Blog Elements - Turf Matters

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

New approach for Minchinhampton GC

July 9, 2020/in Machinery, News, Press Release/by Steve Mitchell

New approach for Minchinhampton GC: Minchinhampton Golf Club’s championship Avening and Cherington courses near the village of Avening in Gloucestershire and The Old Course on National Trust-owned Minchinhampton Common are renowned for their year-round immaculate presentation. Testament to this is that within just seven years of The Cherington Course opening, the R&A chose it as […]

La Finca Resort set to re-open

July 9, 2020/in News, Press Release/by Hannah Mulliner

La Finca Resort set to re-open: Luxury Spanish destination, La Finca Resort, is ready to reopen its doors to visitors at the end of this month following a six million Euro renovation project which has seen the golf courses and gastronomic offerings undergo major redevelopments. The staggering investment has seen the resort enhance its reputation […]

New approach for Minchinhampton GC

July 9, 2020/in Machinery, News, Press Release/by Steve Mitchell

La Finca Resort set to re-open

July 9, 2020/in News, Press Release/by Hannah Mulliner

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

New approach for Minchinhampton GC

July 9, 2020/in Machinery, News, Press Release/by Steve Mitchell

New approach for Minchinhampton GC: Minchinhampton Golf Club’s championship Avening and Cherington courses near the village of Avening in Gloucestershire and The Old Course on National Trust-owned Minchinhampton Common are renowned for their year-round immaculate presentation.

Testament to this is that within just seven years of The Cherington Course opening, the R&A chose it as the south-west venue for its Open Championship Regional Qualifying tournament from 2002 to 2007. The Avening Course has since been chosen to host the same event between 2018 and 2023 (now extended to 2024, since this year’s Open Championship at Royal St Georges was postponed to next year).

New approach for Minchinhampton GC

Just one of the 12-strong greenkeeping team led by courses manager Adam Matthews, including workshop manager Will Harris, was furloughed during the coronavirus lockdown, for health reasons. The club decided to keep all the other greens staff working on staggered shifts through the day and into the evening, as much to watch over and protect the courses as to continue maintaining all 54 holes to the highest standard.

This process has also seen the introduction of the club’s first John Deere course maintenance equipment fleet of 10 machines bought from dealer Tallis Amos Group (TAG) at Bibury, near Cirencester, on a five-year John Deere Financial lease deal. The new fleet includes three 2750 E-Cut hybrid electric triplex greens and tees mowers, a 6080A PrecisionCut fairway mower for the approaches and a 7400A TerrainCut rotary mower for the surrounds and roughs, plus three electric TE Gator and two diesel HPX Gator utility vehicles.

“We anticipated that the club would need to reopen at very short notice and so it proved,” says general manager Simon Pope. “On returning we wanted to present the courses to the members in as good a condition as we possibly could, so we aimed to keep the same maintenance schedule all the way through the lockdown and be ready to go from day one.

“As an extra benefit, we usually close each of the championship courses in turn during August and September for annual intensive maintenance programmes, but the good work that was achieved during lockdown means we won’t need to do that now, which our members are delighted about. I have to commend Adam and the whole team for their admirable effort and positive attitude, they have been absolutely brilliant under the circumstances.”

The courses reopened for play on May 13, which coincidentally is Marking Day on Minchinhampton Common. On this day each year around 500 cattle are released on the common for a summer of traditional grazing, and it is part of the greens staff’s responsibility to clean up after them on The Old Course when necessary!

“There was certainly a huge pent-up demand from the members to get back playing – I reckon 1300 people played at least one day within 10 days of re-opening,” adds Simon. “We already had a very strong membership base, with a waiting list last summer, but the lockdown period saw new membership applications shoot up. We have also now expanded the membership offer, so golfers can play 54 holes across the two sites if they wish. This gives members a lot of variety, especially as we are able to run dedicated two-ball and four-ball courses.”

Now 35, Adam Matthews has worked at Minchinhampton Golf Club since he was 16, and became courses manager in January. This coincided with the club coming to the end of its existing five-year fleet deal, and therefore provided a good opportunity for Simon and Adam to review every aspect of the club’s management, including the machinery. After competitive tender quotes from existing and other main suppliers, the pair were impressed by the presentations made by TAG and John Deere.

