Tag Archive for: Club

Ground-breaking resort chooses Club Car

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Ground-breaking resort chooses Club Car: Club Car, the world’s largest manufacturer of small-wheel electric vehicles, has supplied a fleet of cars to Kigali Golf Resort & Villas, the first 18-hole golf facility in Rwanda.

The resort is in the centre of the Rwandan capital, Kigali, and features a new Championship course by Gary Player Design. The 65-hectare site had previously been a nine-hole course but has been reinvented into 18 new holes, plus a driving range.

Ground-breaking resort chooses Club Car

Ground-breaking resort chooses Club Car

Nathanael Pietrzak-Swirc, International Director of UGOLF, the management company for Kigali Golf Resort & Villas, said: “There were many reasons why we opted for Club Car – style, comfort, features and, most importantly, reliability. Club Car fits so well with the 5-star experience we are looking to deliver.”

Kigali Golf Resort and Villas is the first in the Rwandan government’s target of creating four golf courses in the next five years to give Rwandans and expats the chance to discover the game, as well as tap into the international golf tourism market.

With long-term ambitions of hosting tournaments, Kigali Golf Resort & Villas also boasts a new clubhouse, health club, spa and tennis club. Real estate will also be an important component, with around 150 villas planned across the development.

Nicolas Le Glas, Club Car’s Regional Sales Manager France, Middle East & Africa, added: “This is an ambitious project and we are proud to be part of the first development of this kind in Rwanda. The resort has a mix of Tempo cars which are electric, aligning well with the resort’s green strategy, and four-seater Onward vehicles, which will be used as a VIP car to let people discover the course and to transport golfers between the 12th and the 13th holes, which is quite a long walk.”

With completely customisable options – including colour, seats, storage, wheels and three programmable drive modes to maximize performance, Club Car’s Onward Passenger vehicle comes with a 4.7hp motor and 375 Amp controller as standard which deliver outstanding hill-climbing power and acceleration.

Nathanael Pietrzak-Swirc concluded: “One of our aims is to attract international travellers, particularly business people. We already have 250 members and we are aiming to have 500 within three years. The resort’s city centre location will be a major draw for people wanting to play golf during a trip.”

Club Car supplies many of the world’s leading golf destinations with its wide range of vehicles, and is an official supplier to the European Tour, the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) and St Andrews Links Trust.

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

For more information on Kigali Golf Resort & Villas visit: www.kigaligolf.rw

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New approach for Newark Golf Club

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New approach for Newark Golf Club: Established in 1901, Newark Golf Club in Nottinghamshire is an 18-hole parkland/heathland golf course with a driving range and practice facilities maintained by a greenkeeping team of six led by course manager Alex Clarricoates.

Alex joined the club from school on work experience 13 years ago and was then offered a full-time job. Since he became course manager three years ago, a new club board took the opportunity after the first Covid lockdown to restructure the running of the golf course and make some necessary improvements. By outsourcing the pro shop and clubhouse to franchise operators, this freed up extra money to spend on the club’s main asset, the golf course.

New approach for Newark Golf Club

New approach for Newark Golf Club

“The club was very supportive and happy to make the investment I thought was necessary to improve the course quality, rather than simply making do with what we had,” says Alex. “I was therefore encouraged to put together a list of the machines we needed to get us properly equipped. For example, we used to hire in a contractor to do the vertidraining, but we now have our own machine which gives us much more flexibility and costs the club less money in the long run.

“Having bought our first John Deere package in 2017, the old fleet needed upgrading. There was a mix of deals on different terms with and without maintenance agreements, so essentially we emptied the shed and replaced the fleet, with the help of our local dealer Simon Fountain at Adamson’s Langworth depot.

“In particular, we decided to invest in new mowers dedicated to the rough, semi-rough and fairways, to give us more flexibility with the cutting regimes. We can now mow the roughs, aprons and tees more regularly, whereas before one machine had to do two jobs, and we also have a specialist amenity turf sprayer, which we didn’t have before.

“Another benefit is that one of my assistants, Jim North, used to work with Simon at the previous John Deere dealership, so he’s familiar with the kit and can look after all the service and maintenance.”

The new John Deere fleet (pictured on the 8th hole) includes three 2550E hybrid electric triplex mowers with two spare sets of 7- and 11-blade reels, a 6700A PrecisionCut fairway mower, 9009A TerrainCut and 1600T WAM Series 3 rotary rough mowers, a 4066R compact tractor with 440R front loader and 4-in-1 bucket, a ProGator 2030A utility vehicle with HD200 sprayer and cargo box plus TH 6×4 and TE electric Gators.

Ancillary equipment bought as part of the John Deere Financial five-year finance lease package deal includes a Charterhouse Redexim Top-Brush and Verti-Drain 7416 aerator, a Campey Turf Care Vredo DZ 214.07.5 compact seeder and a Tru-Turf RE50 greens roller.

