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Bourne to Ride and ISEKI’s world record

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Bourne to Ride and ISEKI’s world record: Bourne to Ride Charity challenge has beaten the previous record for driving from Lands End to John O Groats on a ride on mower from Iseki.

Travelling at a maximum of 12mph for 880 miles, for 20 hours per day, Bourne to Garden founder, Colin North, driving the ISEKI SF544 ride on mower, has beaten the previous record of 5 days 8 hours from Lands End to John O Groats in 4 days 6 hours and 9 minutes.

Bourne to Ride and ISEKI's world record

Bourne to Ride and ISEKI’s world record

The team including a support van and overnight driver, plus Phil Self as ISEKI technical support, received amazing local and national support on the way and a boost to the fundraising. Colin, Managing Director of Bourne to Garden says “most drivers gave us the thumbs up and giving us friendly toots as they over took us”. During this gruelling journey Colin has stopped for refreshments and showers, battled heavy rain, wrapped up in a duvet to handle sitting and driving in the cold nights. “The toughest part was probably the mosquitoes in Scotland, waves of them hitting my face!” He wrapped up and used goggles to protect himself again. “We also had a loose wheel nut and puncture on the way but were able to sort these on the road side without too many delays”. This exciting tough fundraiser has caught the interest and endorsement from local and national media including Radio 1 & 2. The team have been putting out ‘at the moment’ pictures and video to encourage support and donations locally and nationally.

David Withers from ISEKI UK adds; “It’s been so exciting this week, tracking the guys on the mower, waking up each morning seeing where they have got up to. All the photos and videos they have been sharing from the route has been brilliant, some amazing scenery and some interesting weather at times!  It has been a real team effort to enable this to go ahead with ourselves and Bourne to Garden Ltd.  The machine has performed without any problems whatsoever, we just had one puncture in the whole 876 miles.

Bourne to Ride and ISEKI's world record

Bourne to Ride and ISEKI’s world record

We have donated some money for the charities chosen by Bourne to Garden Ltd and please, if you can, donate something to the three charities they would be incredibly grateful.  All are worthy causes and every penny of the money donated is going straight to the charities….We are Guinness World Record holders!”

To Donate please click https://gofund.me/2e8249e6

For More information about the route go to https://www.iseki.co.uk/bourne-to-ride-iseki-world-record-attempt/

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One company, three turfcare and transport solutions

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One company, three turfcare and transport solutions: Reesink UK has built up a portfolio of leading brands and extensive turfcare and transport machinery options and the latest customer to benefit from this comprehensive offering is John O’Gaunt Golf Club in Sandy, Bedfordshire.

A long-term Toro machinery customer, and a ‘Total Solutions’ customer since 2013 when it had the Carthagena course installed with a Lynx Central Control System and dual trajectory sprinklers, John O’Gaunt’s latest order sees an influx of new machinery, irrigation for the 18-hole John O’Gaunt course and seven STAR EV all-electric golf buggies.

One company, three turfcare and transport solutions

One company, three turfcare and transport solutions

Course manager Nigel Broadwith, who has been at the club, which is about to celebrate its 75th anniversary, for 15 years, says: “We’ve maintained a long-lasting relationship with Reesink UK and as they add more brands to their offering it makes life even easier for us.

“Historically, we usually purchase three machines every year but this time we decided to go for longer-term and invest over £470k in new machinery over five years. I always prefer Toro equipment, it’s robust and the machines last a long time; we only have to deal with normal wear and tear from them.”

The fleet includes for the first time two Greensmaster TriFlex Hybrid 3420 greensmowers, because, Nigel says: “We want to move on to all-electric as quickly as possible and the hybrids are the first step in that direction. The hybrids use very little fuel and are really quiet.”

Talking of electric power, the Club’s Head PGA Professional, Tom Simm, opted to replace the six-year old golf buggy fleet as well. He purchased seven lithium-powered STAR EV Capella golf buggies from Reesink’s e-Vehicles division. He explains: “We purchased seven electric buggies. They’ve been out around the course, the members have tried them and the feedback is great. Because the brand was part of Reesink and we wanted to keep everything in one bundle so it was easy to manage. We’re now looking into getting a STAR EV refreshment unit as well.”

Completing the three-way deal is a Toro Lynx Control System, installed by Ocmis, and from Reesink Hydro-Scapes, Reesink UK’s new division with a focus on providing water solutions for all landscapes. This time it was the turn of the John O’Gaunt course for the Toro treatment, following on from the Toro touch on the Carthagena course nine years ago.

Nigel says: “We know from first-hand experience on the Carthagena course that the Lynx Central Control System makes a big difference. The area is notoriously very dry and we’ve seen a huge improvement on the greens. We can manage our resources efficiently and get the precision we need to the millilitre. We can customise almost everything, depending on the course’s conditions and requirements, and very quickly just from our phones. We’re really happy with this complete irrigation solution.”

So how has it been dealing with Reesink for all three, very different aspects to his turfcare and transport machinery requirements? Nigel says it’s all about the relationships: “We’ve got a good relationship with the Reesink Turfcare rep Julian Copping, as well as Rob Jackson from Hydro-Scapes. They’re always there if we need them and have always been very helpful, especially with the delays and everything that’s been happening in the world at the moment. They always fulfilled their promises, so we’ve been completely at ease.”

To find out more about the complete collection of turfcare and transport options from Reesink UK, visit reesinkuk.co.uk.

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On your side for 50 issues, and counting…

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On your side for 50 issues, and counting…: When we launched Turf Matters back at the beginning of 2014, we had high, but realistic, hopes. We hoped that our readership would appreciate what we had to offer and that, perhaps, we might grow over the years to be a well-respected title.

