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Turf Maintenance Live a success

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Turf Maintenance Live a success: Although the second day was plagued with heavy rain, this did not deter visitors to Turf Maintenance Live, held at St Albans School’s Woollam Playing Fields, on Wednesday 23 and Thursday 24 October.

Over 130 delegates visited the event to see an eclectic mix of equipment that the 10 manufacturers and distributors had assembled at the superb venue, immaculately prepared by head groundman Ian Smith and his team.

Turf Maintenance Live a success

Visitors were able to visit each of the exhibitors – Agria UK, Ernest Doe & Sons, GKB Machines, Husqvarna UK, Iseki UK, Martin Lishman, Price Turfcare (Ventrac), Rigby Taylor, Wessex International and Wiedenmann UK – to see their equipment offering and in some cases ride and drive the machines on display.

“Considering the weather on the second day we were pleased,” said Val Graham from the TML team. “Some attendees came from as far away as south Wales, which proves the value of the event. With minimal opportunity to demo equipment at other industry events, this was a great occasion for our groundscare colleagues to see a wide range of equipment and, for some, the opportunity to ride and drive the machines.

“We are indebted to St Albans School, and Ian Smith in particular, for allowing us the use of their superb facilities, which were in pristine condition and looked fantastic.”

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Machinery at the touch of a button

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Machinery at the touch of a button: We live in an age where we can carry out any amount of business from a laptop, tablet, even a phone. Where once we had to engage the services of an advisor or expert we can now do what we need do from the comfort of our own sofa, or from the layby of a busy road. 

Our fine industry has long been regarded as traditional – loving the personal touch of a sales rep we’ve know for years and the strangely comforting pleasure derived from kicking a tyre or two – but it is not adverse to dabbling with the modern age.

Machinery at the touch of a button

Thanks to a new company we too have the option to purchase high quality used machinery by the touch of a button.

Grass Plant has been set up by Martin Guy, a sports and amenity turf industry entrepreneur of over 30 years standing, to enable machinery dealers to offer their used machinery to end users and potential customers in a similar manner to that of Auto Trader, in the domestic vehicle market.

“Grass Plant has come about following my work with another of my companies – Martin Guy Developments. I’ve operated and owned golf courses for many years so contracting has been a big part of the business,” said Martin.

“With contracting comes a lot of equipment and at any one time we can be holding in in excess of £1.5 million worth of machinery because of the nature of work that we do.”

Having such a stock of machinery means that Martin spends a lot of time with machinery sales people and he began to realise that as an end user, and someone who buys and sells himself he saw the benefits of an on-line trading platform for used machinery.

“Grass Plant was formed as a company four years ago with this concept in mind but the website to enable it to work didn’t come to fruition until the start of this year. I wanted to make sure that the website was completely correct and fit for purpose but now it is set, it is evolving and moving and people are beginning to subscribe to it.”

The business model does work on a subscription basis. If a dealer has a number of machines to sell he will be given a flat rate for them to be advertised on the site and the dealer can put whatever they like onto the site and remove or refresh at will.

“The end user then can see what is available and have a choice of what machine they are looking for. There might be a three old version of the machine with a lot of hours on the clock they want of a five year old version with fewer, so the potential customer can see what is their best fit,” explained Martin, adding that 99% of his current clients are main machinery dealers.

“They are selling new and buying it back and need an outlet for what comes back in. It’s not uncommon for a mainline dealer to be sitting on £1 million worth of used stock.”

With the current uncertainty in the economy well maintained used machinery is particularly attractive while the concept of machinery packages being leased to clubs ensures that there is a ready supply of machines, well maintained, after three or five years which the dealer then has to move on.

Martin, through Martin Guy Developments, currently maintains six golf courses, 23 football pitches and five cricket grounds so the company is also a first hand end user of an array of machinery.

“As Grass Plant develops we are going to start reviewing equipment as well. We will be giving full warts and all trials so potential purchasers can see what us, an a contractor, feels about the machine,” revealed Martin.

With everything now in place and the website tried and tested, Saltex will be the opportunity for Grass Plant to raise general awareness within the industry.

“Our on-line digital figures are going up and up, doubling and trebling month on month and our social media profile is growing to. Saltex will be important to us, as will BTME while January, February and March are the key months for machinery purchase.”

Our industry may well be traditional but thanks to Grass Plant it does not stop us from enjoying the benefits of the 21st century!

Toro a hit at Robin Hood GC

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Toro a hit at Robin Hood GC: Robin Hood Golf Club in Solihull has come on board as a Toro fleet customer for the first time as course manager Luke Dennis attests to Toro outperforming other brands across the UK and beyond.

