Blog Elements - Turf Matters

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

Data Access is Just a Click Away with Turfkeeper

August 22, 2024/in News, Press Release/by Admin

Data Access is Just a Click Away with Turfkeeper: For the last 18 years Course Manager Geoff Smith has been spending hours meticulously setting up and inputting into an array of spreadsheets to help him manage the greenkeeping staff and grounds at the beautiful Abridge Golf Club in Romford, Essex. ‘All my spreadsheets were stored […]

DLF announce new ‘Showcase’ facility

August 21, 2024/in News, Press Release/by Admin

DLF announce new ‘Showcase’ facility: Work is underway on a brand new ‘Showcase’ facility at DLF’s UK headquarters in Inkberrow, Worcestershire. Scheduled to be fully operational by Spring 2025, the Showcase sees six hectares dedicated to amenity seed trials, product development, training and education for staff, distributors and customers – making it one of the […]

Data Access is Just a Click Away with Turfkeeper

August 22, 2024/in News, Press Release/by Admin

DLF announce new ‘Showcase’ facility

August 21, 2024/in News, Press Release/by Admin

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Data Access is Just a Click Away with Turfkeeper

August 22, 2024/in News, Press Release/by Admin

Data Access is Just a Click Away with Turfkeeper: For the last 18 years Course Manager Geoff Smith has been spending hours meticulously setting up and inputting into an array of spreadsheets to help him manage the greenkeeping staff and grounds at the beautiful Abridge Golf Club in Romford, Essex.

‘All my spreadsheets were stored on a USB stick which I guarded with my life. It recorded everything I needed to manage all areas of the golf course including budgets and provided the necessary evidence and reports to justify everything we did. It didn’t bear thinking about if it was to ever get lost!”

Data Access is Just a Click Away with Turfkeeper

Geoff joined the Abridge 18-hole, par 72 Championship golf course in 1996 and knows the greens better than anyone. He was a customer of Rigby Taylor, Headland Amenity and Symbio for around 12 years before they merged in 2021 to form Origin Amenity Solutions (OAS). “I love working with Origin, it’s been around 15 years now, and can’t praise them highly enough. They have great reps and some fantastic products. I put nearly all of my business through them.”

The course was first designed, in 1962 by renowned maestro of English Golf, Henry Cotton, whose outstanding feature was that both loops of nine holes started and finished at the clubhouse. It is considered one of the finest in the county and is an Open Regional Qualifying Course. It has held various Essex tournaments and was host to the PDC EuroPro Tour event in 2022. Geoff uses a combination of non-biological and biological products as part of an Integrated Turf Management programme. “The OAS reps work with me to choose products that complement each other well and ensure the very best outcome. We have around 750 members and our course and greens are expected to be in the best possible condition free of disease”, adds Geoff.

In 2023 Geoff was persuaded to trial the OAS TurfKeeper web-based digital platform which is designed to replace all manual spreadsheets and ledgers. He had a demonstration from Kevin Scarce, Turf Keepers Product Manager and whilst impressed was reluctant to move away from his trusted spreadsheets.

With greenkeepers and turf professionals facing mounting pressure to justify every decision they make, from equipment purchases to project proposals, and with costs soaring and resources dwindling, the need for data-driven insights is critical. TurfKeeper is being used in many golf and sports clubs across the UK and is equipping turf managers and greenkeepers with the tools they need to maximise resources, streamline decision-making, and manage turf maintenance.

Geoff implemented Turfkeeper in July 2023 and after a couple of hours of training set about entering his information into the system. Geoff considers himself “Old school” and wanted to try it alongside his existing spreadsheets. “I shouldn’t have worried, it’s such a user-friendly system and works brilliantly. I love it and dropped my spreadsheets at the end of 2023. I now use Turfkeeper exclusively for all my data.”

At the heart of TurfKeeper lies a robust suite, from staff management to inventory control, task planning to budgeting. TurfKeeper provides greenkeepers with a central hub to oversee every aspect of their operations. “I use it for everything”, adds Geoff, “It’s only as good as the information you put into it though, so I spent a few days inputting – staff wages, hours, stock information, budgets, maintenance programme, etc and now it’s so easy to pull off the information I want. That’s the beauty of Turfkeeper. It gives you graphics and pie charts to show to management or the Greens Committee – everyone loves a picture – it’s so easy to understand and takes no time to produce.”

