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Aqua-Zorb Eliminates Dry Patch

March 19, 2018/in News, Press Release/by Lucy Nicholls

Aqua-Zorb Eliminates Dry Patch: Having trialed a range of various wetting agents, Jonathan Smith, Course Manager at Cowdray Park Golf Club in West Sussex, found exactly what he was looking for in Sherriff Amenity’s Aqua-Zorb Liquid. Golf has been played at Cowdray since 1904. A classic downland layout built on sandy soil, it has spectacular […]

Toro Cuts Machinery Downtime

March 19, 2018/in Machinery, Press Release/by Georgina Scott

Toro Cuts Machinery Downtime: New customer Padeswood and Buckley Golf Club in Flintshire North Wales has chosen Toro for the first time as it seeks to reduce machinery downtime. Having spent, last year alone, £20,000 on maintenance and lease equipment due to breakdowns, Padeswood and Buckley has brought in Toro to eliminate these expenses and ensure […]

Aqua-Zorb Eliminates Dry Patch

March 19, 2018/in News, Press Release/by Lucy Nicholls

Toro Cuts Machinery Downtime

March 19, 2018/in Machinery, Press Release/by Georgina Scott

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Aqua-Zorb Eliminates Dry Patch

March 19, 2018/in News, Press Release/by Lucy Nicholls

Golf has been played at Cowdray since 1904. A classic downland layout built on sandy soil, it has spectacular panoramic views of the South Downs. Renowned for being a fair test to all and a true year-round venue, it is a popular destination for visiting golfers. At the heart of the 16,500 acre Cowdray Estate, the golf club echoes the wider vision and values including a long term sustainability plan.

Jonathan Smith has been Course Manager at Cowdray for 17 years and oversees a fully qualified and dedicated team of seven members of staff. As a team they are continuously looking for ways to improve the general condition of the course while keeping the Cowdray Estate’s vision in mind.

Therefore, in the summer of 2016 Jonathan and his team embarked on a series of wetting agent trials in a bid to reduce the carbon footprint without compromising on the overall condition of the beautiful golf course.

“After weeks of hot weather and no rainfall, areas of the course started showing signs of stress and Dry Patch,” said Jonathan. “Even with our fairway irrigation – slopes, high spots and mounds couldn’t hold any moisture – so we trialled various types of wetting agents on our problem areas and Aqua-Zorb Liquid by far had the best results.”

“Within 14 days, the majority of Dry Patch had gone and the turf had almost fully recovered. For the remaining part of the summer, and with equal amounts of irrigation, the non-treated areas remained hydrophobic and stressed. However the Aqua-Zorb treated areas thrived with vigour and general appearance.”

Aqua-Zorb Liquid from Sherriff Amenity is a concentrated non-ionic turf wetting agent that will enable water to move faster and deeper into the soil profile. One application can last all season and it is renowned for treating the cause of Localised Dry Patch. Aqua-Zorb can also improve drainage, alleviate compaction, reduce the quantity of irrigation required, suppress the formation of dew and greatly improve the quality of the sward.

Based on the success of applying Aqua-Zorb in 2016, Jonathan decided to apply it to the entire course in spring last year. In mid-April he applied Aqua-Zorb Liquid at a rate of 50 litres per hectare to the tees, approaches, surrounds and all the fairways. Jonathan applied it on a morning of expected rainfall and sure enough, approximately 4/5mm of rain fell that day, which washed the product in nicely.

Normally, Jonathan and his team would cease to spray wetting agent in September/October, but for maximum results he continued to apply monthly applications of Aqua-Zorb Liquid to the greens at a rate of 20 litres per hectare throughout winter.

“By continuing to apply Aqua-Zorb Liquid throughout winter, it made a remarkable difference because it kept putting surfaces significantly dryer throughout all the excessive rainfall,” he said.

On reflection of his use of Aqua-Zorb Liquid throughout 2017, Jonathan noticed a significant number of benefits.

“With record temperatures throughout June, all of our slopes, high spots and mounds held up perfectly. They would re-wet straight away, giving the course a constant solid green colour. All throughout the season there was no Dry Patch at all. We also noticed an incredible 55% savings on irrigation water when it was required – resulting in huge savings on electric power in the pump station.”

“Aqua-Zorb Liquid is an amazing product and the great feedback from the members and visitors on the overall condition of the course is testament to this.”

For further information, please contact Sherriff Amenity on 01638 721 888 or visit www.sherriffamenity.com

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Toro Cuts Machinery Downtime

March 19, 2018/in Machinery, Press Release/by Georgina Scott

Toro Cuts Machinery Downtime: New customer Padeswood and Buckley Golf Club in Flintshire North Wales has chosen Toro for the first time as it seeks to reduce machinery downtime.

Having spent, last year alone, £20,000 on maintenance and lease equipment due to breakdowns, Padeswood and Buckley has brought in Toro to eliminate these expenses and ensure the smooth running of the course.

Stuart Mason, who recently took over as head greenkeeper, tells us why Toro is the solution to their downtime dilemma: “I’ve used Toro in the past and it lives up to its reputation for reliability and longevity – you only have to look at the high resale value of Toros to confirm that fact.”

The Toro fleet replaces and upgrades the club’s main line machinery. Joining a new Greensmaster TriFlex 3420-H are three more machines including a Reelmaster 3575-D fairway mower, and Stuart goes into detail about some of the benefits he’s noticing:

“The 3575-D is good because the three wheels are quicker on the turn and kinder on turf than four-wheel machines. One of the main issues we want to avoid is mowers being out on the course when golfers are, and the speed of this mower will help enormously with that.

“The best thing about our Reelmaster 3100-D fairway mower is that the operator is placed safely away from the trickiest of edges, which the sidewinder units can cut accurately. We have recently started working with Durabunker to reconstruct our bunkers across the course by revetting them with artificial turf. The 3100-D mower will be able to keep the turf around the new bunkers neat without causing any damage.”

Stuart is also looking forward to fewer trips to the shed to refill the sprayer thanks to the Workman HDX utility vehicle complete with a Multi Pro sprayer. He explains: “Before we had a 200 litre tank, now we have almost four times that capacity with the 757 litre tank of the Multi Pro. This will make a big difference to our overall spraying routine. Another great thing about the HDX is its versatility – we don’t just operate it as a sprayer but a topdresser and truck too.”

Glyn Hughes of Major Owen advised Stuart on which machines would be the best to help eliminate downtime and ensure the smooth running of the course. Stuart says: “Glyn really helped with our decision, he was at the club so often that he was basically on the payroll! I’ve known him for a long time and it’s great to be working with Major Owen again as we can always trust them to deliver great service.”

With a new Toro fleet, and Major Owen to rely on, Stuart is nothing but positive about the club’s future: “We demonstrated a variety of machines on the market and Toro came out on top for quality and high performance, so I’m confident we’ll be able to rely on the new fleet.

“Reliable, quality machines will make it far easier to maintain the course to a high standard for our members. Already the team is over the moon that there are no more morning jumpstarts! And now downtime is no longer a dilemma, I foresee 2018 being far smoother for the greenkeeping team here at Padeswood.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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 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.

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Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

Aqua-Zorb Eliminates Dry Patch

Toro Cuts Machinery Downtime

Aqua-Zorb Eliminates Dry Patch

Toro Cuts Machinery Downtime

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Aqua-Zorb Eliminates Dry Patch

Toro Cuts Machinery Downtime

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