With this, our 50th issue, we can look back with pride at having achieved that goal. We are definitely a respected title. We have won awards for our writing and our design and we are thrilled that more and more companies within the industry are deciding to share some of their marketing and advertising budgets with us. That is not something we ever take for granted, particularly in these tough times.

On your side for 50 issues, and counting…

On your side for 50 issues, and counting…

We are also pleased that so many have opened their doors to enable us to produce interesting features and over the last eight years these open doors have allowed us to showcase extraordinary work at virtually every major sporting venue in the country – not to mention the odd overseas assignment, which included a preview to the Ryder Cup matches at Golf National, in Paris.

We have also seen our digital presence grow and we now have over 22,000 on-line followers.

I would like to thank everyone who has helped to make Turf Matters what it is today and the promise that I make to you is that we will continue to work hard to produce the magazine you want to read and the digital platforms you want to visit.

Scott MacCallum, Editor/Publisher

On your side for 50 issues, and counting…

On your side for 50 issues, and counting…

New Turf Rewards for UK and Ireland

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New Turf Rewards for UK and Ireland: ICL and Syngenta have launched Turf Rewards for 2022 which now features separate schemes for the UK and Ireland.

Turf Rewards provides the opportunity for customers to earn points from purchases that can then be exchanged against a fantastic selection of agronomic or turf related items and learning opportunities.

New Turf Rewards for UK and Ireland

New Turf Rewards for UK and Ireland

New for 2022, Turf Rewards products will have lower thresholds to earn points. Here’s an example:

In 2021, Turf Rewards customers would need to purchase 25 bags of SierraformGT or ProTurf to get 5 points. However, this year customers would only need to purchase 12 bags of either to earn 3 points.

With an extensive range of items already on offer, new rewards for 2022 have also been announced.

New UK Turf Rewards

  • An SGL TurfPod with 1 year’s subscription.
  • Join or renew your British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) membership.

These great new rewards join popular rewards such as Machine Mart vouchers and agronomy tools including the TDR150 moisture meter and the Davis Vantage Pro2 Weather Station.

New Turf Rewards in Ireland

  • Join or renew your Association of Turfgrass Professionals Ireland (ATPI) membership.

This new reward has been added to popular rewards for the Irish market such as Caulfield Industrial vouchers and the TDR350 moisture meter.

If you would like to find out more about Turf Rewards in the UK visit www.turfrewards.com or for Ireland www.Turfrewards.ie.

Please contact ICL on 01473 237100 or visit www.icl-sf.co.uk or www.icl-sf.ie if you are in Ireland.

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BIGGA and Campey announce award winners

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BIGGA and Campey announce award winners: The British & International Golf Greenkeepers Association and Campey Turf Care Systems have revealed the winners of the BIGGA Excellence in Communications Awards.

Whether using digital and social media, community outreach or by producing an article for the monthly journal of BIGGA, Greenkeeper International, the awards recognise those greenkeepers who have embraced communication as a vital tool available to the modern turf professional, helping to improve understanding and appreciation of the greenkeeping industry among the public or sharing ideas and best practice for the turf management community.

BIGGA and Campey announce award winners

BIGGA and Campey announce award winners

Three awards categories were up for grabs and the winners will receive their prizes at the BIGGA Welcome Celebration on the opening night of BTME 2022, which is taking place at the Harrogate Convention Centre from 22 to 24 March.

The Innovation and Thought Leadership Award is given to the BIGGA member who has written the most thought-provoking article for Greenkeeper International in the previous calendar year. The judges selected as the winner a feature written by Prestonfield Golf Club’s course manager Shaun Cunningham. Included within the February 2021 edition of the magazine, Shaun discussed the topic of out-of-play areas and whether a golfer’s enjoyment of a golf course depended as much upon the wider environment and landscape as it did the playing surfaces.

The New Media Award is given to a BIGGA member who has embraced the possibilities of digital media to raise understanding of what goes on behind-the-scenes at a golf course. This year’s New Media Award winner is John Rowbottom, greenkeeper at Woolley Park Golf Club in Barnsley. John began using social media as a bit of fun but quickly gained a large following with his entertaining look at life at this West Yorkshire golf club, often joined out on the course by his ‘turf dogs’. One video of the greens team preparing a bunker was viewed over 23 million times.

The Outreach Award seeks to recognise those BIGGA members who have taken their message beyond the normal work boundaries. This can be to the local community, schools or environmental groups. The winner of this year’s award is John Milne, head greenkeeper at Garmouth & Kingston Golf Club. John has presented in schools and at careers events to raise awareness of life at the golf club. He also invites students to the golf course to show how golf facilities can be beneficial for the natural environment. Activities have included primary school pupils planting trees and taking part in an on course wildlife safari, the establishment of an ecology group and encouraging wildlife photographers to visit the site.

Karl Hansell, head of marketing and communications at BIGGA, said: “At BIGGA we work tirelessly to raise awareness among the public about just what it takes to maintain a modern golf course. Greenkeepers too must do their bit if the message is to reach a wide audience and so I’m pleased that we are able to highlight the incredible work of these three BIGGA members, who go far beyond the requirements of their daily working lives to try and improve the lot of greenkeepers everywhere. The wide range of activities they have undertaken shows not only what a wonderful profession greenkeeping is, but how golf clubs can play a positive role in the health and wellbeing of the wider community.”

“Our thanks also go to Campey Turf Care Systems for enabling us to reward these three BIGGA members with such fantastic prizes. To see BIGGA, our members and the turf industry working together in such a great way gives confidence that there is a bright future ahead for the greenkeeping industry.”

BTME is taking place this week at the Harrogate Convention Centre, having been postponed from January 2022 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Registration is free and more details can be found at www.btme.org.uk

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