Abridge Golf Club is set in 240 acres of beautiful parkland with some of the finest views over the Essex countryside. It’s a close-knit club and its members and a Greens Committee are encouraged to interact, question, and offer their suggestions. Geoff has a wealth of knowledge and is held in high esteem, but he does enjoy knowing he has data at his fingertips that he can show to back up his decisions or support his capital requests. His members requested the tees be cut by hand for a better finish. In seconds Geoff had a report that showed the extra labour required to achieve this and the associated cost that management needed to sign off on additional staff recruitment.

Geoff is supported by a team of nine, there are currently 2 other people in his team with access permissions to the system, his deputy Ben Scrivener and first assistant Jamie Blagdon. They both assist Geoff with stock control, applications and help assist with planning tasks in Geoff’s absence. Geoff now spends 30-45 minutes to plan for the week and month ahead, rather than the couple of hours previously. “I use TurfKeeper for everything but primarily organising tasks for the greenkeeping team, stock control, and budget control.”

One of the most significant benefits of TurfKeeper is its ability to save time and resources. By automating repetitive tasks and eliminating manual paperwork, Geoff can focus his efforts on strategic decision-making and turf maintenance. “I am delighted with TurfKeeper, it has saved me hours of labour and I only have one platform to enter information into and extract data from. The team likes it because they can view the full picture, they know what is planned for everyone for the weeks and months ahead. I can’t recommend it highly enough.”

If you would like a free no-obligation 30-minute demonstration, call 07850 638 508 or visit www.turfkeeper.com

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.

DLF announce new ‘Showcase’ facility

August 21, 2024/in News, Press Release/by Admin

DLF announce new ‘Showcase’ facility: Work is underway on a brand new ‘Showcase’ facility at DLF’s UK headquarters in Inkberrow, Worcestershire. Scheduled to be fully operational by Spring 2025, the Showcase sees six hectares dedicated to amenity seed trials, product development, training and education for staff, distributors and customers – making it one of the largest of its kind in the UK.

Alongside plots sown with current cultivars and mixtures, the Showcase will have an area dedicated to new and upcoming developments giving visitors the chance to exclusively see and compare future trial and demo formulations. It will also be the base for a sizeable programme of UK testing which feeds into the global picture of climate and disease tolerance trials, ensuring that the mixtures of tomorrow are the most resistant, fit for purpose and sustainable to tackle the environmental challenges faced in the amenity market.

DLF announce new ‘Showcase’ facility

Centre to the Showcase will be a sports zone, featuring a hybrid winter sports pitch, cricket wicket, tennis court and small-scale golf tee, fairway and green, sown with mixtures from across the DLF portfolio by specialist contactors Fineturf who were commissioned with the construction. Having worked with many of the UK’s leading sporting venues including Lords Cricket Ground, AELTC and Tottenham Hotspur FC, Fineturf were the ideal fit for the project, utilising the very latest in their hybrid turf technology.

Commenting on the work, Amenity Sales & Marketing Manager Derek Smith said, “It’s incredibly exciting to see the start of what promises to be an industry-leading facility and asset to the Johnsons Sports Seed, Masterline and MM Seed brands. A big thank you to the Fineturf team for their work to date, and over the next six months we look forward to the construction of new conference facilities and the continued extension of the sample plots to give us a fully-functioning training centre come the Spring.”

The exciting news is the latest in a programme of ongoing investment by the world’s leading grass seed breeders. The end of 2023 saw the installation of Inkberrow’s new £3.5m ‘Titan’ mixing plant technology, together with recent expansion of DLF’s UK native wild flower production which now spans an area of over 80 acres.

Further updates on the project are expected in the new year.

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)

Data Access is Just a Click Away with Turfkeeper

DLF announce new ‘Showcase’ facility

Data Access is Just a Click Away with Turfkeeper

DLF announce new ‘Showcase’ facility

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Data Access is Just a Click Away with Turfkeeper

Data Access is Just a Click Away with Turfkeeper: For the last 18 years Course Manager Geoff Smith has been spending hours meticulously setting up and inputting into an array of spreadsheets to help him manage the greenkeeping staff and grounds at the beautiful Abridge Golf Club in Romford, Essex.

DLF announce new ‘Showcase’ facility

RESOURCES

CONTACT

CONNECT