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Golf Club Signs Toro Agreement

April 5, 2019/in Machinery, News, Press Release/by Izzy Cutler

Golf Club Signs Toro Agreement: It’s a full fleet update for East Berkshire Golf Club as it signs its third five-year agreement with Toro and Reesink Turfcare. And it was an easy decision to make with “Toro leading the market” according to course manager, Derrick Johnstone. “When the time came to renew our agreement plan, […]

Hybrid Pitches To Transform Cricket

April 4, 2019/in News, Press Release, Sport/by Andrew Ross

Hybrid Pitches To Transform Cricket: SIS Pitches has installed pioneering hybrid cricket pitches at County Cricket Clubs across the United Kingdom ahead of the 2019 cricket season. The surface installation technology has been developed exclusively by industry experts SIS Pitches and comes as new research reveals it could have significant benefits for players and clubs. […]

Golf Club Signs Toro Agreement

April 5, 2019/in Machinery, News, Press Release/by Izzy Cutler

Hybrid Pitches To Transform Cricket

April 4, 2019/in News, Press Release, Sport/by Andrew Ross

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Golf Club Signs Toro Agreement

April 5, 2019/in Machinery, News, Press Release/by Izzy Cutler

Golf Club Signs Toro Agreement: It’s a full fleet update for East Berkshire Golf Club as it signs its third five-year agreement with Toro and Reesink Turfcare. And it was an easy decision to make with “Toro leading the market” according to course manager, Derrick Johnstone.

“When the time came to renew our agreement plan, we weren’t really looking to go with someone else,” says Derrick. In fact, Derrick was so impressed with the robustness of the Toro machines already at the club, he wanted to increase the commitment in Toro.

Previously the club was on a lease deal but by opting to hire purchase and securing equipment for the club to own, Derrick felt confident they would make savings in the long term, providing opportunities to invest elsewhere and further improve the course.

“I’m really familiar with Toro machines,” he says. “I’ve used them at my last two clubs, and they tick all the boxes and last incredibly well. By buying and using the machines for a longer period of time, we can save money. Plus, we now have a mechanic at the club, whose main area of expertise is Toro equipment, and that coupled with the service from Reesink, should we need it, means we can be sure we have maintenance and servicing well covered.”

The hire purchase deal has seen the club renew its Toro fleet like for like bringing back three new TriFlex Hybrid 3420 mowers, two Reelmaster 3550 machines, a Groundsmaster 4500-D, a Groundsmaster 3500-D, two Workman MDX-D utility vehicles as well as one GTX-E Workman. There was one difference this time though, Derrick couldn’t resist adding a Groundsmaster 3500-D to the order, which he says is his new favourite.

“This will be a great machine for cutting our tee banks and semi-roughs, leaving very little mess or wheel marks. I’ve used the GM3500-D before so I think it will work well here,” he says before adding: “The pedestrian GR1000 and GR1600 mowers are also great, they give a really good quality of cut and raise the bar presentation wise.”

Established in 1903, the natural barriers and cleverly designed doglegs mean the 18-hole course at East Berkshire plays a lot longer than the 6,200 yards suggest and provides a real challenge for golfers.

“It’s an exciting time for the club,” says Derrick. “With considerable investment in not only machinery but woodland management, drainage and tee construction, the addition of a short game area and future driving range improvements.”

With all these improvements, keeping the heathland course up to scratch for members is no easy task, but Derrick is sure that Toro will only continue to improve the playing surface.

“It didn’t take a lot of persuading to go with Toro,” says Derrick. “The Toro machines we’ve been using up until now have definitely improved the quality of the course. The contouring is just fantastic, and they save time because they’re incredibly well made and get the job done efficiently.

“Put simply, Toro provides the best quality and service which is what this club needs. It’s really exciting to see what we can achieve in the coming years with more of a commitment in Toro for the club.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Hybrid Pitches To Transform Cricket

April 4, 2019/in News, Press Release, Sport/by Andrew Ross

Hybrid Pitches To Transform Cricket: SIS Pitches has installed pioneering hybrid cricket pitches at County Cricket Clubs across the United Kingdom ahead of the 2019 cricket season.

The surface installation technology has been developed exclusively by industry experts SIS Pitches and comes as new research reveals it could have significant benefits for players and clubs.

The breakthrough has been possible thanks to SISGrass Universal, a compact and 100% electric machine with patented fibre injection technology, which combines speed, mobility and laser precision to deliver high-quality hybrid turf surfaces.

