Tag Archive for: Andrews

Mark Andrews appointed Managing Director of Landscapes

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Mark Andrews appointed Managing Director of Landscapes: Origin Enterprises plc (‘Origin’ or ‘the Group’), the international group championing sustainable land use solutions, is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Mark Andrews as Managing Director of Landscapes, a newly created role within the Group’s Living Landscapes division.

Mark assumes overall responsibility for Origin’s Landscapes businesses, currently comprising four companies: Green-tech, Suregreen, British Hardwood Tree Nursery and Groundtrax. He will lead the design and delivery of the Landscapes strategy, drive operational performance, and play a central role in supporting both organic growth and M&A activities.

Mark Andrews appointed Managing Director of Landscapes

Mark Andrews appointed Managing Director of Landscapes

This appointment marks a significant step in strengthening the Group’s management depth, ensuring the Living Landscapes division is well positioned to deliver on its long-term strategic objectives and growth ambitions.

Mark has over 20 years of commercial and operational leadership experience across the sector, with a strong track record in value creation, team leadership, and developing best-in-class commercial capabilities in commoditised and competitive businesses. His career spans roles in the UK, North America and EMEA, including senior leadership positions at Saint Gobain/British Gypsum, Knauf Insulation, BMI Group, and most recently, Aliaxis Group where he served as VP UK and Ireland.

Origin is confident that Mark’s appointment will bring additional expertise, insight, and momentum to the Group’s Landscapes sector as it enters its next phase of development and growth.

TJ Kelly, Managing Director, Living Landscapes, commented: “Mark is an excellent addition to Origin and our Living Landscapes leadership team. His deep sector knowledge and proven global leadership experience will be instrumental in shaping and delivering our Landscapes strategy. This appointment reflects our ambition to scale our presence in the Sports, Environmental, and Landscapes sectors.”

Mark Andrews, Managing Director of Landscapes, commented: “I am excited to be joining Origin at a strategically important time for the Living Landscapes division. Leading the Landscapes portfolio presents the opportunity to drive organic growth, expand our capabilities and unlock new opportunities, underpinned by a shared commitment to sustainability, innovation, and delivering value to Origin’s customers and other stakeholders.”

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Toro, Reesink UK and St Andrews Links Mark a Milestone

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Toro, Reesink UK and St Andrews Links Mark a Milestone: Toro, in collaboration with its UK distributor Reesink UK and St Andrews Links Trust, proudly celebrates a 25-year partnership, marking one of the longest-standing formal relationships between Toro and a customer globally.

This enduring collaboration underscores a shared commitment to innovation, sustainability, and excellence in golf course management, helping shape the modern landscape of greenkeeping at the ‘Home of Golf’ and beyond.

Toro, Reesink UK and St Andrews Links Mark a Milestone

Toro, Reesink UK and St Andrews Links Mark a Milestone

A Legacy of Innovation

St Andrews Links has long been a symbol of golf’s heritage, tracing its roots back to the 15th century. It was here that Old Tom Morris was one of the first to revolutionise course care with many new practices including topdressing, the practice of using sand to create smooth greens and teeing grounds, now a fundamental technique worldwide. Building on this legacy, Toro has delivered cutting-edge technologies to support the evolving demands of turf management, from precision irrigation to advanced electric mowing systems.

“St Andrews Links is where tradition meets innovation,” said Amy Dahl, vice president International at The Toro Company. “For 25 years, we’ve had the privilege of supporting their dedication to excellence through trusted equipment, sustainable solutions, and shared values. This milestone represents not just a partnership, but an ongoing legacy of progress.”

James Ralley, Commercial Director at St Andrews Links Trust, said: “We are delighted to be celebrating such a significant milestone with Toro, one of our longest standing partners. Over the past 25 years, Toro has played an important role in the continued development of our greenkeeping practices, allowing us to provide world-class playing conditions across the seven courses here at St Andrews Links. This partnership is one we value greatly, and we look forward to continuing this for years to come.”

Driving Standards in Turf Management Through a Shared Commitment

Over the past two and a half decades, Toro and Reesink UK have supported the Trust with groundbreaking equipment and irrigation systems, helping it remain a benchmark for golf course quality worldwide.

