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Newquay Golf Club Proves Slow And Steady Wins The Race

March 31, 2017/in Press Release/by Admin

Since Dan Kendle, head greenkeeper at Newquay Golf Club, arrived at the links course overlooking Fistral beach in Cornwall in 2014, he has been steadily adding Toro to its shed. From the first Toro, the revolutionary Greensmaster 3400 TriFlex to the most recent, a Groundsmaster 4300-D that arrived in the spring, the club now boasts […]

On The Right Lines At Ardingly College

March 30, 2017/in Press Release/by Admin

Ian Card is Head of Grounds and Security at Ardingly College, an independent, mixed school set in a beautiful 230-acre campus in the West Sussex countryside. In 2014, having previously worked at the college under another Head Groundsman, Ian returned to Ardingly, bringing with him his 20 years of agronomy experience. He now leads a […]

Newquay Golf Club Proves Slow And Steady Wins The Race

March 31, 2017/in Press Release/by Admin

On The Right Lines At Ardingly College

March 30, 2017/in Press Release/by Admin

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Newquay Golf Club Proves Slow And Steady Wins The Race

March 31, 2017/in Press Release/by Admin

Since Dan Kendle, head greenkeeper at Newquay Golf Club, arrived at the links course overlooking Fistral beach in Cornwall in 2014, he has been steadily adding Toro to its shed.

From the first Toro, the revolutionary Greensmaster 3400 TriFlex to the most recent, a Groundsmaster 4300-D that arrived in the spring, the club now boasts a Toro fleet to “rival most others” says Dan. And the difference both Dan’s and Toro’s arrival has made at the club is most significant in the health and quality of the grass.

“When I arrived at Newquay Golf Club the turf was in a very sorry state,” says Dan. “There was a lot of disease scarring on the greens and the sward was very weak. It’s a hard-working course, open 365 days of the year and it needed a lot of improvement.

“Woodhall Spa, where I’d been for 15 years before heading back to Cornwall, uses solely Toro machines so I was well versed in their capabilities. Working with the management committee at Newquay we came up with a strategy that would allow us to get the best out of the course, acquiring machines through Devon Garden Machinery for the most pressing issues first when the budget could accommodate the investment.”

It’s a strategy that has worked; in less than three years the proof is clearly in the turf, the health and species composition of which has improved hugely, a fact supported by the members whose feedback is “really positive”.

Particularly instrumental in that improvement, says Dan, is the formidable pedestrian aerator, the Toro ProCore 648. “One of the early arrivals, the ProCore is one of our most invaluable pieces of kit. With interchangeable tines, it will do anything and everything when it comes to aeration. We can micro-tine in the summer and you wouldn’t even know it had been done and most importantly it doesn’t disturb play. We’re lucky to have really good drainage, but we use the ProCore monthly without fail to maintain the standards we are becoming known for.”

The ProCore also proves its worth in the club’s bi-annual maintenance weeks in March and October. Designed to help ease compaction and aid the turf’s all-important free draining quality, these maintenance weeks see Dan and his greenkeeping team of four solid tine, overseed, fertilise and topdress the greens, aprons and surrounds to help ‘repair’ the course after the hard weather conditions of winter and the heavy footfall conditions of summer.

So what next for the 126-year-old, par 69, 6141-yard course? Dan tells us it’s more of the same, with a real push to keep improving and elevating the course to be one of the best in the county joining fellow Cornish and Toro club Trevose in the top three.

And we have no doubt they will succeed; after all you don’t have to be the hare to win the race!

On The Right Lines At Ardingly College

March 30, 2017/in Press Release/by Admin

Football is the dominant winter sport played at Ardingly College, unlike many private schools that traditionally play rugby as the first choice game. Still, the oval ball has its place alongside football, cricket, hockey, athletics and tennis (to name a few), with Ian’s team maintaining twelve grass pitches, three squares and two all-weather artificial turf pitches.

As is expected for a fee-paying school, the standards of all facilities must be maintained to an exemplary level and Ardingly College more than fulfils this remit. The pitches are pounded seven days a week by the school’s 400+ students, and in the past have been used as training centres for England U21s, England Ladies, Crawley Town FC plus Bunbury’s Cricket matches. Therefore, the amount of use and the high quality playing surfaces expected of the grounds certainly keep Ian and his team on their toes.

The finishing touch and stand out feature of any sports pitch is the white line presentation. This school year saw Ardingly become a customer for Bristol-based sports paint supplier, Pitchmark. With a growing portfolio of independent schools across the UK, Pitchmark’s user-friendly Eco System appealed to Ian and his staff, as he explained: “I like the marking machine. It’s very simple and easy to operate and has a nice user-friendly feel to it.”

Ian continued: “Customer service is crucial in any of my purchasing. Pitchmark’s assistance before and after I became a customer has been excellent. One of their reps, Olly (Boys), comes to see me and the team, and we chat through how the paint and machine are performing and my general feedback. It’s something that was being overlooked with a previous supplier – good, friendly customer service.”

Pitchmark have been supplying Ardingly College with their ready-to-use paint Ecoline+ for nine months so far and this is having a positive effect on work efficiency. “The no mixing is very convenient. My guys don’t have to spend down-time mixing and getting messy. The product quality and finish is consistent as it’s the same every time you mark. It allows us to spend more time on other tasks to raise the standards further.”

“Sometimes, the paint can be too good,” he said, jokingly. “We swap some football fields to rugby every January and I could still see the old lines weeks after.” Well, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Thanks to Ian for his time.

Pitchmark can be contacted on 01454 776666, sales@pitchmark.com or www.pitchmarkltd.com

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Newquay Golf Club Proves Slow And Steady Wins The Race

On The Right Lines At Ardingly College

Newquay Golf Club Proves Slow And Steady Wins The Race

On The Right Lines At Ardingly College

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Newquay Golf Club Proves Slow And Steady Wins The Race

On The Right Lines At Ardingly College

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