Tag Archive for: Brings

Wick GC Brings Toro On Board

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Wick GC Brings Toro On Board: After receiving two grants alongside fundraising efforts from its members, Wick Golf Club in Scotland has purchased a new Toro Greensmaster TriFlex Hybrid 3420 to help improve its course and the environment.

And not only did the GR3420 impress head greenkeeper Dougie Thorburn, but its sustainability credentials were key in securing grants to make the purchase of the machine possible. The club received grants from the Caithness and North Sunderland Fund and Beatrice Caithness Windfarm Fund, both of which support projects that develop or maintain community assets and achieve environmental improvements.

Wick GC Brings Toro On Board

Dougie explains: “Wick Golf Club is a traditional links course and the oldest in the highlands with our 150th anniversary next year. It’s a beautiful course, but the machines we’d been using weren’t keeping the course up to the standard we wanted.

“Our last greensmower was suffering from hydraulic leaks. Not only was this causing damage to the turf, but we have a lot of ditches on the course that lead to the ocean, so it’s possible for oil leaked on the course to run off into the sea. We needed something that would be more reliable and stop the damage to the course and runoff into the ocean.”

And it was the Toro Greensmaster TriFlex Hybrid 3420, with its advanced technology meaning hydraulic leaks are almost eliminated, that was able to provide high-quality turf maintenance and peace of mind for Dougie.

“It’s just a brilliant machine, simply put,” he says. “It’s reliable and provides us with an excellent quality of cut. I’ve got nothing but good things to say about it.”

And it’s not just Dougie who’s been singing Toro’s praises. In fact, Dougie didn’t opt for a demonstration of the GR3420 because its reputation preceded it so well.

“I asked around at other courses that had been using the machine and was told they’d had zero problems with it, and then I saw it in action at another course and that was it for me, I was sold,” says Dougie. “Although this is the first Toro machine at Wick, I’ve been around Toro since I started my career, and it’s always been number one for me. I knew that as soon as I got the chance to get some new machines, they were going to be Toro.”

And credit where credit is due, says club secretary Catherine McLeod to the grants and fundraising from the members for their support to the club: “Both of these funds should receive credit for the wonderful help they provide the area. And, of course, thanks must go to the tireless fundraising efforts of our members. As a small club with only 200 members, we wouldn’t have been able to make this kind of investment to improve the course without their help.”

With the GR3420 and the service from Toro UK distributor Reesink Turfcare impressing Dougie, another Toro machine is now on the cards. “We have some big plans for the next five years, particularly with our 150th anniversary coming up, and getting the right machinery in place is a big priority,” says Dougie.

As the most northerly course on the east coast of Scotland, Wick Golf Club is surrounded by natural beauty and captivating historical sights. With views over Sinclair Bay to Noss Head and its lighthouse and castles, maintaining the course to be in keeping with its stunning surroundings is a challenge, but Dougie sees this as a process made a lot easier with Toro on board.

He concludes: “The team love Toro and our members have all seen the difference it’s made to the course, so everyone is behind the move to get another. We’re looking at a Toro mower for the fairways and I’m confident that with more Toro, Wick Golf Club will only continue to improve in its environmental sustainability.”

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ECHO Brings Innovation To SALTEX

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ECHO Brings Innovation To SALTEX: ECHO will be showcasing a range of new commercial products for groundscare and landscaping professionals at this year’s Saltex.

The ECHO X Series represents a line of products with performance unlike anything else. The foundation of the X Series is understanding professional needs and applying this with powerful, lightweight products designed for great productivity. Two new ‘Best in Class’ ECHO X Series products are introduced to the range.

ECHO Brings Innovation To SALTEX

The ECHO CS-2511WES rear-handle professional chainsaw is the lightest and most compact rear-handle in the ECHO range. Offering an excellent power-to-weight ratio, the CS-2511WES has a dry weight of just 2.6kg and the premium grade ECHO two-stroke engine produces an output of 1.1kW. The chainsaw’s compact design makes it highly manoeuvrable for users working in tight spaces and the ultra-light weight means it can be used for longer periods without fatigue.