SISGrass hybrid cricket pitches have been installed and trialled in practice net areas and on main ground squares at a number of County Cricket Clubs since 2017.

Together with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), SIS Pitches commissioned research by Dr Iain James, cricket pitch specialist at TGMS Ltd, on SISGrass installed pitches at the Kia Oval, home to Surrey County Cricket Club, designed to provide insight into playability, durability, maintenance and renovation of hybrid wickets.

The report found that the pitches improved surface stability, reduced wear, reduced bowler foot holes and significantly extended hours of playing time. Futher research this summer will be carried out to ascertain whether there is increased pace and carry, and more consistent bounce from hybrid pitches.

The ECB became the first to install two trial wickets using SISGrass technology at the prestigious National Cricket Performance Centre in Loughborough and they have now approved hybrid pitches for use in the Royal London One Day Cup, Vitality Blast and all formats of second XI cricket for the 2019 season.

The pitches combine a majority of natural turf grass with less than 5% of uniquely engineered, soft polyethylene yarn, a system which has also been used to improve the quality of golf tees, goal areas, tennis courts and pitch surrounds.

In addition, repair works after play were reduced with a faster grass recovery time, while the surface remained more than 95% natural turf, meaning it will crucially still behave like a normal wicket.

Chris Wood, ECB’s Pitches Consultant, said: “The ECB is delighted with the incredibly positive results of these stitched, reinforced hybrid pitches to date and feedback from County Clubs has been most profound and encouraging.

“SIS Pitches have demonstrated their willingness through imaginative foresight, attention to detail and technological development towards converting a notion into reality which through the ongoing research since conception.

“This product has the potential to be a real gamechanger for the future of cricket, particularly in the lucrative, limited over, whiteball form of the game through increased usage and possible freeing up of central TV pitches, most importantly, without sacrificing quality over quantity.

“I’m aware that many clubs and indeed international governing bodies are viewing the ongoing progress with increasing interest.”

Weighing less than two tons and standing at 1.20m wide and 2m in length, the SISGrass Universal machine provides quick, accurate and flexible stitching, with different depths and spacing using precise laser guidance making it a practical solution for groundskeepers who are challenged to maintain uniform grass quality in high-wear areas.

One 10ft cricket pitch strip contains approximately 190,000 individual stitches of SISGrass fibre, made up of 46kg of yarn, totalling 38km, and can be installed in just five hours using SISGrass Universal.

After installation, pitches are maintained for a minimum of eight weeks to allow the profile to settle and for all holes to close and anchor the SISGrass fibres.

Phil Blackwell, SISGrass Director in the UK, said: “Some of the world’s biggest professional rugby and football teams have already seen significant benefits from the introduction of our hybrid pitch technology, and SISGrass Universal has the potential to transform the maintenance and durability of cricket pitches.

“We’re excited to see the impact it’s already having in the UK and anticipate demand from cricket clubs around the world.

“Our research and feedback from clubs and ground staff has been extremely positive so far, and our hope is that in the future hybrid pitches can be used as an alternative option to traditional wickets for practice and short formats of the game.”

Following successful trial installations, and positive feedback from players, coaches and ground staff, the demand for hybrid cricket pitches has increased with many of the top county cricket grounds choosing to have between two and six installed.

Hybrid cricket pitches have now been installed at Surrey, Lord’s, Lancashire, Nottinghamshire, Glamorgan, Somerset, Gloucestershire, Durham, Worcestershire, Warwickshire and at Loughborough University.

Watch the SISGrass Universal cricket pitch installation at The Oval, Surrey County Cricket Club

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)

Golf Club Signs Toro Agreement

Hybrid Pitches To Transform Cricket

Golf Club Signs Toro Agreement

Hybrid Pitches To Transform Cricket

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Golf Club Signs Toro Agreement

Golf Club Signs Toro Agreement: It’s a full fleet update for East Berkshire Golf Club as it signs its third five-year agreement with Toro and Reesink Turfcare. And it was an easy decision to make with “Toro leading the market” according to course manager, Derrick Johnstone.

Hybrid Pitches To Transform Cricket

Hybrid Pitches To Transform Cricket: SIS Pitches has installed pioneering hybrid cricket pitches at County Cricket Clubs across the United Kingdom ahead of the 2019 cricket season.

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