Tag Archive for: Club

New lease of life at Chorley Golf Club

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New lease of life at Chorley Golf Club: Chorley Golf Club has got its 125-year anniversary year off to a good start by updating its machinery fleet.

The course sits in 127 acres between Bolton and Preston, drawing players out of both major conurbations to be challenged while taking in prime views that extend as far as the Lake District and North Wales.

New lease of life at Chorley Golf Club

New lease of life at Chorley Golf Club

With healthy membership numbers and a high number of visiting players, Head Greenkeeper Tony Grayson and his team of four – deputy John Cottam, Chris Riley, Stuart Angus, and Daniel Woan – are working to meet expectations every day.

“I try to produce the best course I can every day, as we have so many competitions”, he says. “It’s all about the presentation of the course – people want what they see on TV.”

Living up to the manicured greens and fairways seen on televised competitions is no mean feat in the north west of England, where consistent rainfall and clay soils present major challenges.

“The ground is very quick to get wet but also quick to dry as we are on a couple inches of topsoil and thatch on the fairways,” Tony said. “The bunkers are really difficult to maintain in bad weather because the clay contaminates the sand. Others might put in liners nowadays, but we’re on a limited resource and it costs a fortune.”

Pests and diseases, particularly fusarium, anthracnose, worm casts and leatherjackets are an increasing challenge too, with many chemicals being taken off the market. Frequently warm and wet conditions make the pressure relentless.

Keeping the course in top condition takes attention to detail, and the team can afford little machinery downtime. A breakdown can threaten to overwhelm the team so when they were handed the keys to a brand-new shed just before the first covid lockdown in March 2020, the impetus was there to invest in new machinery.

Tony said: “It had been difficult to invest in machinery because of the previous sheds in terms of their security and the environment – you don’t want to be keeping machines in damp conditions.

“We had an ageing fleet and the reliability, particularly of our previous rough mower, was going down. When you’ve got the grass growing like mad and a rough mower down, it’s difficult to manage.”

The team’s new shed now stores a John Deere 7500 fairway mower, a 9009A TerrainCut rough mower, an 8000A E E-Cut Hybrid fairway mower, a XUV86SM Gator, three 220SL SL PrecisionCut walk-behind greens mower and two 2500 greens mowers.

Tony said: “Looking at other brands, I found that John Deere, as well as being at the top, was offering value for money as well. Once I demoed everything, it was obvious what I was looking for. The machines are now specific to our course and environment so we can go out with more confidence, getting a nicer cut.

“The 8000AE is so versatile and it can even act as a backup fairways mower by quickly raising the height of cut. It is our key machine and the one that players will notice in terms of the appearance of the surrounds and approaches. Now, the green-side bunkers are part of the surround and we’re able to cut around this area with the new machine, making the presentation so much better.”

For the majority of the new machines, Tony opted to use John Deere Finance. And with a strong relationship with John Deere’s specialist servicing dealer Balmers GM spanning 20 years, the team at Chorley has direct access to support to maintain the machines. For its flagship machine, the 9009A, Tony reasoned that an operating lease, whereby the team would only pay for the use of the machine, would be the best option.

“The club looked at the hours our machines were doing – and with the rough mower doing the most hours, we took it out on an operational lease as we have a lot of semi-rough, and will look to change after five years.”

Following a successful 2021 with summer on the greenkeepers’ side and armed with a new machinery fleet, Tony’s sights are now set firmly on future proofing the course – and the reliability of the new machines will be crucial to ensuring this work can happen.

“Our aim now is to make the course longer by building a few more tee zones set right back on the course’s boundaries to cater for an increasing number of golfers hitting the ball further. All this has to be done without disrupting golfers’ experience or making a mess with the heavier equipment required.

“Our industry isn’t without its challenges but investing in the machines has really given our greenkeepers more pride in their work, and the machines are doing a fantastic job at presenting the course in the best light.”

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New lease of life for machinery fleet at Chorley Golf Club

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New lease of life for machinery fleet at Chorley Golf Club: Chorley Golf Club has got its 125-year anniversary off to a good start by updating its machinery fleet.

The course sits in 127 acres between Bolton and Preston, drawing players out of both major conurbations to be challenged while taking in prime views that extend as far as the Lake District and North Wales.

