Blog Elements - Turf Matters

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

Ventrac unveils new flail mowers

March 9, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Peter Driver

Ventrac unveils new flail mowers: Continuing their commitment to produce the highest quality accessories, Ventrac has added two Flail mowers to its growing list of dedicated attachments. Flail mowers are a perfect choice for any overgrown area, so the new patent-pending Fine Cut and Fast Cut mowing decks are in a class of their own. […]

Capillary Concrete solving bunker problems

March 9, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Adam Lawrence

Capillary Concrete solving bunker problems: The exclusive Loch Lomond Golf Club in Scotland is coming to the end of a huge four year renovation project – at a total cost of £7.5 million, probably the most costly in the history of British golf – in which 85 per cent of the golf course has been sand-capped (apart from the USGA greens), its drainage […]

Ventrac unveils new flail mowers

March 9, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Peter Driver

Capillary Concrete solving bunker problems

March 9, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Adam Lawrence

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Ventrac unveils new flail mowers

March 9, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Peter Driver

Ventrac unveils new flail mowers: Continuing their commitment to produce the highest quality accessories, Ventrac has added two Flail mowers to its growing list of dedicated attachments.

Flail mowers are a perfect choice for any overgrown area, so the new patent-pending Fine Cut and Fast Cut mowing decks are in a class of their own. With out-front mounted couplings unique to Ventrac, these attachments provide a quality finish on tall or dense areas of vegetation for fast and efficient turf management.

Ventrac unveils new flail mowers

Add Ventrac’s capability to mow difficult areas such as slopes, wet areas, or retention pond, and these new decks will ensure an enhanced appearance for any property. Ideal for landscaping applications on slopes, wet areas and retention basins, these mowers make previously impossible turf management situations, possible.

The two available models, Fine Cut (MW series) and Fast Cut (MY series), feature unique knife choices and offer two width options for more versatility of cut, speed, and application. Cutting widths for the decks are 1.42m (56”) and 1.83m (72”) and offer the most versatility for specific property needs.

The Fine Cut Flails (MW560/MW720) are equipped with scoop knives, and will achieve a quality cut with a more finished look on grassed areas mowed between three and eight times per year.

The Fast Cut Flails (MY560/MY720) feature Y-shaped knives, for taming dense and brush-type material. The Fast Cut is an excellent choice for areas of overgrown brush and woodland margins that do not require regular mowing, while providing a superior finish to that of a typical rotary rough-cut mower.

“The introduction of these two new flail options complements our existing Tough Cut rotary mowing deck”, said Rupert Price, of Price Turfcare, the distributor of Ventrac products for the UK and Ireland. “All decks have a flip-up option for easy maintenance, enabling access to the knives for sharpening or replacement.

“Although powered by a sub-25hp Kubota diesel engine, we have enough residual power to provide a rotor speed of 3,000 rpm. This is vitally important as it’s the speed of rotor that dictates the speed and efficiency of the cutting knives and, ultimately, the quality of cut and finish.

“Ventrac has made a conscious decision to keep the power unit of their 4500 tractor unit below the 25hp emissions threshold of Tier 4 legislation. It continues to surprise end-users with the power generated by a relatively small engine and its ability to effortlessly drive each and every attachment. Very rarely do you hear a change in the engine note or experience a loss of power. It is one of the major selling points of the machine.”

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.

Capillary Concrete solving bunker problems

March 9, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Adam Lawrence

Capillary Concrete solving bunker problems: The exclusive Loch Lomond Golf Club in Scotland is coming to the end of a huge four year renovation project – at a total cost of £7.5 million, probably the most costly in the history of British golf – in which 85 per cent of the golf course has been sand-capped (apart from the USGA greens), its drainage infrastructure rebuilt, its irrigation system completely renewed and its bunkers reconstructed using the Capillary Bunkers lining system.

Surrounded by mountains and next to Britain’s largest freshwater lake, Loch Lomond has always faced huge problems caused by its environment. “We have a lot of bunkers – and a lot of rain,” says David Cole MG, the club’s director of golf course and estates. “We average around 2000mm (79 inches of rain a year), and our bunker design has some steep faces in places. As a result, we have always suffered badly from washouts and contamination. Bunker maintenance is our second largest consumer of greenkeeping resources, second to greens – due to the design, the size (8500m2), the amount, the player expectations and the environment, it takes a lot of resources to prepare the bunkers internally and externally for play on a daily basis, and it was frustrating not being able to produce a consistently good product from this valuable resource due to the ageing infrastructure and the uncontrollable element of frequent rainfall.

Capillary Concrete solving bunker problems

Cole and his team, along with contractor Esie O’Mahony of GolfLink Evolve, have rebuilt the course from the bottom up. The new drainage pipes are laid in trenches lined with geotextile to reduce the ingress of fine particles, and the pipes themselves have been resized to deal with the volume of water. The project was planned to be completed over the winter of 2019/20, but the Covid-19 pandemic meant that two holes were left unfinished. Those have been dealt with over this winter.

In among this huge quantity of construction, Cole was determined to improve the consistency of the bunker presentation and reduce the internal bunker maintenance challenge. “We wanted to try to eliminate sand contamination and washouts and ensure we give our members a quality product no matter the weather,” he says. “After reviewing and trialling the options available, we selected Capillary Concrete throughout the project to line the bunkers. The product gives a lot of confidence. It’s concrete, so you know it is going to last, and the fact that you can install in wet weather situations is a huge plus for us as the renovation and installations took place throughout the wettest period of the year. The cost is obviously important – we are spending a lot of money on this project, but we are conscious that it is our members’ money, and we want to get good value for them – and Capillary Bunkers was very competitive.”

Cole says he is already seeing the benefits. “The simple fact is that we aren’t spending hours pushing sand back up bunker faces after rain. Ultimately since the liner has been installed the sand does not slip off the face after heavy rain events and daily preparations to present a good product for our members and guests is less labour intensive than previous. This allows us to focus more time on the detail work of internal bunker maintenance, and/or redirect resources to other priority areas that been neglected prior to this undertaking. Most days, three guys can deal with the internal bunker preparation, when previously it was five or six. Quantifying that isn’t easy and COVID-19 has not helped, but I think we may see a forty-fifty per cent reduction in resources we use preparing the internals of bunkers yet still producing a superior product.”

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)

Ventrac unveils new flail mowers

Capillary Concrete solving bunker problems

Ventrac unveils new flail mowers

Capillary Concrete solving bunker problems

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Ventrac unveils new flail mowers

Ventrac unveils new flail mowers: Continuing their commitment to produce the highest quality accessories, Ventrac has added two Flail mowers to its growing list of dedicated attachments.

Capillary Concrete solving bunker problems

RESOURCES

CONTACT

CONNECT