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Aqua-Zorb Delivers Results

February 8, 2018/in News, Press Release/by Lucy Nicholls

Aqua-Zorb Delivers Results: The Course Manager at the highly exclusive Birch Grove Estate in Sussex, Pete Smith, has reported ‘phenomenal’ results from using Sherriff Amenity’s Aqua-Zorb wetting agent to bring his fairways back to life. Situated in 1200 acres of undulating Sussex countryside, lies Birch Grove Estate. It is the former home of Sir Harold Macmillan, […]

Wheelbarrow Effort Cut By Makita

February 6, 2018/in Machinery, Press Release/by Katrina Wallace

Wheelbarrow Effort Cut By Makita: In-wheel Brushless motor drives up to 3.5 km/h (2.2 m/h) 130kg max load up to 12° incline Adjustable chassis with pipe frame or bucket frame option AT LAST – Makita has harnessed the impressive power of the incredibly successful 18v Brushless motor to reduce the back-breaking task of pushing a […]

Aqua-Zorb Delivers Results

February 8, 2018/in News, Press Release/by Lucy Nicholls

Wheelbarrow Effort Cut By Makita

February 6, 2018/in Machinery, Press Release/by Katrina Wallace

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Aqua-Zorb Delivers Results

February 8, 2018/in News, Press Release/by Lucy Nicholls

Situated in 1200 acres of undulating Sussex countryside, lies Birch Grove Estate. It is the former home of Sir Harold Macmillan, former Prime Minister, and visitors to the house have included Sir Winston Churchill, General Charles De Gaulle and, just a couple of weeks before his assassination, John F Kennedy.

While these extraordinary visitors would have no doubt enjoyed the luxuries and stunning views afforded by Birch Grove, they would not have had a chance to play a round of golf on the magnificent 18-hole course in the grounds.

It wasn’t until 1986 when new owner and Asian businessman, Larry Yung, gained planning permission to build the course on the provision that it was to be purely for private use. Work eventually began on the Donald Steel designed course in 1994, and it was completed in 1996. However, for reasons unknown, Yung began to lose interest in his course and for next few years it was maintained as a 9-hole course with barely any golf played on it.

This all changed in 2011 when the current owners purchased Birch Grove and decided to return the course to its former glory. Having played a part in the original construction, Pete Smith – experienced greenkeeper and then course manager at the Cavendish Club, was brought in to reinstate the course.

Following a highly successful renovation, the 18-hole course is now 7,000 yards long, with the greens and tees constructed to USGA specification. The course remains ‘purely by invitation only’ and a maximum of 150 rounds of golf are played a year on it. It could be argued that Birch Grove Estate is the most exclusive golf course in the country.

Pete along with two other full-time greenkeepers tend to the course and no stone is left un-turned. So when his fairways started to take a turn for the worse, he was quick to find a solution.

“We have irrigation on the greens, tees and approaches but we don’t have fairway irrigation and I have never really used a wetting agent on them,” says Pete. “However, this year has been ridiculously dry and it got to the stage where in early July I was starting to look at the fairways thinking that they are actually going beyond dormant. We were starting to lose large parts of the fairway where we have not had any irrigation or any rainfall.

“So after speaking Joseph Dormer (Amenity Specialist for Sherriff Amenity), he suggested using the Aqua-Zorb Liquid as a curative effect and we thought we’d give it a go.”

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.

Upon applying Aqua-Zorb it is recommended that the operator should immediately irrigate with a minimum 3mm of water, or spray during rainfall – which, with no fairway irrigation, Pete relied on. However, what he thought would be a passing shower actually turned out to be far much more.

“Without fairway irrigation I was reliant on rainfall so I waited until it started raining before applying the Aqua-Zorb. It ended up absolutely chucking it down – literally the last couple of fairways I was spraying the product on were virtually flooding with surface water sitting on them. I ended up with about 16mm of rainfall which is pretty much four times the water volume that is required. At the time I was convinced that, due to the heavy rain, it wasn’t going to work. I believed it would just wash off and I thought I had just wasted all of the product.

