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It’s ‘Sandfiller Season’ says GKB Machines

March 20, 2024/in News, Press Release/by Elena Cossar

It’s ‘Sandfiller Season’ says GKB Machines: Careful management of organic matter levels is critical to optimising both the health and play characteristics of golf greens. When it comes to managing these thatch layers, there is no universal tool or technique that will suit every course, however methods and machines are now at our disposal that […]

Rangeline improves range economics and visuals

March 20, 2024/in News, Press Release/by Adam Lawrence

Rangeline improves range economics and visuals: Sand bunkers are expensive items for golf courses to maintain, given the standards now expected by golfers. This level of maintenance is only justifiable for bunkers that get plenty of use: if a lot of players visit a bunker, then it is worth spending the money to keep it […]

It’s ‘Sandfiller Season’ says GKB Machines

March 20, 2024/in News, Press Release/by Elena Cossar

Rangeline improves range economics and visuals

March 20, 2024/in News, Press Release/by Adam Lawrence

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It’s ‘Sandfiller Season’ says GKB Machines

March 20, 2024/in News, Press Release/by Elena Cossar

It’s ‘Sandfiller Season’ says GKB Machines: Careful management of organic matter levels is critical to optimising both the health and play characteristics of golf greens.

When it comes to managing these thatch layers, there is no universal tool or technique that will suit every course, however methods and machines are now at our disposal that are far less disruptive and can incorporate additional operations such as simultaneous sand injection which helps to bring surfaces back into play even quicker. One such machine is the Sandfiller from GKB.

It’s ‘Sandfiller Season’ says GKB Machines

The GKB Sandfiller scarifies the surface down to depths of up to 40mm, removing organic matter and creating channels which are simultaneously filled with sand or a combination of sand and seed – maximising efficiency and improving drainage and ground firmness in one pass. The unit features a 400L hopper to collect the removed material, leaving a clean and tidy finish and allowing the surface to be back in play almost instantly.

One venue who employed the services of a contractor last September to conduct the Sandfiller operation is Wenvoe Castle Golf Club. Head Greenkeeper Lucy Sellick explains, “The wetter winters, combined with a smaller than normal greenkeeping team, meant we were looking for a fast and effective solution to removing organic matter and firming up the greens. The contractor began on a Thursday morning, and by Friday lunchtime all 19 greens were back in play – with organic matter removed, backfilled with 22 tons of kiln-dried sand and just one team member brushing in the remaining surface sand. Any concerns we had about how the Sandfiller would handle our Mackenzie style slopes and undulations were also unfounded.”

“Now in February, our organic matter readings have reduced, and the greens are definitely firmer. Despite all the rainfall, we’ve managed to get a triple on the greens which just wouldn’t have been possible before.” She concludes, “We had the Sandfiller in during spring renovations back in 2023 to carry out scarification work only, and have it booked in again this September where it’ll play an important role in our pre-winter renovations and organic matter management once again.”

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Rangeline improves range economics and visuals

March 20, 2024/in News, Press Release/by Adam Lawrence

Rangeline improves range economics and visuals: Sand bunkers are expensive items for golf courses to maintain, given the standards now expected by golfers. This level of maintenance is only justifiable for bunkers that get plenty of use: if a lot of players visit a bunker, then it is worth spending the money to keep it in primo condition.

But on practice ranges, where bunkers are purely aiming tools, and never get any actual play, bunker maintenance is wholly a waste of money. Thus it is tempting for course operators to dig holes on their range, fill them with sand, and leave them be. But this approach too has its problems: wind and rain will cause the bunker sand to move around and to be contaminated with other substances, reducing, even possibily eliminating, the value of having the bunker on the range in the first place. The newly-launched RANGEline product from ZLine Products, is the answer.

Rangeline improves range economics and visuals

RANGEline consists of sand-coloured synthetic material, which is installed on the range in lieu of bunkers. It is UV coated to ensure that the color can withstand sunlight exposure and seamlessly replicates the aesthetic value of sand bunkers on the range, giving golfers a powerful aiming tool, but it is essentially maintenance-free. The product was formerly known at SRL-16, but has been redesigned to be thicker and denser, so it absorbs impacts better.

“RANGEline helps course operators improve the playability and shotmaking of their practice ranges, without increasing maintenance costs,” says Casey Jones, inernational operations manager of ZLine. “It is very cost-effective – the cost of the product is roughly the same as sand – and over time it will produce an excellent return on investment. Ball picking from RANGEline is much easier than from a sand bunker, as the picking machine can drive over it. Even if the ‘bunker’ is inaccessible to the picker, it is far easier to rake up the balls than to pick them from sand – which has to be done by hand.”

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

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Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

It’s ‘Sandfiller Season’ says GKB Machines

Rangeline improves range economics and visuals

It’s ‘Sandfiller Season’ says GKB Machines

Rangeline improves range economics and visuals

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

It’s ‘Sandfiller Season’ says GKB Machines

It’s ‘Sandfiller Season’ says GKB Machines: Careful management of organic matter levels is critical to optimising both the health and play characteristics of golf greens.

Rangeline improves range economics and visuals

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