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Bristol and Clifton GC Awarded After Drainage Investment

September 18, 2017/in Press Release, Sport/by Annabel Gilbert

Bristol and Clifton Golf Club awarded ‘England Golf Championship Venue’ status after Greens Drainage Investment. The historic Bristol and Clifton Golf Club turned to specialist drainage firm Shelton Sportsturf Drainage to solve the problem of waterlogged greens ahead of their 125th anniversary year in 2016. The club’s Greens Chairman Carey Ashworth said: “Prior to 2015 […]

New Renewal Agreement Sees The Roehampton Club Stay With Toro

September 18, 2017/in Machinery, Press Release/by Georgina Scott

New Renewal Agreement Sees The Roehampton Club Stay With Toro: Multi-sports venue trusts in Toro for golf, tennis and croquet surfaces. Constant evolution is what sees Roehampton Club remain one of the best multi-sports Clubs in the UK. Every year for the last three years, there has been a major development at this attractive Club in […]

Bristol and Clifton GC Awarded After Drainage Investment

September 18, 2017/in Press Release, Sport/by Annabel Gilbert

New Renewal Agreement Sees The Roehampton Club Stay With Toro

September 18, 2017/in Machinery, Press Release/by Georgina Scott

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Bristol and Clifton GC Awarded After Drainage Investment

September 18, 2017/in Press Release, Sport/by Annabel Gilbert

Bristol and Clifton Golf Club awarded ‘England Golf Championship Venue’ status after Greens Drainage Investment.

The historic Bristol and Clifton Golf Club turned to specialist drainage firm Shelton Sportsturf Drainage to solve the problem of waterlogged greens ahead of their 125th anniversary year in 2016. The club’s Greens Chairman Carey Ashworth said: “Prior to 2015 we played on temporary greens every winter as, unlike our fairways which are built on naturally draining stone, our greens were built on clay and were simply far too wet to allow play in the wetter months. We had two very important events for the club in the summer of 2016 – our 125th anniversary which was to be celebrated with a summer festival and also the English Ladies Amateur Open Strokeplay Championship, so we were under pressure to ensure that the course was in perfect condition. We considered complete reconstruction of the greens, but with cost and recovery time being a limiting factor we decided against it. On the advice of our agronomist David Stansfield we researched specialist drainage. Our Head Greenkeeper Matt Hawker met Mick Claxton from Shelton Sportsturf Drainage at the BTME in 2015 and was impressed with the results they had achieved with their machinery in a short period of time and with little disruption. So, we made the decision to implement a drainage program on 9 of our wettest greens in the Autumn of that year. Mick recommended that we use their Lightning Drain System and backfill the trenches with Sportag which has a hydraulic conductivity 10 times that of gravel, this would enable a faster flow of water away from the surface for optimum results. Shelton supplied the machinery in the form of a tractor, System 25 Trencher and an operator. We started work in the Autumn of 2015, installing 25mm perforated land drainage pipes in 35mm wide trenches backfilled with Sportag in a one pass operation. The pipes were installed at 500mm centres to give us a really efficient drainage system.

The greens recovered very well, they remained playable throughout the winter recovery period and the drainage worked brilliantly. In fact, the greens which had been Lightning Drained, which had previously been the worst on the course, remained open all winter when all the other greens were on temporaries. By the time we welcomed the English Ladies for the Strokeplay championship the greens were in top condition, rolling and playing very well. We were extremely happy to hear the players tell us how impressed they were with the greens and also to be awarded ‘Championship Venue’ status by English Golf.

In June 2017, we commissioned an independent report from David Stansfield who reported that in the last 6 months thatch levels on the drained greens had reduced by 20% without any mechanical intervention, scarifying or hollow coring, whereas thatch levels on the undrained greens had increased by 10%. The maintenance has been no different, we haven’t had to implement any special treatment or change our routines, yet the greens now drain well and are healthier and less prone to disease. Our members have noticed the difference in play, the improvement in firmness, dryness and true roll and one of our neighbouring clubs has also planned in a scheme of drainage works after seeing the results of ours. We have plans to drain a further 5 greens next year and the remaining 5 at some point after that. I would certainly encourage anyone who may be considering reconstruction to improve their greens drainage to look at the Shelton system first. You may be able to save yourself a lot of time and money”.

To find more about how your sportsturf can benefit from a good drainage system, visit sheltonsdrainage.com or call 01507 578288.

