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Landscape reinvigoration at Beau Desert

June 28, 2024/in News, Press Release/by Admin

Landscape reinvigoration at Beau Desert: In his 31 years at Beau Desert Golf Club in Cannock, Staffordshire, Course Manager Steve Mucklow has overseen a lot of changes. But few have been on the scale of the landscape reinvigoration he and his team are working towards. Sustainability – in every sense of the word – is […]

Machinery Nation LIVE: A new feature at GroundsFest

June 27, 2024/in News, Press Release/by Admin

Machinery Nation LIVE: A new feature at GroundsFest: Get ready for an exhilarating new addition to GroundsFest 2024: Machinery Nation LIVE! This dynamic feature, brought to you by YouTube sensations Machinery Nation, promises to be a highlight at this year’s event. Ultimate Machinery Face-Off Machinery Nation LIVE will see the best products from the top […]

Landscape reinvigoration at Beau Desert

June 28, 2024/in News, Press Release/by Admin

Machinery Nation LIVE: A new feature at GroundsFest

June 27, 2024/in News, Press Release/by Admin

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Landscape reinvigoration at Beau Desert

June 28, 2024/in News, Press Release/by Admin

Landscape reinvigoration at Beau Desert: In his 31 years at Beau Desert Golf Club in Cannock, Staffordshire, Course Manager Steve Mucklow has overseen a lot of changes.

But few have been on the scale of the landscape reinvigoration he and his team are working towards.

Landscape reinvigoration at Beau Desert

Sustainability – in every sense of the word – is the goal and Steve, along with Head Greenkeeper Luke Sheldon, are seeing the fruits of their labour.

The recent delivery of the first phase of new John Deere machinery marks the start of change in direction in the machinery fleet which will help meet efficiency and productivity targets the team has set itself.

“The course has changed more in the past five years because of all the work that we’ve put into heathland regeneration,” says Steve. “What we’re really about is sustainability and we’ve managed to get the resources to improve and redevelop the golf course. That includes the machinery and with John Deere on board that’s very much part of us moving forward.”

All around the course there is evidence of the work the team has put in to maintain a Top 100-level golf course while allowing the natural environment to flourish around it.

It was Steve who got the ball rolling on the sustainability mission, and the whole club is now driving towards making the 170-acre course as sustainable as possible.

“The one thing that we needed to do after the best part of 100 years was to start looking at redeveloping the course and bringing it into the modern era,” says Steve.

“But for us, it’s also important to keep the tradition of the course. The way in which we’ve redeveloped the holes is in a very traditional way – everything we’ve used materials wise has come from on-site to keep everything sustainable and natural.”

“Beau Desert is not written about in loads of magazines or advertised greatly,” Luke says. “It’s one of those courses where you’ve just got to come out and play it and experience it for yourself, and when people do come and play, they come back.”

Steve attributes the course’s traditional Fowler design and heathland appeal.

“Certainly from the mid 1970s, fuelled by tv, the trend was for green and stripes, fast, receptive greens, that Masters style set up – golf has gone full circle now, the traditional ‘running game’ is back in focus, in vogue, that suits us just fine here at Beau.”

So far, the Beau Desert team has completed the restoration of three holes, the first, fifth and 18th, and their aim is to have the course fully restored by 2030. The club not only has the redevelopment template in place, but also the Heathland and Woodland management plan and a Farming in Protective Landscapes funded scheme.

The club’s 650 members have all been openly communicated to with each step of the restoration, something which the members so far have been pleased with. In recent years, as the club’s member demographic has gotten younger and the club has gotten busier, the playing percentage is quite high, with around 40,000 rounds of golf played a year.

With the course becoming so busy, the greens team go out and prepare the course before play begins at 8am.

John Deere’s state of the art hybrid technology allows the Beau Desert team to work much more efficiently and sustainably. So far this year the team has received seven new additions to its fleet, including a 2750 E-Cut riding greens mower, 7500 E-Cut for fairways, two walk-behinds and an 8800A to cut surrounds. There are plans going forward for more machines to be ordered shortly.

“What attracted us about the machines was the ability to cut down on idle times, save fuel, and cut down on emissions, all of which you can track from the machines,” says Luke.

Using the carbon emission data from the mowers as well as using drones to count how many trees there are on the course, the team can calculate their journey towards carbon neutrality.

“So, for example, if the fairway mowers put out 20 hours’ worth of emissions, we can calculate the carbon offset to be around 12 mature trees – that’s how many trees it would take to cancel out the carbon emissions,” says Luke.