With a career that has seen him work on championship courses hosting major tournaments such as The Ryder Cup, across the UK for European tour events at the Belfry, Forest of Arden and Slaley Hall and further afield to Sweden for the Scandinavian Masters, as well as working in machinery parts maintenance, Luke certainly has an in-depth perspective when it comes to golf course machinery.

Toro a hit at Robin Hood GC

“I have the benefit of having experience working on the maintenance of machinery parts and as course manager which means I can look at a machine from two different perspectives – what it requires for upkeep and how it operates,” says Luke. “And my experience has shown me on both fronts that Toro outperforms and outlasts the competition.”

The club has had a mix of machinery up until now and the difference in having a full Toro fleet of high-quality, durable machines is palpable. And it came as no surprise to Luke when extensive demonstrations for the club’s new fleet, organised by Reesink Turfcare’s Jon Lewis, beat out the competition.

“In particular the Reelmaster 3575 really stood out,” says Luke. “The after cut appearance achieved with the perfection brushes is the best I’ve ever seen despite unfavourable weather conditions at the time of the demo.

“We also opted for the Reelmaster 3100 with groomers to enhance the semi rough. Although quite an unusual decision, so far we have received amazing feedback on the definition and quality of the ball lie achieved, which allows a cleaner impact to the back of the ball for golfers.”

With Robin Hood Golf Club now 126 years old, the parkland course of Harry Colt design is a well-regarded golfing venue near Birmingham, and its recent addition of a full Toro fleet comes as the next step in its ongoing development.

Over the last ten years, there’s been a substantial investment to help reconstruct and modernise the course, and the Toro package deal is the cherry on the cake, explains Luke.

“The full Toro fleet means we have reliable, high quality machines, which allow us to present the course to a high standard week-in week-out for our members and visitors,” concludes Luke. “And I’m pretty sure we will continue to see the course improve with Toro on board.”

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Innovative App a Passport to Success

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Innovative App a Passport to Success: Passport365, a sport facilities management app developed in the East Midlands, has sold its Australian territory rights to synthetic grass specialist Tuff Group in a six-figure deal.

Passport365, an innovative mobile application, allows all of those connected with sports surfaces across the world to book in jobs, record their daily activity and upload images from the sites they manage and maintain, which can be viewed by asset managers in head offices across the globe in real time.

Innovative App a Passport to Success

The application is the brainchild of Garry Martin, Managing Director of Long Bennington-based synthetic grounds maintenance specialist Replay Maintenance, who developed the app over two years and launched it for global sale at the end of April this year.

Fraser Gehrig, Manging Director of Tuff Group Holding Pty Ltd, heard about the app soon after its launch and after trialling the software was immediately impressed by its potential benefit to his company, which specialises in the design, construction, installation and maintenance of synthetic grass and all forms of sport and recreation surfaces across Australia and New Zealand.

Fraser, a former professional Australian rules footballer, was so keen to make use of the app for his customers that he jumped on a plane to the UK to meet the Passport365 team and see the app working out in the field.

He believes that implementing Passport365 will significantly increase the capability of the business. Fraser said: “Passport365 will give us the ability to deliver a level of service not seen in Australia before.

“We operate across the entire surfaces industry, including retail, residential, commercial and maintenance. We will be implementing the system across all our divisions, allowing our staff to communicate more effectively and substantially improving the end results we deliver.

“Being able to report to our clients in real time from anywhere in Australia, on any job, will mean we are delivering innovation and new standards to the market here. The system provides real clarity to the client and helps mitigate risk in ensuring the customer is getting exactly what they pay for.

“We have invested heavily in technology and systems to support our growth and Passport365 complements this perfectly. As the sports field construction industry continues to grow across the country, Tuff Group will be using this system to ensure that every job we do is delivered to our own high standards and that our clients can see the progress every step of the way.”

Tuff Group was established in 2009 and supports clients such as the International Rugby Board, FIFA Football, IAAF Athletics, FIH Hockey and the International Tennis Federation (ITF).

Garry Martin said: “It’s been a hectic six months for Passport365, having launched for global sale in April this year.

“Our early adopters have given us amazing feedback and we’re now supplying the software to clients who are managing everything from single-use sports facilities all the way up to those running hundreds of surfaces across the UK.

“Having met Fraser and listening to his passion for delivering high levels of service to his customers, I knew that Passport365 would support him and his employees working within Tuff Group in delivering this.

“Having all of the information about any one site, in one place and accessible on the go will help his team manage the assets they install and service and will eliminate the need for paperwork – halving administration time and connecting Tuff Group to its customers for the lifetime of the surfaces.