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New Renewal Agreement Sees The Roehampton Club Stay With Toro

September 18, 2017/in Machinery, Press Release/by Georgina Scott

New Renewal Agreement Sees The Roehampton Club Stay With Toro: Multi-sports venue trusts in Toro for golf, tennis and croquet surfaces.

Constant evolution is what sees Roehampton Club remain one of the best multi-sports Clubs in the UK. Every year for the last three years, there has been a major development at this attractive Club in South West London. As it embarks on its next, which is a £3.5m investment on refurbishing its outdoor pool and adding new studios to the gym, one thing that remains the same is the club’s relationship with Toro machinery, recently confirmed again with the signing of yet another five-year exclusivity agreement.

Roehampton Club has a rich and illustrious history with its origins in polo and croquet rather than the four core sports of golf, tennis, squash and health and fitness it is known for today. Then as it is now though, Roehampton is at the heart of London sporting society.

The priority for course and grounds manager, Peter Bradburn, who heads up a team of 20 is to maintain the high standards on the golf course, tennis courts, croquet lawn and gardens. With its Toro fleet set to grow by up to 75 percent under the new agreement to include machines suitable for all three surfaces, the Club has once again chosen Toro, after conducting a thorough market testing exercise.

“I’ve been involved in the building of golf courses all around Europe,” Peter says. “And although the country – most recently Cyprus (Elea Estate Faldo design), Turkey (Maxx Royal Montgomerie design) and Italy (Palazzo Arzaga Nicklaus design) – changes, Toro has always been a constant. In fact, many projects I have worked on were intentionally undertaken because they involved working with Toro as you can rely on the quality of Toro’s equipment, aftercare and service.

“This agreement encompasses all the turf-based facilities we have here, the management of which requires a multi-disciplined approach”.

Included in the first order under the new agreement comes the Groundsmaster 4700-D and the Greensmaster 3250-D for the 18-hole parkland golf course, which in 2015 was accepted by the World of Leading Golf for the quality of the course. The reason behind choosing the GM4700-D is the greater width of cut it offers. Peter says: “We’ve changed how we manage the roughs by opting for a machine that can deliver a wide cut each time. This improves our timings working around the course, meaning we get things done more quickly.”

Improvements have also been made to the way the fairways are managed. Groomers have been added to the new GM3250-D, which Peter and the team have found enables a better quality of cut in damp conditions. “We can cut in all weathers using this machine”, he says. “And being able to get straight out on the course in the morning regardless of the dew, and start cutting, improves the day’s productivity.”

Being the course and grounds manager of a multi-sports venue involves, says Peter, “wearing many hats!” There are four croquet lawns at the club, all at international standard and reputed to be the best in the UK. Hosting the Croquet World Cup and International Open Championships each year and regular internal and external tournaments, it is essential all four lawns live up to expectations. Peter explains: “Cutting on the croquet lawns is low at 3mm to create a billiards table finish. The Toro Greensmaster 1600 pedestrian mowers fitted with 11-blades deliver a 3mm cut without losing the velvety finish our players like.”

For the 30 tennis courts, of which ten are grass, Peter has brought in Toro’s Greensmaster 1000 pedestrian mowers. “Tennis is a very different surface to manage to golf and croquet. A good, consistent bounce is required and to achieve that the courts must have a high clay content and the grass plant must be well established with a dense root mass to stabilise the ground similar to that used for the cricket field, otherwise the wear caused by play traffic would disintegrate the surface very quickly. The GM1000 mowers offer a precise but gentle cut, ideal for this surface.”

Rubbing shoulders with the other ‘greats’ in the area: The Hurlingham Club, Queens Club and the All England Lawn Tennis Club, Roehampton Club is set apart by being the only one to offer golf for its members. It is ranked one of the best sports clubs in the country and Peter and the club’s greenkeepers who skilfully maintain all grass surfaces with Toro machinery take great pride in that.

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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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Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

Bristol and Clifton GC Awarded After Drainage Investment

New Renewal Agreement Sees The Roehampton Club Stay With Toro

Bristol and Clifton GC Awarded After Drainage Investment

New Renewal Agreement Sees The Roehampton Club Stay With Toro

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Bristol and Clifton GC Awarded After Drainage Investment

New Renewal Agreement Sees The Roehampton Club Stay With Toro

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