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A Numbers Game At The Buckinghamshire

September 21, 2017/in Press Release, Sport/by Georgina Scott

A Numbers Game At The Buckinghamshire: Club completes course redesign and Toro irrigation install It’s all in the numbers for The Buckinghamshire Golf Club, which has recently undergone a £3 million course redesign. The course has been lengthened to 7200 Championship yards, 112 bunkers have been redesigned to 64 and the 25-year irrigation system has been […]

Sand Plays Major Role In Kingsbarns Summer Success

September 21, 2017/in Press Release, Sport/by Yvonne Alexander

Sand Plays Major Role In Kingsbarns Summer Success: Kingsbarns Golf Links may be no stranger to accolades, but its distinction as the ideal setting for the Ricoh Women’s British Open has now been verified by one of golf’s most respected authorities. The Sports Turf Research Institute (STRI) recorded excellent performance data during this summer’s tournament, resulting in […]

A Numbers Game At The Buckinghamshire

September 21, 2017/in Press Release, Sport/by Georgina Scott

Sand Plays Major Role In Kingsbarns Summer Success

September 21, 2017/in Press Release, Sport/by Yvonne Alexander

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A Numbers Game At The Buckinghamshire

September 21, 2017/in Press Release, Sport/by Georgina Scott

A Numbers Game At The Buckinghamshire: Club completes course redesign and Toro irrigation install

It’s all in the numbers for The Buckinghamshire Golf Club, which has recently undergone a £3 million course redesign. The course has been lengthened to 7200 Championship yards, 112 bunkers have been redesigned to 64 and the 25-year irrigation system has been replaced with a new Toro Lynx controller with 1275 Flex 35 and T5 sprinklers, ensuring that not an inch of the 226 acre venue goes without a good watering.

Course manager Andy Ewence who has been at the club in Denham for five years says the club has very high standards and the course, which was designed by John Jacobs OBE and is host to numerous competitions, needed some alterations to ensure its position as one of the finest inland course in the British Isles: “We wanted to update some aspects of the course. Lengthening it adds a new challenge for our members and better suits the tournaments we host. We’ve reduced 112 bunkers to 64, relocated the remaining 64 and lined every one with bunker Blinder. We’ve added lake edges to two feature holes and concrete pathways for ease of movement around the course.”

It was while making these changes that Andy and the team decided to replace the irrigation system. Andy explains: “The irrigation system was 25 years old and as a result the PVC piping was turning brittle, it was very unreliable and the computer system needed updating. And all of these factors were visibly displaying on the course. We had dry patches and grass that was turning yellow. Redesigning the course was the perfect time to update the system.”

Andy says the owners were very much behind the investment and encouraged him to seek out “the best”, a decision Andy turned to irrigation specialists Lakes and Greens to help him make. “We were after the highest specification, the full package,” says Andy. “Wall-to-wall sprinklers, a mapping system and Grundfos pumps that work with the controllers were key.

“We are very familiar with the Toro brand as we are on a five-year leasing package for all our turf machinery and the quality is outstanding. But Toro Irrigation was chosen for its own merit and it was the Lynx control system in particular that sold it to me. I’ve been using the system since April 2017 and in my opinion it is the best system I could have chosen, it’s so easy to work with. But the real proof is in the grass, it looks amazing: green and lush and the members have really noticed a difference.” It definitely helps having over a thousand sprinklers working their magic!

Mike Collins, managing director of Lakes and Greens, the company renowned for meeting the standards required by Championship venues, installed the product and comments: “The installation at the Buckinghamshire was achieved in two very tight windows of opportunity, both deadlines were met despite appalling weather conditions in early 2016 thanks to the leadership of contracts director Mark Collins. We enjoy a strong relationship with the Reesink team and its support of the Toro product is excellent.”

The Buckinghamshire is a regular host of Ladies European Tour events, including the ISPS Handa Ladies European Masters, but it has taken a break while the renovations have taken place. With a return to normal hosting duties expected next year all the eyes on The Buckinghamshire will be rewarded with a green and glorious view.