“Passport365 allows everyone working on or managing a site to be able to view, update, share and collate reports from the app either through their phone or on their desktop and will display in real time through the bespoke portal application or on mobile if you are away from your desk.

“Most importantly, app users can check on each of their sites or team members while they’re hundreds of miles away at head office or even in another country.”

The application, which will be personalised with Tuff Group branding in Australia, also boasts a reporting system, making data, statistics and images available at the touch of a button.

The connectivity the software provides enhances all levels of service, from health and safety to quality assurance without the heavy administrative burden providers often have to implement.

Garry and the Passport365 team are currently in talks with sport and leisure surface specialists in other parts of the world who are interested in buying the rights to use the app in their territories.

For more information, or to register for a free 14-day trial of the app, visit: www.passport365.co.uk

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Hunter a ‘game-changer’ at Redditch GC

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Hunter a ‘game-changer’ at Redditch GC: Karl Williams, Course Manager at Redditch Golf Club, has reported significant improvements to the course since the installation of a new Hunter Irrigation system, which was installed by Prime Irrigation and supplied by KAR UK.

Founded in 1913, Redditch Golf Club is one of the finest parkland courses in the midlands and is well known for its woodlands, topography and quality playing surfaces.

Hunter a ‘game-changer’ at Redditch GC

Karl has been Course Manager at Redditch since October 2014 and within the first few months of his new role, he quickly identified an area which needed improvement.

“In 2015 we had an appraisal on the old irrigation system, which confirmed the inadequacies and poor reliability of the system. With continuous bursts and cable breaks, which resulted in an awful lot of hand watering,” said Karl.

Following the summer of 2018, the proposal to install a completely new irrigation system was passed by the committee and approved by 97% of the club’s members in favour.

A plan needed to be put into place quickly for the new system to cover all greens, tees, approaches and green surrounds. After speaking with Hunter Industries, there was no doubt in Karl’s mind due to their products, that it was the way to go.

G885D Series Rotors – With a built-in decoder offering single head control, superior uniformity coupled with the TTS technology allowing every serviceable element of the rotor to be accessed through the top so you can get to every component without disturbing the playing surface – no more digging, no more unsightly scars, and more importantly, one less item on a busy course manager’s schedule.

I-20 Series Rotors – A high performance rotor for tees and a popular choice for many turf managers, with the efficiency required for any site. Utilising the Match Precipitation Rate (MPR) nozzles ensures accurate, even distribution and water savings over a variety of mixed sprinkler arcs.

Pilot CCS PC-based central control system – a PC-based software package that makes central control of large-scale irrigation systems affordable, usable, and comprehensible.

“The new system has been an absolute game-changer,” said Karl. “It allows us to apply water in millimetres – simply replacing the daily deficit every night has made a huge difference. Even in the highest temperatures, the greens do not lose moisture and we no longer have to worry about them looking worn. They are consistently good which is great from a player’s point of view.”

Hunter a ‘game-changer’ at Redditch GC

“That has been a huge bonus, but the biggest area of improvement since the system was installed has been on the tees. For example, prior to the new system, the first tee had just four larger sprinklers along one side and they would overshoot, miss the tee and spill onto the path. Now we have five I-20 rotors on each side of the tee fitted with the Matched Precipitation Rate nozzles. This ensures that the water is applied to the tee playing surface at all times, receives excellent coverage and results in saving water, which makes it all very efficient!”

“It’s so good that we can now target individual areas because we have got some greens which face different directions – we’ve got slopes, banks and some areas that require more water than others. We can keep on top of everything at just the click of a button.”

“The system also allows a wide choice of options when planning a watering cycle, I can apply 2mm of water to all of the green’s at the start of a cycle and then it will go around the rest of the system before coming back to that same green and applying another 2mm if this is required. This is great because rather than the water running off the green surface it gives it time to soak in before the next part.”

From when Karl first started speaking to Hunter Industries, the whole project was completed within 14 months and any worries he had about the installation disturbing play were quickly alleviated.

“The members have been overwhelmed with how little obtrusion there was to play and throughout the whole installation period. There were no golf holes closed at any time – they couldn’t believe how tidy it was and how quickly it was installed, a testament to Prime Irrigation.”

“I’m just really pleased with the whole project and the service we have received has been fantastic. Back-up support from suppliers is vital in this industry and we absolutely get that.”

Hunter Golf Irrigation is distributed in the UK by KAR UK. For more information, please visit www.karuk.com and www.hunterindustries.com.

You can also follow KAR UK on Twitter @KARUK_LTD for much more news, reviews and insightful views.

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