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Qualibra ‘Perfect’ for Royal Cinque

June 8, 2018/in News, Press Release, Sport/by Lucy Nicholls

Qualibra ‘Perfect’ for Royal Cinque: James Bledge, Course Manager at Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club, based in Deal, Kent, says he has successfully treated Dry Patch with monthly applications of Qualibra wetting agent. Formed in 1892, Royal Cinque Ports is a Championship Links course situated on the narrow stretch of coastline between Deal and Sandwich […]

Reesink Appoints Mike Turnbull

June 7, 2018/in News, People, Press Release/by Rosie Duckworth

Reesink Appoints Mike Turnbull: Mike Turnbull has taken the role of the recently retired Nigel Lovatt and assumes responsibility for Reesink customers, the dealer network and retail partners located from the north east to the north west of England, or as Mike refers to it “from the Wash to the Wirral”. Mike is no stranger […]

Qualibra ‘Perfect’ for Royal Cinque

June 8, 2018/in News, Press Release, Sport/by Lucy Nicholls

Reesink Appoints Mike Turnbull

June 7, 2018/in News, People, Press Release/by Rosie Duckworth

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Qualibra ‘Perfect’ for Royal Cinque

June 8, 2018/in News, Press Release, Sport/by Lucy Nicholls

Formed in 1892, Royal Cinque Ports is a Championship Links course situated on the narrow stretch of coastline between Deal and Sandwich Bay in Kent. The 18 hole course offers a stiff challenge to golfers of all abilities and in particular the last seven holes are reputed to be amongst the toughest in golf.

With the course being so close to the coast, one would think that James and his team would spend most of the time trying to get water off the course, but situated in the driest corner of England, and with the aid of an artificial sea wall, Royal Cinque Ports has no such problems.

However, the course has repeatedly suffered from Dry Patch even with previous wetting agent programmes and as a result, last year James trialled Syngenta’s Qualibra – which is distributed by ICL.

“I’ve used a number of wetting agents before but I’ve always had a problem with Dry Patch, we are situated on sand with only around 3” of topsoil so infiltration rates are pretty high. We also lose a lot of moisture – Sometimes up to 10% Volume water content in a day. Therefore, I decided to look at Qualibra and trialled it last year to see how it performed. I’m a big believer in doing a full year’s trial with products, especially a wetting agent, because I think you are wasting your time if you do anything less than that. You need to see it consistently throughout every month to see how it is performing and also just give it a chance. – not just apply it on a turf nursery in June and see how it performs in one month.

“Because I haven’t had much luck with wetting agents in the past, I was thinking that if it didn’t work out then we would just try something else next year. However, at the end of the year I remember telling Darren Hatcher (ICL Technical Area Sales Manager for the South, London and the Channel Islands) that it was perfect.”

James applied Qualibra to his greens, tees, approaches and fairways at 20 L/ha in March and continued with monthly applications until October. His goal was to optimise the use of water resources and move surface water down to maintain, firm, fast conditions, as well as improving the playing surface quality for members.

“We wanted the greens to play firm and fast and Qualibra has been a big part of that,” he says. “I also wanted to avoid the unsightly burnt off crests and lush valleys on the fairways and if you irrigate them the water just runs off the top. However, Qualibra reduces the surface tension and goes in from the very top. In June they were the perfect colour, consistently that transition between green and brown.

“I’ve got a guy who has been working here for 40 years and every morning he comes in at 3.30am and hand waters all of the greens before the golfers come out. He absolutely loves Qualibra and he says that throughout his time here it is by far the best wetting agent we have ever used. I really value his opinion as he’s seen it all so we discuss at length what products would make his life easier when it comes to moisture control, on a links course it’s one of the most important factors to success and that’s why we don’t sacrifice on quality.

“We are also definitely using less water now and we didn’t have any Dry Patch last year – which was the first time in years. To me that was a huge success because it was one of the driest years on record.”

Please contact ICL on 01473 237100 or visit www.icl-sf.co.uk or www.icl-sf.ie if you are in Ireland.

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Reesink Appoints Mike Turnbull

June 7, 2018/in News, People, Press Release/by Rosie Duckworth

Mike is no stranger to the geographical area spanning from Nottingham to North Wales, having covered the same in his 20-year role with Toro Spellbrook.

Mike says: “I was over the moon to accept this role. It is a great position, a great area and I am stepping into the role of a great colleague. Nigel did some fantastic work here and I am really looking forward to continuing and adding to that.”

As we all know this is an area that is home to some of the best and most high-profile golfing and sporting venues in the country, as well as many councils, local authorities and landscapers perfect for the comprehensive grounds machinery range from Toro and Reesink. Mike’s role will focus on both, and will see him working closely with Jeff Anguige, national sales manager.

Mike continues: “I know this area well as it’s one I used to cover in my position working with Toro for Spellbrook, so to some I will be a familiar face. My background and experience with Toro means I bring with me a lot of knowledge and expertise of the brand, and my two years working with Reesink puts me in good stead too.”

Jeff Anguige, national sales manager at Reesink Turfcare, agrees: “Mike was not only the logical choice for the position, he was also the best. He understands the Toro brand and knows how Reesink works as a company. He has big shoes to fill left by Nigel, but there’s no question he will carry on the good work.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

Qualibra ‘Perfect’ for Royal Cinque

Reesink Appoints Mike Turnbull

Qualibra ‘Perfect’ for Royal Cinque

Reesink Appoints Mike Turnbull

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Qualibra ‘Perfect’ for Royal Cinque

Reesink Appoints Mike Turnbull

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