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New location and bespoke stand

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New location and bespoke stand: Price Turfcare, the UK and Ireland distributor of the Ventrac multi-implement, all-terrain compact tractor, returns to BTME with a new location and a bespoke stand for this year’s event.

For the past three events, we have occupied a space at the top of the stairway leading to Hall 3, but for this year’s event we have moved to Hall 1, where you will find us on a new, bespoke stand with an impressive display of the new Ventrac 4520 compact tractor and attachments.

New location and bespoke stand

New location and bespoke stand

For some visitors it will be the first opportunity to see the new machine. It’s not a radical change, but there’s a whole series of improvements ‘under the bonnet’ resulting in 30% more available power, giving the best mix of machine performance, operator experience and durability.

At its core, the 4520 is a compact tractor, but it is very different to what most greenkeepers are used to seeing. The purpose of a tractor is to perform tasks more efficiently than manual tasks. The Ventrac 4520 plays on these advantages, then takes it to the next level. When coupled with the extensive line of over 25 Ventrac attachments, this tractor is a versatile machine for a variety of professional users.

The 4520 retains all the features of its predecessor, including its 30-degree slope climbing ability, but has been enhanced with an all-new hydraulic system featuring larger bore piping, more powerful auxiliary hydraulics and more resilient hoses and fittings resulting in faster and stronger operation. That means 30% more available power, improving performance and productivity while providing the operator with a quieter working platform.

Ventrac has become the number one choice for versatility in the greenkeeping sector. Combining a blend of peak power and agility with front-mounted attachments for superior visibility, a pivoting frame for manoeuvrability, and excellent weight distribution for balance and stability, the new 4520 elevates the Ventrac experience to a whole new level.

To understand why the industry has embraced the Ventrac product come along and visit stand 122 in Hall 1.

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Smart and versatile controllers at BTME

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Smart and versatile controllers at BTME: At BTME 2023 (Stand 132), Rain Bird Landscape and Sports Turf irrigation will be displaying a number of new products including the new RC2 Smart Irrigation controller and the modular ESP-LXME 2 traditionally wired models.

Used in conjunction with and accessed through the Rain Bird Mobile App, the RC2 enables users to manage remotely residential and light commercial installations. Contractors and site managers have full WiFi control of irrigation scheduling for multiple sites and zones. Through alerts, users can monitor and manage all irrigation events and warnings in real-time, ensuring the landscape will receive only the water it needs while potentially saving up to 50% in water.

Smart and versatile controllers at BTME

Smart and versatile controllers at BTME

Compatible with Rain Bird’s IQ4 Cloud irrigation management system, the ESP-LXME 2 traditionally wired modular models focus on water conservation, flexibility and simplicity in use. The controller allows the user to customise irrigation station capacity from 12 to 48 stations. 40 independent irrigation programs can be set with up to10 starts per program. Water management features include FloManager which manages demand to maximise use of water and shorten total watering times. The  PRO model offers extra flow sensing capability including FloWatch which protects against high and low water flow conditions.

The IQ4 Platform provides state of the art irrigation monitoring, programmming and control features. The software includes the Dry Run capability to visualise irrigation programming and demonstrate graphically what to expect from the system before it happens.

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Carrier and Verti-Drain® combo keeps Warrenpoint GC

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Carrier and Verti-Drain® combo keeps Warrenpoint GC: For the first time in four years, the players at Warrenpoint Golf Club are going into the winter on main greens, thanks to an extensive aeration programme introduced by Head Greenkeeper Matt Purcell.

It’s also no coincidence that this year, Matt purchased a Redexim Carrier and Verti-Drain® 1513 allowing the team to effectively aerate all 18 greens in as little as a day – keeping them bone dry and proving themselves as fit for year-round play.

Carrier and Verti-Drain® combo keeps Warrenpoint GC

Carrier and Verti-Drain® combo keeps Warrenpoint GC

Warrenpoint is ranked as one of the top parkland courses in Northern Ireland, situated in the heart of County Down and surrounded by the Mourne Mountains on one side and Carlingford Lough on the other. Matt heads-up a maintenance team of five and, on joining the club in late 2021, took some soil samples on the greens which highlighted the need for some ‘TLC’. “Like a lot of golf clubs in Ireland, we were previously relying on contractors to come in and aerate, but my experience from working in clubs in England means I appreciate the multiple benefits that can be brought about with regular aeration every five to six weeks.”

“After speaking to the board, we invited Ian Lauder from Redexim and local dealer Cyril Johnston in with the Redexim Carrier and Verti-Drain®, which I had trialled at a previous club. I was no-less impressed seeing it the second time around! The great thing is that the implement can be used with the Carrier or swapped onto a tractor giving you complete flexibility, and a power unit that can then conduct other operations on the greens and tees” Matt explains.

Since the combination was purchased and delivered in March this year, Matt and the team have aerated all greens once a month, along with the tees twice and specific problem areas on some of the fairways. “This set-up is just brilliant. It is faster and wider than other comparable models meaning we can complete most of our greens in four or five passes, and all 18 greens in a day. The tyres are much better as well being slick, which means we can go anywhere with it and not have to plot a specific route around the course.”