“But coming back two days later I was amazed to see the fairways ‘greening up’ – the results were truly phenomenal. The proof, bizarrely that it worked, was that I missed a couple of areas, and you could clearly see where I had applied the wetting agent and where I hadn’t. At the time of spraying, I thought it wouldn’t matter if I left a 2ft line between my spray widths because it I felt it would leach and move with the heavy rain water that was coming down.

But it didn’t, it just stayed there and that actually gave me the evidence that the Aqua-Zorb had actually done an amazing job. I said to Joseph that it must have been like super glue!

“I will absolutely, un-questionably, use Aqua-Zorb in the spring next year as my six month fairway wetting agent. I will put it down with 100% confidence because I know how heavy that rainfall was. It was quite incredible seeing the results from this year and I know I won’t have to worry anymore about my fairways burning off or be concerned about losing them if we have another dry spell.”

As well as being a fan of Aqua-Zorb, Pete was also quick to praise the customer service he receives from Sherriff Amenity’s Joseph Dormer.

“Customer service is excellent – Joseph is relatively new in his role and having previously been a greenkeeper he is extremely knowledgeable. I know that he is always on the end of the phone for any back-up or agronomy issues.

“Not a lot of people are aware of actually how good this product is but Joe has looked into it, researched it and is confident in it. He hasn’t pushed it onto me – he simply came to me in a time of trouble and found me a solution. I took his advice and I’m pleased I did!”

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

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Wheelbarrow Effort Cut By Makita

February 6, 2018/in Machinery, Press Release/by Katrina Wallace

Wheelbarrow Effort Cut By Makita:

In-wheel Brushless motor drives up to 3.5 km/h (2.2 m/h)
130kg max load up to 12° incline
Adjustable chassis with pipe frame or bucket frame option

AT LAST – Makita has harnessed the impressive power of the incredibly successful 18v Brushless motor to reduce the back-breaking task of pushing a fully laden wheelbarrow across a rocky, bumpy building site, a muddy commercial garden or rough pasture towards a favourite fishing lake!

In fact, designed principally to reduce the physical demands in the construction industry the new Makita DCU180Z will prove popular in many operating fields. Capable of carrying 130kg of blocks on the tubular frame, or similar amount of ballast in the barrow bin option, this power-assisted wheelbarrow has the Brushless motor integrated into the front wheel to ensure the maximum possible traction to the heavily ribbed agri-tyre. This barrow has two forward speeds: Hi up to 3.5 km/h, Lo 1.5 km/h, and powered reverse of 1.0 km/h and will climb a 12° maximum incline. Main braking is provided by the front disc brake controlled by the hand lever on the steering handles. The wheelbarrow weighs just 32.5kg, is ready to work with handles that can be adjusted to three height levels for operator comfort and also fold for easy storage. The detachable rear trailing wheels with kick down brake can be adjusted from a width of 480mm to 760mm which further improves stability and reduces operator effort.

Powered by any of the Makita 18v LXT Lithium-Ion batteries used to power Britain’s number 1 professional power tool range, the new Makita DCU180Z power-assisted wheelbarrow has soft start to ease the load away; constant speed control; twin LED driving lights and locking brake lever for maximum site safety. For site security an individual ignition lock key is provided. Previous walk-behind powered site platforms can cost several thousand pounds but the new Makita powered wheelbarrow will prove particularly attractive in relation to price competitiveness and rugged performance.

The DCU180Z is a body only machine which is available with a choice of optional accessories which includes the pipe frame set and bucket frame set.

For more news and product information about Makita UK please visit www.makitauk.com. Follow us on Twitter @MakitaUK, Facebook.com/makitauk and google.com/+makitauk

For the latest industry news visit turfnews.co.uk

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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Aqua-Zorb Delivers Results

Wheelbarrow Effort Cut By Makita

Aqua-Zorb Delivers Results

Wheelbarrow Effort Cut By Makita

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Aqua-Zorb Delivers Results

Wheelbarrow Effort Cut By Makita

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