He says the grounds team knew they wanted to invest in John Deere machines right after demoing them.

“When we demoed the machines, we found that the transition from our old machines to Deere was easy as they were so simple to understand and use,” says Luke. “Plus, it wasn’t just the case of the machines being dumped on the team and left to figure it out, there was always background information (from John Deere dealer Farol), and we were given time to get used to the machines as well.

“Before we’d even made the change properly, the lads had a real good idea of what they were using, and achieving a really good performance didn’t take much input.”

As they preach sustainability, Luke and Steve felt that their machinery had to match up to their philosophy. The electric drive on the cutting reels eliminate the risk hydraulic leaks while delivering consistency of cut.

Steve believes that putting the time and effort into making the course sustainable is the most important part of it all.

“It’s a long process,” says Steve. “We started to invest around 10 years ago but with improved budgets really upped the ante over the past five to six years.

“I’ve been able to learn a lot about sustainability on the job, but I’ve also been quite lucky as I’ve met some good people who understand about ecology and the heathland environment.

“We’ve learnt a lot ourselves, improving agronomics whilst maintaining standards has been key.”

Looking to the future, and continuing the redevelopment of the course, Steve is working on trying to get the next grant through for the development of the heathland.

“We also have the redevelopment plan for the seventh hole in place for October, all being well, and that’s the next two stages,” says Steve.

The grant will take care of the woodland and regeneration work and redevelopment will continue into the future.

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Machinery Nation LIVE: A new feature at GroundsFest

June 27, 2024/in News, Press Release/by Admin

Machinery Nation LIVE: A new feature at GroundsFest: Get ready for an exhilarating new addition to GroundsFest 2024: Machinery Nation LIVE! This dynamic feature, brought to you by YouTube sensations Machinery Nation, promises to be a highlight at this year’s event.

Ultimate Machinery Face-Off

Machinery Nation LIVE will see the best products from the top brands compete in the ultimate machinery face-off. Witness top brands from across the globe showcase their products in thrilling live comparisons. These face-offs will feature in-depth tests as the machinery is put through a series of fun, entertaining, and rigorous trials. This is your chance to see which products come out on top in various categories such as petrol vs. battery, agility, power, and more.

Machinery Nation LIVE: A new feature at GroundsFest

New Product Launches

New products that few will have seen will be featured and put to the test in this exciting area. GroundsFest 2024 visitors will be some of the first to witness these innovations in action.

Equipment Challenges and Prizes

The excitement doesn’t stop there. Machinery Nation LIVE will also host equipment challenges where visitors can compete against friends and colleagues. Test your skills with different tools and equipment for a chance to win fantastic prizes. These challenges are designed to be both fun and competitive, offering a unique hands-on experience for all participants.

Machinery Nation duo James Hayes and Joshua Smith shared their enthusiasm: “GroundsFest is absolutely brilliant; there is a nice vibe and a good buzz about it. We think it is going to be the biggest date in the groundcare calendar as there is nothing quite like it. We are really looking forward to seeing everyone at this year’s event!”

Building on the success of its inaugural show last year, GroundsFest 2024 promises more exhibitors, unrivalled brands on display, hands-on demonstrations, free educational sessions, and live music. With the addition of Machinery Nation LIVE, this year’s event is set to be an unforgettable experience for everyone involved in the groundscare and landscaping industries.

GroundsFest 2024 takes place on 10 and 11 September at Stoneleigh Park, in Warwickshire.

Don’t miss your chance to be part of the industry’s must-attend event. Register now for free at www.groundsfest.com

You can also follow GroundsFest on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @GroundsFest for much more news, reviews and insightful views.

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 and Instagram 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.

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

Landscape reinvigoration at Beau Desert

Machinery Nation LIVE: A new feature at GroundsFest

Landscape reinvigoration at Beau Desert

Machinery Nation LIVE: A new feature at GroundsFest

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Landscape reinvigoration at Beau Desert

Landscape reinvigoration at Beau Desert: In his 31 years at Beau Desert Golf Club in Cannock, Staffordshire, Course Manager Steve Mucklow has overseen a lot of changes.

Machinery Nation LIVE: A new feature at GroundsFest

Machinery Nation LIVE: A new feature at GroundsFest: Get ready for an exhilarating new addition to GroundsFest 2024: Machinery Nation LIVE! This dynamic feature, brought to you by YouTube sensations Machinery Nation, promises to be a highlight at this year’s event.

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