ECHO’s latest and most powerful backback blower, the PB-8010, will be launched at the show. Built for the professional, it offers industry leading performance with the 79.9cc two-stroke engine delivering the highest blower power available, with a maximum air speed of 94.5m/sec. The PB-8010 is perfect for heavy clean-up jobs and clearing large spaces. The innovative, lightweight carbon fibre frame, with its heavy-duty backstraps, is ergonomically designed to give the user maximum control and all-day comfort.

Also featured on the stand will be ECHO’s ground-breaking high torque brushcutters, with a 1:2 gear reduction ratio, delivering up to 50% more torque at the cutting head compared to previous models. This means an ECHO high torque brushcutter can provide the same cutting performance as a larger machine, but with a smaller, lightweight engine. That also means less weight and fatigue for the operator and the potential for higher productivity.

ECHO products are manufactured by the Yamabiko Corporation, a leading Japanese manufacturer of professional-quality, outdoor power equipment for over 60 years. ECHO demonstrate their extreme confidence in their machines by offering a two-year professional warranty on their petrol and 50v battery tools.

AriensCo distribute the ECHO products across the UK through a network of authorised dealerships. To find out more about ECHO power tools, visit stand F013 at SALTEX , go online at www.echo-tools.co.uk or call 01844 278800.

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idverde Brings Mixto To BTME

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idverde Brings Mixto To BTME: Visitors to this year’s BIGGA Turf Management Exhibition (BTME) will have the opportunity to get their feet on the Mixto hybrid turf system.

idverde, the UK’s exclusive supplier and installer of Mixto, is excited to bring the innovative sports surface to Europe’s leading exhibition for turf professionals and buyers, with a stand featuring a mini Mixto football pitch so that visitors can try it out for themselves.

idverde Brings Mixto To BTME

Mixto is a reinforced natural hybrid surface, consisting of a synthetic and a natural grass component. The added strength from the artificial turf improves the durability of the pitch, with playing time increased to around three times that of natural turf, and with no noticeable change in surface performance to players.

The Mixto hybrid turf system has recently been installed at Peterborough United FC (“The Posh”), where it has received excellent feedback from the grounds team for its quality and durability. The hybrid sports surface has also been chosen by some of the biggest and best international clubs, including Real Madrid and A.C. Milan, as well as 2018 World Cup semi-final venue, Zenit Arena in St Petersburg.

But Mixto is not just for sports fields. The system can be deployed wherever a hard-wearing grass surface is paramount. It has applications in golf, parks and public amenity areas. This year idverde has teamed up with Rigby Taylor, who will be offering the Mixto system for small areas in the form of a self-install kit. The self-install system is ideal for all areas where there is heavy footfall, giving unprecedented levels of wearability. Rigby Taylor will also be offering exclusively a Mixto kit using our longer pile carpet, specifically for areas of golf courses that are likely to wear in play. Rigby Taylor “IN PLAY” once installed, behaves just like natural grass, allowing golfers to take a divot with their shot whilst still providing all the advantages of a hybrid gras surface.

Steve Tingley, Operations Manager for idverde Sports Surfaces said:

“We’re delighted to be bringing Mixto to BTME 2019. The show offers an unmissable opportunity for pitch care professionals to come and try Mixto for themselves and see the benefits that this versatile and durable sports surface can offer.

“We look forward to welcoming visitors for a kick about at stand 288 in the Red Zone.”

BTME takes place at Harrogate Convention Centre from 22nd – 24th January 2019. Find idverde and Mixto in the Red Zone, stand 288.

For further information on Mixto and idverde’s sports surfaces installation services please visit www.idverde.co.uk/mixto

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idverde Brings Mixto To SALTEX

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idverde Brings Mixto To SALTEX: idverde will be at this year’s SALTEX exhibition and visitors to the show will have a unique opportunity to get their feet on the Mixto hybrid turf system.

idverde, the UK’s exclusive supplier and installer of Mixto, is excited to bring the innovative sports surface to the exhibition, with a stand featuring a mini Mixto football pitch so that visitors can try it out for themselves.

idverde Brings Mixto To SALTEX

Mixto is a reinforced natural hybrid surface, consisting of a synthetic and a natural grass component. The added strength from the artificial turf improves the durability of the pitch, with playing time increased to around three times that of natural turf, and with no noticeable change in surface performance to players.