“After the course was shut during the last lockdown, it took the team about a month to prepare the course ready to open again, using the new equipment, and it was in mint condition straight from the off,” says Alex.

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Sleaford Golf Club seeks higher standards

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Sleaford Golf Club seeks higher standards: Set in the heart of Lincolnshire, Sleaford Golf Club is an 18-hole private members course redesigned by Peter Alliss, with an additional 6-hole Academy par 3 course. Described as an inland links with sandy, well-draining soil, it is renowned for once having the longest first nine holes in the country, with no par 3s.

Much of the course is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) that includes some of the most important calcareous grassland areas in the county, if not the UK. Nick Lawson, chairman of the club’s management committee and also greens chairman, has developed a passion for wildlife and environmental management and says:

Sleaford Golf Club seeks higher standards

Sleaford Golf Club seeks higher standards

“We are delighted to be working with Natural England and to play our part in maintaining the biodiversity of our environment, while ensuring that a natural evolution of the course is maintained.”

Part of this evolution has seen the introduction of the club’s first John Deere course maintenance equipment fleet supplied by local dealer F G Adamson & Son at Langworth, and supported by a five-year John Deere Financial lease deal. The new machines include a 2750E hybrid electric triplex mower, 7700A PrecisionCut fairway mower, 9009A TerrainCut rotary rough mower, a ProGator 2030A utility vehicle equipped with an HD200 amenity turf sprayer, and a TH 6×4 Gator utility vehicle.

The combination of new hybrid electric and programmable TechControl mower technology and advanced sprayer controls now enables the course to be managed in a more environmentally friendly manner, while also saving costs.

Nick Lawson has been a member at Sleaford Golf Club for over 30 years, and was persuaded to join the management committee in order to bring his financial and accountancy experience to bear. Together with director of golf Nigel Pearce, who has been at Sleaford for 20 years and was the club professional, and new course manager Brian Sharp – all three have been in post for less than three years – they embarked on an investment programme to improve the overall maintenance regime and bring everything back up to a higher standard after several years of decline.

“We had inherited an old five-year lease contract, so the new management committee set a good budget pre-Covid to replace and upgrade the machinery fleet,” says Nick Lawson. “This was put on hold during lockdown, but we consider the golf course to be the club’s prime asset. As soon as we were able to, we asked Brian for his wish list and then arranged a number of machinery demonstrations by the different manufacturers to see what worked best for us.

“We then went to tender, with John Deere and Adamsons giving the best presentation and their all-round choice of machinery just a little ahead of the others, so we signed the deal at the beginning of April. With the finance, we need flexibility to take advantage of the latest technology and different machinery wear rates, so in time we may have to adjust our budgets accordingly.

“We’ve never been down this route before, so we’re still learning the best way forward for the club and the course, but Brian and his team now have all the tools they need to do the job to the best possible standards.”

“One of the key reasons we chose the A Model mowers is being able to set up the mowing speed and frequency of cut for a consistent finish across the course, whoever’s on the machine,” says Brian Sharp. “We also needed a sprayer that was accurate and could speed up the job, particularly on the fairways.

“With our old tractor-mounted sprayer there was no calibration and we had no real idea of application rates. The HD200 is much more accurate, there’s no over-application and we know we’re hitting the target with whatever we spray, which really helps to lower our environmental footprint. We can now do all 18 holes in one go instead of having to refill halfway round, so we also save on man hours and keep ahead of the golfers.”

Nick Lawson adds: “By offering more flexible membership and guest options, our numbers are picking up again now. There’s been a net gain since the beginning of lockdown, and we’re confident things are now moving forward for the club.”

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Ventrac for Dudsbury Golf Club

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Ventrac for Dudsbury Golf Club: The owners of Dudsbury Golf Club, Hotel & Spa, Beate and Len Robinson, have supported long-serving head greenkeeper Warren Moss with the purchase of a Ventrac 4500 all-terrain compact tractor and Contour mowing deck to ensure the course stays in pristine condition. Replacing an old zero-turn machine and an ageing Toro Sidewinder, the new package makes sound commercial sense.

Commenting at the recent handover of the equipment Warren Moss said,

Ventrac for Dudsbury Golf Club

Ventrac for Dudsbury Golf Club

“We have an ageing fleet and we need to be smarter in how we purchase equipment in the future. The owners were very supportive when I made the business case and we are replacing two machines with one. Because of its versatility, we can add more attachments at a fraction of the cost of purchasing new dedicated equipment, so we should be able to upgrade more cost effectively, when we need to.

“I’d seen the media reports and watched some YouTube videos and even arranged a demo a couple of years ago. We had another demo recently, this time with the Contour deck and it performed extremely well. We use it on tee banks, green surrounds, bunker surrounds and can raise the height of cut to manage the semi-rough. Also, as it has a three-point linkage at the rear, we can mount our Sisis Twin Play with sorrel roller and slitter.

