping down to a nature reserve, and Gullane No. 3 with views across Aberlady Bay to the Firth of Forth and beyond, it’s no wonder the club is regarded as one of the most picturesque golf spots in the world. And with a state of the art short game practice area, driving range and children’s course as well, Toro certainly has a lot of area to cover when it comes to maintaining the course. Helping with that is the Groundsmaster 4700-D, which is a like-for-like replacement in the last order from Toro distributor Reesink Turfcare.

Stewart explains: “We split our Toro fleet between the courses as we have so much ground to cover, but there are a couple of machines we use across all three; the Groundsmaster 4700-D is one of those machines. With a cutting width of 12.5ft alongside a high-powered engine it’s incredibly productive.”

And it certainly gets put to good use at Gullane, says Stewart: “In the growing season we have the machine in use five days a week across all the courses, doing three times the amount of work compared to our machines that just work on the one course. So the 4700-D that we had in our last fleet for four years, actually did the equivalent of 12 years’ worth of work – but even then, it was still going strong when we signed the new agreement.”

Joining the Groundsmaster 4700-D and the Greensmaster TriFlex Hybrid 3420 mowers in the last fleet purchase was the Toro Workman utility vehicle and ProPass 200 topdresser.

Stewart continues: “We’re constantly looking at small tweaks we can make in order to get the best possible results and improve the courses for all, and Toro plays a big part in that. For example, we opted for the two Reelmaster 3550-D fairway mowers as the smaller sized cutting units allowed us to follow the contours better, which results in a better quality of cut. The slick tyres on the machines also prevent any turf damage when turning.”

Included as part of Gullane’s tournament support fleet in 2018 were Toro’s GTX electric utility vehicles and they certainly impressed Stewart with him saying at the time he’d be changing his utility vehicles to be Toro based on his positive experience. The arrival of three Workman utility vehicles in the last order sees Stewart true to his word and it sounds as though Toro will be around for many more years to come at Gullane.

Stewart concludes: “The team and I are delighted to have Toro here at the club for another five years; although realistically that’s more than likely going to be another 10 years. We really do feel as though we have the best possible machinery for the courses and with a club that wholeheartedly supports that relationship, I can only see us continuing to invest in Toro in the future.”

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Choosing the right topdressing brush

April 19, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Marcus Oliver

Choosing the right topdressing brush: Topdressing has been an essential greenkeeping technique for over 150 years, since the days of Old Tom Morris. It serves multiple purposes; to help maintain a true surface, to balance and dilute the buildup of organic matter, to fill coring holes, and to maintain a free-draining surface.

Modern topdressers can apply both heavy and light dressings

Topdressing is spread in different thicknesses, from just a frequent light dusting, to a heavy dressing after hollow coring. Over the years various methods have been used to incorporate the topdressing into the turf canopy. For many years metal link drag-mats were the norm, but these tended to scrape the dressing across the surface, and were particularly aggressive on the crowns of undulations.

Choosing the right topdressing brush

In recent years, brushes have become accepted as the optimal tool for working-in topdressing. However, even these have significant subtle differences between different types.

Which type of brush is best for different greens?

Since its introduction in the 1990’s the Greens-Groomer has been recognized as one of the most effective topdressing brushes ever invented. It has 16 separate brushes mounted in a triple zig-zag pattern. As the Greens-Groomer passes over the turf, the brushes move the sand forwards and sideways in three directions, making it ideal for filling coring holes. The absence of power-driven rotating brushes ensures that the turf is not bruised and unpleasant dust is not generated, even when operating at speed.

The Greens-Groomer is fast and very effective, and doesn’t bruise the turf

The Greens-Groomer’s large 1.8 x 1.2m (6’ x 4’) footprint has a luting effect, keeping the surface of the green flat and true.

However, if your greens are intentionally undulating, you need a totally different type of brush that will accurately follow the contours and evenly brush-in the dressing. This is the purpose of the Thatch-Away topdressing brushes. These fit into the Thatch-Away interchangeable cassette system, and attach to all popular greensmowers. The three individual brush units run on their own front and rear guide wheels to accurately follow the contours of the green without scraping the crowns or filling up the hollows.

Thatch-Away topdressing brushes accurately follow the contours of the green

Topdressing technology has come a long way since the days of Old Tom, but were he still here he would surely be pleased to see the way that the correct choice of topdressing brush can help to maintain the original characteristics of the greens.

For a free demonstration of these innovative brushes, contact GreenTek on 0113 267 7000.

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)

Gullane and Toro partnership to hit 25 years

Choosing the right topdressing brush

Gullane and Toro partnership to hit 25 years

Choosing the right topdressing brush

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Gullane and Toro partnership to hit 25 years

Gullane and Toro partnership to hit 25 years: Gullane Golf Club in Scotland and Toro certainly have history. With the latest deal taking it to 25 years, it’s a partnership claimed to have produced putting surfaces as close to perfection as nature will allow.

Choosing the right topdressing brush

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