Neil Coulson, CEO at St Andrews Links Trust, said: “As custodians of St Andrews Links, we have a responsibility to not only provide great playing conditions year-round, but to also manage the historic courses in a responsible and environmentally conscious way. For 25 years Toro has been a valued partner in our efforts to implement sustainable practices, particularly in the electrification of our mower fleet and the continued improvement in our irrigation systems. We’re proud of what we’ve achieved together and pleased to celebrate this milestone.”

Alastair Rowell, Managing Director at Reesink UK, added: “We’re proud to play a role in this remarkable journey. This partnership exemplifies the best of what can be achieved when industry leaders come together with a long-term vision and a passion for excellence.”

Looking Ahead

As this milestone is celebrated, all three partners remain focused on what lies ahead. The collaboration between Toro, Reesink UK and St Andrews Links Trust is not just a reflection of the past 25 years—it’s a foundation for continued innovation in sustainable course management and support for the next generation of greenkeepers.

For more information, please visit www.toro.com

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St Andrews Links continues to choose Club Car

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St Andrews Links continues to choose Club Car: Club Car®, global industry-leading manufacturer of small-wheel, zero-emissions electric vehicles, has extended its long-term relationship with the world’s most iconic golf venue after delivering a new fleet to St Andrews Links.

The prestigious Scottish venue, where golf has been played for more than 600 years, has received 32 new golf and utility vehicles to complement the 52-strong fleet for the operation of its seven public courses, the most famous of which is the Old Course, a 30-time host venue of The Open.

St Andrews Links continues to choose Club Car

St Andrews Links continues to choose Club Car

WATCH: Club Car at St Andrews Links

John Grant, Director of Golf at St Andrews Links Trust, said: “We pride ourselves on working with the very best, and since Club Car became an official supplier in 2016 they have provided the highest quality of vehicles and service support.

“The cars are a crucial part of our operation, allowing our teams to do their jobs efficiently and giving golfers an enjoyable and memorable experience.”

Club Car’s innovative capabilities provide a range of benefits to the St Andrews Links team. While the award-winning golf vehicles transport golfers safely and comfortably around the links, the versatile utility vehicles are used by the course ranger team as well as media staff, who regularly ferry VIPs and equipment around the site.

A combination of 6- and 8-seater transporter models are also vital for transporting golfers between the Links Clubhouse and the first tee of the Old Course.

The cars are fitted with Club Car’s Connected technology, which enables the teams to monitor the condition of the fleet, maintain course boundaries and communicate directly with the vehicles.

In addition, the Visage GPS system provides many enhancements to the golfer experience including exact yardages and action zones which enable the safe negotiation of many of the features on these links courses.

Andy Bourke, Club Car Regional Manager for UK, Ireland and Scandinavia, said: “We have developed a strong relationship with St Andrews Links over the last eight years and it has been a pleasure to provide a first-class service.

“It is the largest public golf complex in Europe, and we are proud that our unmatched products and technology help the team deliver a unique and memorable experience to thousands of golfers each year.”

Established in 1974, St Andrews Links Trust oversees the management and maintenance of the Links courses at St Andrews – the Old Course, New Course, Jubilee Course, Eden Course, Strathtyrum Course, Balgove Course and The Castle Course – with more than 250,000 rounds played over them every year.

For more information on Club Car visit: www.clubcar.com

For more information on St Andrews Links visit: http://www.standrews.com

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St Andrews Links Trust recognised for Best Sustainability Project

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St Andrews Links Trust recognised for Best Sustainability Project: St Andrews Links Trust won the prestigious Best Sustainability Project at the Scottish Golf Tourism Awards in association with Luxe Scot in recognition of its outstanding work in driving sustainability and climate action. 

Sustainable golf featured prominently at the 11th awards ceremony, held last night (Thursday 21st March) at the five-star National Trust for Scotland’s Culloden Battlefield Visitor Centre.

St Andrews Links

St Andrews Links

 

Supported by the GEO Sustainable Golf Foundation, the international not-for-profit dedicated to helping accelerate sustainability and climate action in and through golf, the Awards judging panel shortlisted five outstanding projects from across Scotland.

The finalists of Askernish Golf Club, Carnoustie Golf Links, Machrihanish Dunes Golf Club, Royal Dornoch Golf Club and St Andrews Links Trust demonstrated outstanding commitment and impacts across the sustainable golf framework of fostering nature, conserving resources, taking climate action and strengthening communities.