“My main reason for specifying this machine is its slope climbing ability. It’s extremely stable on slopes of up to 30 degrees, making it safe and manoeuvrable, especially on tees. About a third of the course is on a flood plain, so can be quite wet in winter. Because of its light footprint in its eight-wheel configuration we will be able to get out during wet spells without damaging the playing surfaces. I’m also impressed by the Aera-vator attachment, which makes aeration on banks possible, so this might possibly be our next purchase.”

Set in 160 acres of undulating Dorset countryside just outside of Bournemouth, the Donald Steel-designed 6,904-yard, par 71 championship course features nine lakes and is bordered by the river Stour. It has hosted several prestigious events including the PGA Europro Tour, which featured on Sky Sports and the BMW PGA Order of Merit Championship.

Warren Moss, who heads a team of six, has been at the club for the past 12 years, the last six as Head Greenkeeper. He started his career at Yeovil Golf Club, where he attended Cannington College and enjoyed a six-month placement in Germany. He was a member of the newbuild/grow-in team at Orchardleigh near Bath in the mid-1990s, where he stayed for 15 years until joining Dudsbury.

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Nottingham Gun Club credits Husqvarna

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Nottingham Gun Club credits Husqvarna: Nestled in the heart of Sherwood Forest lies Nottingham & District Gun Club, established for over 55 years, the club has turned its attention to robotic mowing, crediting Husqvarna Automower® for maintaining the club’s immaculate grounds.

Directing their attention to innovative mowing in 2019, the Club chose Husqvarna Automower® 550 to maintain four of its shooting layouts. Covering up to an acre of land, the robotic mower has enabled the grounds team to free up hours of time, previously spent mowing.

Nottingham Gun Club credits Husqvarna

Nottingham Gun Club credits Husqvarna

Offering lessons, shooting memberships, events, and stag and hen parties, the Gun Club requires picture-perfect grounds, all year round. With a restricted amount of time to mow, fears of theft, and the limitations of shared equipment, the Club turned to B&B Tractors and Husqvarna Automower®, to help assist with their challenges.

Carl Smith, Owner at Nottingham & District Gun Club, discussed the switch to Automower®: “For many years we’ve worked with the team at B&B Tractors as their service has always been fantastic. When we discussed the idea of turning to robotic mowing, it quickly became evident that it would be the smart thing to do, and Husqvarna Automower® stood out as the obvious choice.

“The Club has always had the challenge of maintaining the grounds when clients are there, which means limited hours in which to do so. Time is the most precious thing that the ground staff has, but with limited hours to work in, it’s never something we’ve had surplus of.

“Trying to keep the layout tidy has always been a challenge we’ve faced, with dandelions and daisies becoming a particular issue in the past. As quick as we’d be at removing them, the quicker they’d be at growing. We knew we needed an innovative solution, and so purchased Automower® 550.

Ever since the first Automower® was introduced in 1995, Husqvarna has been known as the world leader in robotic mowing. With over 2 million sold worldwide, Automower® is renowned for its low energy consumption, zero emissions, low noise and high productivity. Covering everything from smaller urban gardens to challenging areas up to 5,000m2, Automower® can also handle difficult inclines up to 70%.

Carl continued: “Shortly after our Automower® was installed, it wasn’t long until we were seeing the fruits of its labour. Being able to mow day or night, in rain or shine, our layouts looked better than ever. The dandelions and daisies were also no longer an issue, as Automower® keeps the grass at a short length. Just as we need it.”

One of the biggest issues the Gun Club faced was the breakage of garden machinery while being swapped between the grounds team, and the threat of theft while being stored overnight. Carl discussed: “Storing expensive equipment has always been a worry in case of break-in’s, and when tools are being swapped between many different team members, breakages are inevitable, and so it became a conscious decision to stop buying expensive equipment.

“Using lower-quality equipment was okay in the short-term, but eventually we decided it was time to invest in Automower®, thanks to its abilities to avoid these issues.”

Featuring GPS theft tracking which registers the mower’s GPS position every 30 seconds, as well as a high-pitch alarm which starts when moved and can only be deactivated with the mower’s unique pin code, extra security is provided with the Automower® models.

“One of the best things about Automower® is that it never gets ill, doesn’t need any holidays, and can work day or night, in any weather condition. With minimal input needed, the risk of damage is minimal, which has eased my worries about breakages significantly. In addition, the amount of time it has saved our team is incredible and allows us to spend more hours on tasks that require more skill and precision.”

“With the Automower® Connect app, we’ve been able to remotely control the mower through our phones and tablets. We’re able to change its settings, track its movements, and check its status, at any time, wherever we are, it’s really remarkable.”

“I have to admit, I was initially sceptical whether the Automower® would be able to deliver all that it promised, but it has certainly proved its worth. In the future we look forward to expanding our Automower® range and taking further advantage of Husqvarna’s innovation.”

For more information on Husqvarna Automower®, visit: https://www.husqvarna.com/uk/products/robotic-lawn-mowers/

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