New lease of life for machinery fleet at Chorley Golf Club

New lease of life for machinery fleet at Chorley Golf Club

With both healthy membership numbers and a high number of visiting players, Head Greenkeeper Tony Grayson and his team of four – deputy John Cottam, Chris Riley, Stuart Angus, and Daniel Woan – are working to meet expectations every day.

“I try to produce the best course I can every day, as we have so many competitions”, he says. “It’s all about the presentation and of course – people want what they see on TV.”

Living up to the manicured greens and fairways seen on televised competitions is no mean feat in the north west of England, where consistent rainfall and clay soils present major challenges.

“The ground is very quick to get wet but also quick to dry as we are on a couple inches of topsoil and thatch on the fairways,” Tony said. “The Bunkers are really difficult to maintain in bad weather because the clay contaminates the sand and, although others might put in liners nowadays, on a limited resource it costs a fortune.”

Pests and diseases, particularly fusarium, anthracnose, worm casts and leatherjackets are an increasing challenge too, with many chemicals being taken off the market. Frequently warm and wet conditions make this pressure relentless.

Keeping the course in top condition takes attention to detail, and the team can afford little  machinery downtime. A breakdown can threaten to overwhelm the team so when they were handed the keys to a brand-new shed just before the first covid lockdown in March 2020, the impetus was there to invest in new machinery.

Tony said: “It had been difficult to invest in machinery because of the previous sheds in terms of their security and the environment – you don’t want to be keeping machines in damp conditions.

“We had an ageing fleet and the reliability, particularly of our previous rough mower, was going down. When you’ve got the grass growing like mad and a rough mower down, it’s difficult to manage.”

The team’s new shed now stores a John Deere 7500 fairway mower, a 9009A TerrainCut rough mower, an 8000A E E-Cut Hybrid fairway mower, a XUV86SM Gator, three 220SL SL PrecisionCut walk-behind greens mower and two 2500 greens mowers.

Tony said: “Looking at other brands, I found that John Deere, as well as being at the top, was offering value for money as well. Once I demoed everything, it was obvious what I was looking for. The machines are now specific to our course and environment so we can go out with more confidence, getting a nicer cut.

“The 8000AE is so versatile and it can even act as a backup fairways mower by quickly raising the height of cut. It is our key machine and the one that will make people notice in terms of the appearance of the surrounds and approaches. Now, the green-side bunkers are part of the surround and we’re able to cut around this area with the new machine, making the presentation so much better.”

For the majority of the new machines, Tony opted to use John Deere Finance. And with a strong relationship with John Deere’s specialist servicing dealer Balmers GM spanning  20 years, the team at Chorley has direct access to support to maintain the machines. For its flagship machine, the 9009A, Tony reasoned that an operating lease, whereby the team would only pay for the use of the machine, would be the best option.

“The club looked at the hours our machines were doing – and with the rough mower doing the most hours, we took it out on an operational lease as we have a lot of semi-rough, and will look to change after five years.”

Following a successful 2021 with summer on the greenkeepers’ side and armed with a new machinery fleet, Tony’s sights are now set firmly on future proofing the course – and the reliability of the new machines will be crucial to ensure this work can happen.

“Our aim now is to make the course longer by building a few more tee zones set right back onto the course’s boundaries to cater for an increasing number of golfers hitting the ball further. All this has to be done without disrupting golfers’ experience or making a mess with the heavier equipment required.

“Our industry isn’t without its challenges but investing in the machines has really given our greenkeepers more pride in their work, and the machines are doing a fantastic job at presenting the course in the best light.”

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Deep aeration relief for Broadway Bowling Club

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Deep aeration relief for Broadway Bowling Club: Where once stood a croquet lawn and tennis courts, the Broadway Bowling Club opened its doors in 1919. It sits in an idyllic location in beautifully maintained grounds with scenic views towards the Cotswold escarpment and the Broadway tower; a ‘Saxon Tower’ folly that was the brainchild of 18th Century landscape designer ‘Capability Brown’.

The gently sloping banks of herbaceous flower borders and hedging change through the seasons and come days when the weather halts play, the club’s pavilion offers a pool table and an indoor skittle alley for members to enjoy.

