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New technology works well for North Shore

August 25, 2020/in Machinery, News, Press Release/by Steve Mitchell

New technology works well for North Shore: Set on the Lincolnshire coast with beautiful views over the North Sea, the James Braid designed North Shore golf course at Skegness offers a challenge to all levels of golfer with its interesting and attractive mixture of links and parkland holes crossing over each other in two loops […]

Otterbine brings new life to Southmere Lake

August 25, 2020/in News, Press Release/by Izzy Cutler

Otterbine brings new life to Southmere Lake: The installation of an Otterbine Giant Fountain by The Fountain Workshop Limited has marked an important step in the regeneration of Southmere Lake housing development in Thamesmead, with the first phase of new homes currently being built. The development was initially created in the 1970s with Southmere Lake […]

New technology works well for North Shore

August 25, 2020/in Machinery, News, Press Release/by Steve Mitchell

Otterbine brings new life to Southmere Lake

August 25, 2020/in News, Press Release/by Izzy Cutler

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New technology works well for North Shore

August 25, 2020/in Machinery, News, Press Release/by Steve Mitchell

New technology works well for North Shore: Set on the Lincolnshire coast with beautiful views over the North Sea, the James Braid designed North Shore golf course at Skegness offers a challenge to all levels of golfer with its interesting and attractive mixture of links and parkland holes crossing over each other in two loops of nine.

Like many golf clubs across the country, North Shore has seen a growth in membership during the coronavirus lockdown, and owner/director William Mitchell anticipates their biggest increase for several years when the club’s country members return to play safely. Country membership is available to anyone living outside a 30-mile radius of Skegness, and local legend has it that at one time North Shore could boast the largest holiday membership in the world.

New technology works well for North Shore

The pandemic also interrupted, but ultimately did not affect, an order for the club’s first new fleet of John Deere course maintenance equipment from local dealer F G Adamson & Son of Langworth near Lincoln. This was originally finalised before the lockdown started, but with the closure of the club’s popular hotel as well as the course, payment had to be postponed.

“John Deere Financial were very understanding and flexible about the finance lease on the new kit,” says William. “This has been structured around a six-year seasonal profile matched to our normal income stream, based on membership renewals in April and summer visitors to both the course and hotel. The whole deal has been very straightforward and works very well for the club, especially in the current circumstances.

“Annual full membership makes up a small proportion of rounds played, with our main business relying on visitors staying with us on golf breaks. Skegness’ population is about 20,000, but summer visitors account for 10 times that number, so we really rely on that influx of people each year. Groups stay at the hotel for a couple of nights, play four rounds of golf and hold their own competitions.

“The course therefore has to be in tip-top condition – if that side of the business isn’t as good as we can make it, the rest wouldn’t stack up. We’re happy to say that we’ve had really good feedback from members on the course’s playability since the John Deere machines were introduced, right from the start. Kudos to our head greenkeeper Brett Cornelius, too – he did an amazing job during lockdown and the members have really appreciated it.”

The new fleet consists of a John Deere 7700A PrecisionCut fairway mower, 8800A TerrainCut rotary roughs mower, two 2500E hybrid electric triplex mowers equipped with greens and tees cylinder cutting units, a TH 6×4 Gator utility vehicle and a Tru-Turf greens iron.

“We lost our head mechanic last December, but Brett combines his greenkeeping expertise with mechanical skills,” adds William. “This cemented in our minds that we needed to move from a shed of old kit to new, up-to-date machines and technology that are reliable and efficient.”

Brett had used John Deere equipment before coming to North Shore as head greenkeeper seven years ago, so he discussed what was available with Adamson’s area sales manager Scott Trestrail and had all the recommended machines on demonstration before finalising the deal.

New technology works well for North Shore

“The machines we chose were pretty much like for like replacements, although we hadn’t had a dedicated ride-on rough mower before, so that made the biggest immediate improvement,” he says. “The 8800A rides the course contours well and you can raise and lower the cutting height in five minutes, it’s really easy. I had used a Gator at my previous course and it’s such a versatile vehicle, with the six-wheel design providing very low ground pressure.”