“TAG’s area sales manager Alex Jones in particular led from the front and it was really his persistence and sound advice that persuaded us to seriously consider using more John Deere equipment than we have done previously,” says Adam. “They put forward a very constructive and consistent proposal, and we had a range of machines in twice on demonstration so the team could really test them properly in our conditions.

“We certainly took our time, it was by no means a sudden decision, and we wanted to be very thorough and fair. It was not just about buying new machinery either, other key factors came into play such as after-sales care, trust in the equipment both in the workshop and out on the course, as well as the finance.

“Ultimately, the high level of customer service was what made us believe that the overall John Deere and dealer package was the way for us to go. All our questions were answered quickly, the selection of machines was tailored precisely to our needs and since the deal’s been completed, Alex Jones and TAG have continued to provide excellent back-up. We realised that this aspect is so important, particularly when you change to a new supplier.”

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.

La Finca Resort set to re-open

July 9, 2020/in News, Press Release/by Hannah Mulliner

La Finca Resort set to re-open: Luxury Spanish destination, La Finca Resort, is ready to reopen its doors to visitors at the end of this month following a six million Euro renovation project which has seen the golf courses and gastronomic offerings undergo major redevelopments.

The staggering investment has seen the resort enhance its reputation as the go-to destination in Costa Blanca and includes the introduction of three brand-new restaurants and a winery which are all set to open for the first time on July 30.

La Finca Resort set to re-open

Commenting on the investment, General Manager, Brendan Dwyer, said: “We are very pleased to introduce the latest stage of our ambitious development project which continues to elevate La Finca Resort to the very highest level.

“We’re proud to be a true hub of golf and gastronomy and our latest enhancements help to amplify this further. It is exciting to be able to welcome our guests back this month so that they can experience everything the resort has to offer.”

The venue’s three prestigious golf courses, La Finca, Villamartín and Las Ramblas, have also undergone an extensive enhancement project, including renovation of all the bunkers on La Finca and Villamartín, and the green complexes on all three courses, as well as a restoration of the 16^th hole of La Finca.

Complementing this, 40 rooms at the resort’s hotel have been renovated to ‘club level’, which includes a contemporary and sophisticated design, while an array of gastronomic offerings have been introduced to give visitors a true culinary experience.

A new, exclusive hotel bar and terrace, The Hub, will offer guests a leisurely environment in which to relax and dine throughout the day, while the revamped Citrus restaurant will serve the very best in Mediterranean cuisine.

Adding to the dining options, a new Mexican and Italian Fusion restaurant, Frijolino, is set to open in August, followed a few weeks later by the new La Finca Bodega Winery. Ideal for group or individual wine tastings with offerings from the local, national, and international markets, the Bodega will give clients an authentic world-wide wine experience.

Completing the gastronomic investment, La Finca Resort will open its signature paella and brasserie restaurant later this year, providing diners with a true taste of Spain in a luxurious and contemporary setting as part of the new, world class resort.

Another new addition to the resort, the La Finca Sports complex combines sport, nutrition, and well-being. A large training and rehabilitation centre where physical therapy and personal well-being will be practiced, the complex is aimed at both amateur and professional athletes alike. Alongside the new gym complex, a renovation of the tennis and paddle areas will also help to make La Finca Sports Spain´s leading sports resort.

The resort’s reopening comes coincides with La Finca Resort being nominated as Spain´s Leading Sports Resort at the World Travel Awards 2020 and Spain´s Best Golf Hotel at the World Golf Travel Awards 2020 – a duo of accolades which the venue won in 2019.

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)

New approach for Minchinhampton GC

La Finca Resort set to re-open

New approach for Minchinhampton GC

La Finca Resort set to re-open

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

New approach for Minchinhampton GC

New approach for Minchinhampton GC: Minchinhampton Golf Club’s championship Avening and Cherington courses near the village of Avening in Gloucestershire and The Old Course on National Trust-owned Minchinhampton Common are renowned for their year-round immaculate presentation.

La Finca Resort set to re-open

La Finca Resort set to re-open: Luxury Spanish destination, La Finca Resort, is ready to reopen its doors to visitors at the end of this month following a six million Euro renovation project which has seen the golf courses and gastronomic offerings undergo major redevelopments.

RESOURCES

CONTACT

CONNECT