Deep aeration relief for Broadway Bowling Club

Deep aeration relief for Broadway Bowling Club

It was during 2021 the weather brought matters to a head for Dennis Hall, Broadway’s Greenkeeper of ten years. Increasingly, the green was suffering from standing water after heavy rain, with one area getting progressively worse. Even in dry periods, it was noted the ground was frequently mushy when the mower went through the area. Avonmore Associates, the highly respected South Warwickshire sports grounds construction and maintenance company, regularly maintain the green with a regime of spiking and aeration. They suspected a deeper problem. As happens with many older bowling greens, the sheer volume of play over the years, combined with the substrate of the original construction, leads to compaction at a depth not reached by normal aeration. In Broadway’s case, there are mixed areas of stone and clay with insufficient release of standing water built up over time.

Avonmore suggested using Terrain Aeration, with whom they have worked on a number of projects, to bring in their Terralift machine to provide one metre deep aeration. At this depth, the ground is usually so compacted it requires fracturing to open up fissures and allow drainage. Terrain Aeration’s Terralift system works on the principle of hammering a hollow probe through the soil using a JCB road breaker gun, and compressed air is released up to 20Bar (280psi). At the end of the air blast, they inject dried seaweed, which sticks to the fissure walls. This expands and contracts with the moisture in the soil to keep the area breathing. Working to a grid with approximately two metre spacings allows the Terralift to create interlinked cracks and fissures deep underground to carry away the water. The 1.5-inch probe holes on the green are backfilled with Lytag aggregate and covered with topsoil, making it playable almost immediately. The work at the Broadway Bowling Club was carried out in November 2021 and Dennis Hall reports that they have had several periods of heavy downpour and the deep aeration has done the trick with no standing water to halt play.

Terrain Aeration 01449 673783 www.terrainaeration.co.uk

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ISEKI hits the mark for Exeter Rugby Club

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ISEKI hits the mark for Exeter Rugby Club: Max Sandford has been working at Exeter Rugby Club for over 11 years with full responsibility as the Head Groundsman for the last four years. 

Working as part of a team of three with one first year apprentice they carefully maintain the premiership rugby pitch, alongside the two Desso rugby training pitches, the grounds and car parks. With over 100 players training three to four times a week it can be quite the challenge with the small team to keep everything in top condition.

ISEKI hits the mark for Exeter Rugby Club

ISEKI hits the mark for Exeter Rugby Club

Following the recent multi-million pound investment and a new East Stand built, the stadium now has capacity for over 15,000 fans and with the new hotel development it offers the opportunity to hold numerous events throughout the year.

When the pitches were built a couple of years ago the consultant helped specify the equipment required, this included a 35hp tractor, Wiedenmann Spiker, sprayer and zero turn mower.  Since moving up from a championship to a premiership side there comes an increase in expectations, so 18 months on the club needed to upsize their equipment to cope with the increase in demand.

Commenting on the equipment Max explained; “In order to cope with the larger aerators required we needed a larger tractor so we went out to the market to obtain three demonstrations and quotes.  This is where we came across the ISEKI TG6507IQ.  Scott Struthers, from our local dealer MST Group in Tiverton, brought this machine to us so we could test it out on our site.  Its high lift capacity of 1,580kg, tight turning circle, auto pick up hitch and of course the highly specified cab made our decision easy.”

“Another brilliant feature of the TG6507 IQ is the headland management system that can be set to automatically disengage the PTO on lifting and re-engage when lowering, making turning at the end of runs so simple.  This makes such a difference when aerating large areas and numerous runs. All these features and then, most importantly, the comfortable air con cab means the staff have no problems working with this machine for long periods of time!”

The TG6507 IQ was supplied by Scott Struthers at MST Group, based in Tiverton, Devon.   Max added; “We have been working with MST for a number of years, the back-up and servicing from them is faultless, they have a good, experienced workshop team ensuring our machines are kept in top condition and very competitive pricing.  With this excellent service it meant the purchase of our ISEKI TG6507 IQ was an obvious choice.”

“The TG6507 IQ is a top quality, well-built, sturdy tractor with many high specifications that make our lives so much easier when maintaining the pitches and other areas around the club.  I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend ISEKI.”