Brett carried out very basic course maintenance during lockdown – he was originally furloughed along with the rest of the staff, but only took about 10 days off before opting to return and keep the course looking as tidy as possible. “Basically I just did a lot of mowing!” he says.

“The initial drought conditions meant the links holes browned off straight away and didn’t need much attention, so I was lucky in that respect. Since reopening in May we’re still doing a lot of catching up, but having new machines has helped us enormously. They’ve made us more productive and we spend far less time in the workshop than before.”

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Otterbine brings new life to Southmere Lake

August 25, 2020/in News, Press Release/by Izzy Cutler

Otterbine brings new life to Southmere Lake: The installation of an Otterbine Giant Fountain by The Fountain Workshop Limited has marked an important step in the regeneration of Southmere Lake housing development in Thamesmead, with the first phase of new homes currently being built.

The development was initially created in the 1970s with Southmere Lake at its centre and is now the focus of significant investment from Peabody, with plans for 860 new homes built over three phases around the west side of the lake. There will also be a civic building with a community library, public square and a boating and sailing club, all joining the newly refurbished Lakeside Centre.

Otterbine brings new life to Southmere Lake

The lake is an important part of Peabody’s wider regeneration plan as Dr Phil Askew, the director of landscape and placemaking at Peabody, confirms: “Southmere Lake is without doubt one of the jewels in Thamesmead’s crown. We’re making a number of improvements to the lake such as putting in new reedbed to enhance the water quality, dredging the silt on the west side of the lake and moving it to the other side to make a wetlands area as well as a fish free channel to help create new habitats for local wildlife. The fountain is an important part of our changes – not only is it attractive for residents and visitors to look at but it’s also important for the fish and other wildlife who use the lake.”

An instrumental part of improving the lake is the Otterbine custom built, 25hp Super Nova Giant Fountain. Able to reach heights of 27 metres with its dramatic pattern, the fountain provides a strong visual identity for the lake and the new homes to come. But it’s not just beautiful – Otterbine’s Giant Fountain range is practical too. With an adjustable float and comprehensive warranty, the Super Nova Giant Fountain is the perfect water feature for a residential setting.

And it was clear from the start that Otterbine presented the perfect solution for Peabody’s improvements to Southmere Lake. Landscape architect Ian Turkington of Turkington Martin initially suggested The Fountain Workshop to Peabody after being impressed by another Otterbine Giant Fountain they had installed at the Marsh Leys distribution centre in Bedford.

Peabody appointed environmental and engineering experts Land and Water Services Limited to undertake the £1.6m initial phase of improvement works. They in turn appointed The Fountain Workshop as a specialist design and build contractor for the floating fountain, who had previously worked with Phil Askew at The Queen Elizabeth Olympic South Park in Stratford.

Ian Kirkpatrick, commercial director of The Fountain Workshop Limited, said: “For us the Otterbine Super Nova Giant Fountain was the obvious choice, particularly given the long-standing relationship we have enjoyed with Charlie Barebo, chief executive officer of Otterbine, which stretches back over twenty years. We approached Reesink Turfcare, the UK distributor for Otterbine, early in the process and involved them throughout the development of our proposals.”

The fountain was installed by The Fountain Workshop team, working alongside Land and Water Services Limited, and was switched on for the first time just as the country was emerging from lockdown. Having secured an ongoing maintenance contract from Peabody to ensure that the feature remains in good working order, the Otterbine fountain is set to create a stunning display for residents and visitors to enjoy for years to come.

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Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

New technology works well for North Shore

Otterbine brings new life to Southmere Lake

New technology works well for North Shore

Otterbine brings new life to Southmere Lake

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

New technology works well for North Shore

Otterbine brings new life to Southmere Lake

Otterbine brings new life to Southmere Lake: The installation of an Otterbine Giant Fountain by The Fountain Workshop Limited has marked an important step in the regeneration of Southmere Lake housing development in Thamesmead, with the first phase of new homes currently being built.

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