The Mixto hybrid turf system has recently been installed at Peterborough United FC (“The Posh”), where it has received excellent feedback from the grounds team for its quality and durability. The hybrid sports surface has also been chosen by some of the biggest and best international clubs, including Real Madrid and A.C. Milan, as well as 2018 World Cup semi-final venue, Zenit Arena in St Petersburg.

Steve Tingley, Operations Manager for idverde Sports Services said:

“We’re delighted to be bringing Mixto to SALTEX 2018.  The show offers an unmissable opportunity for pitch care professionals to come and try Mixto for themselves and see the benefits that this versatile and durable sports surface can offer.

“We look forward to welcoming visitors for  a kick about in our demonstration area at plots 1 and 3 in the show’s outdoor zone.”

SALTEX 2018 takes place at the NEC, Birmingham on 31 October and 01 November 2018. Find idverde and Mixto in the outdoor demo area (plots 1 and 3) and with Rigby Taylor on stand G060.

For further information on Mixto and idverde’s sports surfaces installation services please visit www.idverde.co.uk/mixto

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Rigby Taylor Brings Swathe Of Colour

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Rigby Taylor Brings Swathe Of Colour: As part of Course Manager Matt Aplin’s plan to enhance the ecological footprint of the Goring and Streatley Golf Club, the “amazingly colourful results” of sowing Euroflor wildflowers “attracted as many complimentary comments about the outstanding display of colour as about the quality and performance of our greens”, he says.

“That was in a year when the course was magnificent – it was looking immaculate and was playing very well – so the display of wildflowers obviously made a massive impression on everyone who saw them,” he adds.

Rigby Taylor Brings Swathe Of Colour

“The news travelled fast about the swathe of colours and we even had non-playing visitors coming to see the display!”

Since Matt was appointed Course Manager at the Berkshire club in 2015 – after joining the greenkeeping team as an apprentice 20 years ago – he has constantly been looking for opportunities to improve the course’s ecological footprint and last year identified a rough area adjacent to the 14th hole that he wanted to improve.

“I was bouncing my thoughts about the possible use of wildflowers off Gareth Acteson, Rigby Taylor’s area sales director, and he suggested that the Euroflor mix (rather than native species) might work better in that spot.

“The Sarah Bouquet mix of annuals was chosen on the advice of club member Joyce Gustard, who is renowned among the membership for the quality of the floral display in her own garden, and that was definitely a wise move because a few months after sowing the area was awash with colour.”

Sarah Bouquet is a mix of 30 different species, including Anethum Graveolens, Borago Officinalis, Callistephus Chinensis, Helianthus Annuus, Helichrysum Bracteatum, Lobularia Maritima, Lupinus Nanus and Rudbeckia Gloriosa, and has a flowering height of 70-90 cms.

Adding that he uses a lot of Rigby Taylor products on the 18-hole, par 71 course, not least the R9 100% ultra-fine rye seed mix – “R9 has outstanding wear qualities, for example, and is the best seed on the market”, as well as the Propel-R wetting agent and a range of conventional and controlled-release fertilisers – Matt confirms:

“We didn’t do too much preparation for sowing the wildflower seeds and we undoubtedly over-sowed in terms of seed ratio, but the impact was tremendous from June right through to October.

“That success, and the number of favourable comments we received, has spurred us to double the overall amount of space sown with Euroflor wildflowers this year and because we have used less seed (perhaps just 65% of what we sowed last year on a similar-sized plot), we will effectively have double the amount of colour for a relatively low additional cost.”

Another way in which Matt recovered some of the cost of the outlay on seed was to re-sell small Discovery packs (also supplied by Rigby Taylor) of the wildflower seeds. “After seeing the flowers a number of members wanted the seeds for their own gardens,” says Matt.

The cost savings to the club have also been aided by the fact that at the end of last season Matt cut down the plants and left them where they fell, to encourage natural seeding. “Already now [in May] some of last year’s seeds are 45 cms high”, he adds, “and that is as a result of using an annuals mix. That equates to real value for money.”

For more information, visit: www.rigbytaylor.com

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