Watch the video here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irP8kI8HlM4

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Toro chosen by West Sussex Golf Club

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Toro chosen by West Sussex Golf Club: The intricacies of selecting and installing the right irrigation network are no more pronounced than for West Sussex Golf Club, a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), which recently completed the installation of a full course Toro irrigation system.

Set on the very rare terrain which is Lowland Heath with extensive heather, Scots Pine and birch, the club had very clear expectations of what it wanted for both the course and its members. The new system also had to meet the specific requirements of Natural England in their approval of the required work.

Toro chosen by West Sussex Golf Club

Toro chosen by West Sussex Golf Club

Kerr Rowan, course manager at West Sussex Golf Club, elaborates: “We are fortunate to be one of a small number of traditional heathland golf clubs in the country. Our players gravitate towards the firm, fiery and fast fairways.

“By their very nature, these areas turn brown, particularly in summer, and there was concern from the club that a new irrigation system would make them too green. However, the incredibly hot summer of 2018 proved that rather than turning areas green, irrigation was vital to keeping those naturally dry areas alive. As a result of that hot dry weather, we lost a lot of grass and it highlighted the importance of having a premium irrigation system in place.”

The system was designed by irrigation consultants, Irritech Limited, who used their expertise in understanding the resident natural flora and fauna to handle the challenges of the course.

Roger Davey, managing director at Irritech Limited, comments: “The project required an advanced level of diligence and care. This is because a large part of the course is within a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest and therefore Natural England insisted that water should not be sprayed or allowed to leach on to the heather areas, falling only on the fine grass fairways.

“Water throw had to be carefully calculated so a three-row system was installed on the fairways instead of a two-row alternative. This provided greater accuracy and efficiency. We couldn’t simply install pipe wherever we liked, it had to be planned with precision and out of respect for the natural surroundings. For example, we had to be mindful of large, deep tree roots when installing pipework along the tree lines. Plus, as the site is not blessed with an incredible amount of water, we had to design a system that was efficient and sustainable for the club.”

With these considerations in mind, the club, led by the Green Committee, undertook a thorough process to find the right products to replace the old system which at 40 years old didn’t cover the fairways. After a series of meetings, presentations and sourcing references from other clubs, the board at West Sussex opted to use the market-leading equipment offered by Toro.

Kerr continues: “What impressed me most about the Toro irrigation products was the Lynx central control system. Five of our greenkeeping team use the control system app, enabling us to do so much at the touch of a button including operating the sprinklers remotely.

“I like how Toro has constantly evolved its products, making them as efficient as possible. You can stop the sprinklers within a second which reduces water wastage, and if there are any technical issues the sprinklers are top-serviceable thus minimising disruption to our course and members.”

With Toro chosen and the design finalised, Irritech Limited worked alongside West Sussex Golf Club to appoint a contractor to handle the installation of the system. This was handled by Lancashire-based, Reesink-approved contractor, LS Systems, starting in October 2020 and finishing in May 2021. Despite some weather days which presented challenging conditions with heavy winter rainfall and spring frosts, the installation was mostly completed during weekdays, avoiding the club’s busy weekend periods. An unscheduled government-enforced winter lockdown also presented additional quiet spells for progress to be made.

The installation included over 27,000m of pipe, 27,000m of cable, 958 sprinklers and the state-of-the-art Lynx Smart Module; the brain of the system. Infinity sprinklers were used on the fairways, greens and approaches as well as the larger tees. T5s and T7s were used on the smaller tees.

Tim Griffiths, project manager from LS Systems, comments: “What’s key for an irrigation system of this kind is accuracy of application. In making this investment West Sussex Golf Club is now better able to manage its water resources, bringing about both environmental and cost saving benefits whilst allowing them to maintain the character of the course with pinpoint precision.”

When asked about the impact the new system has had on the club, course manager Kerr is resoundingly positive: “It has the precision we need to tailor the setup to suit the varying areas of the course. We can spot-target areas that need it and when we do water, we water less so the water goes exactly where we want it. This makes a significant cost-saving to the club.

“We appreciate the speed, responsiveness and ease of the entire system. With the Lynx app on my phone I’m able to turn on tailored irrigation as and when we need it, something which gives us ultimate control and flexibility.”

To find out more about the Toro range or the finance options available, call Reesink Turfcare on 01480 226800, email info@reesinkturfcare.co.uk or visit reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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