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Sand Plays Major Role In Kingsbarns Summer Success

September 21, 2017/in Press Release, Sport/by Yvonne Alexander

Sand Plays Major Role In Kingsbarns Summer Success: Kingsbarns Golf Links may be no stranger to accolades, but its distinction as the ideal setting for the Ricoh Women’s British Open has now been verified by one of golf’s most respected authorities.

The Sports Turf Research Institute (STRI) recorded excellent performance data during this summer’s tournament, resulting in some of the most consistent figures collated during championships.

What makes these findings even more impressive is that this year’s flagship event was mired by extreme weather conditions culminating in torrential downpours. Yet despite the unseasonal deluges, the course dried up quickly and the tournament was completed on time. The STRI has now confirmed that the women’s major was contested over an exceptional course with consistent sand top dressings being one of the primary reasons for success.

He continued: “Achieving the targets was particularly pleasing because of the challenging weather conditions experienced throughout the championship with heavy rain falling on most afternoons and evenings. The results were outstanding and the use of the sand was a major influence. Regular sanding provides the foundations for firmness which allows you to achieve target green speeds. If the greens had softened, we wouldn’t have achieved the results we recorded.”

With a client list that includes all nine Open Championship venues and many of Europe’s top clubs, the STRI collects performance data to deliver unparalleled benchmarking analysis. With this in mind, a threshold of six to eight inches is set between the fastest and slowest greens during tournament play. For this year’s Women’s Open, that difference was particularly good at Kingsbarns with a variance down to just three inches – a level of consistency not achieved before now.

“The consistency of the firmness between the greens was excellent,” said Windows. All the greens remained within target despite significant rainfall during the championship.”

Using a Stimpmeter, Windows was able to check the pace of the Kingsbarns greens twice daily in order to make fine adjustments when required. He also checked other key performance indicators such as firmness and smoothness. The consistency of results were unprecedented, as Innes Knight, course and facility manager at Kingsbarns explained.

“When we Stimped a green and it was not quite where we wanted it, we would cut it again,” said Knight. “We were able to get all 18 greens and the practice putting green to within three inches of each other. It was that close. A lot of them were exactly the same.”

Knight, who has been looking after the tees, greens and fairways at Kingsbarns since it opened in 2000, said the data was exceptional. “We’re not just talking about the smoothness and the speed, we’re also talking about the firmness,” he said. “So between the results for the stimping, the firmness and the smoothness, they were all consistent. I believe they’re some of the best readings ever.”

Sand is used on golf courses to reduce organic material and improve drainage. It also has a huge impact on putting surfaces, as Windows was keen to point out. “The sand influences firmness and because the greens retained a good level of firmness, it was easier to achieve the target green speeds and consistency between greens. This was achieved with the aid of Hugh King’s Washed Dune sand.”

Hugh King & Co supplies sands to over 120 golf courses including all Open Championship venues in Scotland, and Kingsbarns for the last 12 years. Here, Hugh King’s Washed Dune Sand is used for topdressing greens, surrounds and fairways.

“Kingsbarns has a well-earned reputation for delivering an incredible golfing experience which has rightly propelled it to the top of many golfers’ wish lists,” said Graeme King, managing director of Hugh King & Co. “These results from the STRI clearly show this appreciation is founded on the meticulous preparation programme followed by the greenkeeping team at Kingsbarns. It is particularly gratifying to know that our Washed Dune sand is playing a central role in this effort.”

The Ricoh Women’s British Open was the first time the STRI had measured a women’s Major on behalf of The R&A following the amalgamation between the Ladies’ Golf Union (LGU) and The R&A. It was also the first Major golf championship to be contested across Kingsbarns Golf Links.

Hugh King & Co is one of the country’s leading suppliers of sports sands. The family run firm has been delivering top-grade materials to key industry sectors for over 160 years.

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A Numbers Game At The Buckinghamshire

Sand Plays Major Role In Kingsbarns Summer Success

A Numbers Game At The Buckinghamshire

Sand Plays Major Role In Kingsbarns Summer Success

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

A Numbers Game At The Buckinghamshire

Sand Plays Major Role In Kingsbarns Summer Success

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