The Redexim Carrier is powered by a 31hp engine and hydrostatic transmission which lends itself to high output and ease of operation. It can work with a variety of implements such as seeders, verti-cutters and in this instance the Verti-Drain® 1513 – a lightweight 1.3m model, working with 15o of heave and to a maximum depth of 6” making it ideal for use on sensitive turf areas.

Matt adds, “Time is of the essence with everything we do on the course. Not only do we need to be aerating when the conditions suit, but when we do the operation, we want to be round as quickly as possible so that the members can play golf. With this combination, we can now do both – delivering huge improvements to playability and course condition that hasn’t gone unnoticed by the players and the club.”

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Trilo S4 and BL960 prove the perfect pair

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Trilo S4 and BL960 prove the perfect pair: A Trilo S4 is proving that multi-functional machinery doesn’t have to mean compromised performance for the team at Calcot Park Golf Club.

Assisting Course Manager Tom Jennings with various maintenance tasks including scarification and cut and collect of the sites biodiversity areas, the S4 is currently tasked with keeping on top of leaf collection with assistance from their new Trilo BL960.

Trilo S4 and BL960 prove the perfect pair

Trilo S4 and BL960 prove the perfect pair

The undulating 18-hole parkland course designed by Harry Colt resides within an exclusive private estate in Berkshire, providing the picture-perfect backdrop for players of all abilities. Pre-empting the amount of time and resources that would be required to keep on top of leaf clearance, an S4 was one of the first investments Tom made when he joined Calcot Park four years ago. “With such a huge number of trees, investing in equipment to collect leaves as quickly and efficiently as possible was a priority. As soon as we saw the Trilo S4 it was a no brainer.”

“We purchased the whole package, including flail and scarifier heads which converts the machine into one we can use year-round. The board don’t want to spend money on a machine that spends most of the year sat in the shed, or that doesn’t do a good job of what it is supposed to do – the S4 ticks all of the boxes.” Over the year, the team are utilising the S4 for cutting the eco grass areas and scarifying the roughs, along with vacuuming scarified material and other debris from the fairways. “With all the attachments, its versatile, but conducts every operation really well.”

“In the autumn, the amount of labour this machine saves us is brilliant. Where before the team would have to get into ditches and clear leaves manually, now we can use the S4’s wander hose to suck up the leaves in a matter of minutes.” To complement the S4, the club have recently purchased a BL960 blower from Trilo, delivered by local dealer Lister Wilder. “The blower we had on our fleet ran on unleaded and with fuel costs going up, we worked out it was costing us £50 per day to run. I had used a BL960 at my previous club and it’s bulletproof so bearing this in mind, along with the savings we could make by running it straight off the PTO shaft and tractor, it was an easy decision.”

The BL960 arrived in September 2022, just in-time for a busy autumn and winter season. “This blower is so powerful – it moves material quicker and leaves a much cleaner finish than our previous machine. To clear the fairways previously would have taken ten passes or more… with the BL960 the job is complete in two so not only are we getting better results, it takes fewer resources and is done in less time. I, the team and the club couldn’t be happier with our investment.”

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Suståne delivers strong and sustainable greens

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Suståne delivers strong and sustainable greens: A greens programme from Suståne® has been praised for delivering sustainable, steady and healthy growth at Wildernesse Golf Club. After making the switch six years ago, Course Manager Mark Todd cites that the combination of bi-monthly granular feeds and regular liquid applications has actively encouraged the natural soil biology, helping to reduce disease occurrence and in turn costly fungicide applications.

Wildernesse is widely recognised as one of the finest courses in Kent, with tree-lined fairways and fast-paced push-up greens regularly playing host to a number of England Golf and Kent County events. On the maintenance, Mark is supported by a team of ten. “For us, sustainability begins with working with what we have, looking at ways of encouraging both the biology and the species we want for our greens” explains Mark. “We chose the organic route to be more in-keeping with the older-style construction and straight away spoke to Suståne® after hearing great feedback from other clubs.”

Suståne delivers strong and sustainable greens

Suståne delivers strong and sustainable greens

“Russell Riley from Suståne® came in and, following some soil analysis, created a programme which we first trialled on our chipping greens. After just six months we could see the good results it was achieving which was when we decided to roll the programme out across all of our 20 greens.”

The programme consists of Suståne’s 4-6-4 slow-release fertiliser, 5-2-4+Fe and Suståne® Turf Revival® 6-2-4 which is applied regularly, in addition to being Mark’s ‘go-to’ for post renovation recovery. Turf Revival® 6-2-4 combines sources of water-soluble nitrogen with Suståne’s unique organic compost base which supplies a range of nutrients to enhance recovery and replenish soil – including a rich supply of humus and mycorrhizal fungi which contribute to efficient nutrient uptake and overall plant health.

“We have definitely noticed an improvement in plant health, less disease activity and steady growth – not peaks and troughs which tend to be evident with other products. We have also seen an increase in our bent population which is obviously beneficial for a more sustainable management approach moving forwards.”

Mark continues, “In addition to our regular feeds, we’ve also had great success with Suståne®’s Bolster® liquid plant biostimulant.” Bolster® is specially formulated to prepare plants for stress conditions by increasing root mass and growth, and accelerating chlorophyll production, improving its tolerance to heat, cold & frost and minimising pressure from parasitic nematodes.

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