However, it was the work that St. Andrews Links Trust do on renewable energy, dune restoration and wildlife conservation, especially the scale and extent of their collaboration with universities and various external agencies, which caught the eye of the judging panel.

Alan Grant, Director, Partnerships and Engagement, GEO Sustainable Golf Foundation, said: “Congratulations to St Andrews Links Trust on an inspiring project, and indeed to all the finalists for the collective drive and ambition from so many across golf in Scotland to protect and promote nature, contribute to the circular economy and increase the social value. Their actions are a shining example to clubs across Scotland and beyond.”

VisitScotland, the national body for the development and promotion of tourism in Scotland, has significantly boosted golf’s efforts in sustainability and climate action through its partnership with GEO Sustainable Golf Foundation. The ongoing partnership continues to establish connections and alignment between VisitScotland’s responsible tourism goals, and the sustainability activities being carried out through the leading golf tournaments in Scotland as well as club engagement.

Paul Bush OBE, VisitScotland Director of Events, said: “We all recognise the importance of protecting our magnificent courses and landscapes, which make Scotland such a unique destination. Congratulations to St Andrews Links Trust on winning Best Sustainability Project at the Scottish Golf Tourism Awards for their working on bringing sustainability and green tourism to the home of golf.”

Scottish Golf shares the same vision, offering ongoing encouragement and support to clubs. Through their partnership with GEO Foundation, all clubs in Scotland can freely get involved, adopting the new Sustainable Golf Pledge, utilising the free OnCourse support programme, and accessing annual reports of key data and practices, and carbon footprints, and attaining certification for sustainable golf.

Andrew Baptie, Head of Club Services at Scottish Golf said: “Sustainability in golf has long been on the agenda for Scottish Golf, and with the support of GEO Foundation we’ve been able to provide tangible assistance to golf clubs who are looking to progress their ambitions in this area. We all appreciate the scale of the golf estate across Scotland, and how it can be harnessed for positive change. It’s wonderful to see sustainability work in golf clubs recognised and celebrated as it becomes key to ensuring our clubs continue to thrive in the future.”

The Scottish Golf Tourism Awards play a pivotal role in promoting sustainable practices within the golf tourism industry, inspiring clubs worldwide to embrace environmental and social impact. By acknowledging and celebrating these achievements, the awards aim to encourage continuous innovation and progress towards a more sustainable future for golf tourism in Scotland and beyond.

Other award winners on the evening included Royal Dornoch, Gleneagles and Durness among others.

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Consistency key for the open at St Andrews

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Consistency key for the open at St Andrews: St Andrews trusted Toro maintenance equipment to maintain ‘the home of golf’ for the 150th Open. And ahead of and throughout the week-long tournament in July 2022 distributor Reesink Turfcare was called upon to provide set-up procedure training to ensure consistency in after-cut appearance.  

Reesink provided five days of Cutting Technology training before the tournament as well as specialist technical staff on site throughout the tournament to support the team using a fleet of battery-powered mowers and riding greens mowers.

Consistency key for the open at St Andrews

Consistency key for the open at St Andrews

After-cut appearance training was vital to ensuring the perfect finish across the different courses as Stephen Terreblanche, technical trainer at Reesink Turfcare, explains: “The training was to prepare the team for the Open competition. But more than that, it was to achieve consistency in set-up procedures across all the different courses at St Andrews.

“To get the course ready and keep up with maintenance while the tournament was taking place multiple machines were being operated by different members of the turf professional team at the same time on a single green, and the cut delivered by each machine had to be perfect and consistent across all the machines in the fleet.

“To achieve this the machines had to be set up the same way to avoid different after-cut appearance issues, which would be easily visible if machines with different set-up adjustments were operated side-by-side.”

It was by all accounts a successful investment as the machines proved on the world stage how a golf course can use battery power and riding greens mowers to sustainably achieve ideal playing conditions to test the best golfers in the sport.

Reesink’s range of training courses are designed to be delivered on the customers’ premises and give the team the training it needs to ensure they can operate the chosen machinery safely and efficiently in an environment they are familiar with for the best possible results. (Disclaimer: This isn’t specific to world tournaments!)

For further information on the courses available and to book, visit https://www.reesinkturfcare.co.uk/resources/training-courses

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