Tag Archive for: Club

Vandals Damage Prestigious Golf Club

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Vandals Damage Prestigious Golf Club: Vandals on quad bikes have ripped up turf on the greens at a local course while horrified golfers looked on.

The wrecking spree has caused £5,000 worth of damage at Howley Hall Golf Club in Morley just weeks before the start of the summer season.

The prestigious course claims to have the best four finishing holes in Yorkshire and hosts the PGA Yorkshire Open Championship.

Two men in their late teens or early 20s rode a quad bike onto the course at around 5pm on Tuesday when golfers were still playing.

They churned up the 14th hole while members were teeing off, before riding onto the 16th green and causing further damage.

They then fled in the direction of Woodkirk. The club’s head professional Ryan Rastall said:-

“It’s a real disappointment having to deal with this any time of the year, but especially so close to the start of our main golfing season (April to October). The golf course will take time to recover and it will cost a significant amount of money to repair the damage, but as a club we feel for our members and guests that enjoy playing here.”

It’s not the first time a golf club in Leeds has been targeted by nuisance bikers.

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Vandals Target Angus Golf Club

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Vandals Target Angus Golf Club: Members of Letham Grange Golf Club have once again been left counting the costs after vandals tore over the fairways in a late night demolition spree.

Green-keepers arrived on Sunday morning to be met by tyre marks cutting across the 17th fairway and the winter tees in the second incident of its kind over the last few months.

The golf club, once hailed “the Augusta of the north”, was also targeted by thieves last month.

Captain Malcolm Turner spoke of the frustration and disappointment felt by green keepers and members of the not-for-profit club as they are left to once again repair the mess.

He urged neighbours or anyone with information to contact the police.

He said: “This is soul-destroying.

“It looks like one vehicle has come in and made its way down, over the tees.

“The driver then did ‘doughnuts’ in the middle of the fairway, ran over the temporary winter green and drove out the main exit.”

Police Scotland confirmed officers were aware of the incident.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact them on 101.

Opened in 1987 by Sir Henry Cotton, Letham Grange Golf Club was bracketed alongside Augusta National, the home of the US Masters, by Golf Monthly.

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Toro Praised At Stirling Golf Club

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Toro Praised At Stirling Golf Club: Lying on a tilted slab of ancient volcanic lava in front of the historic Stirling Castle is Stirling Golf Club, one of Scotland’s oldest golf clubs, which is preparing for its 150th anniversary with a helping hand from Toro and its distributor Reesink Turfcare.

All eyes are on the club in central Scotland, whose golfing credentials actually stretch back to 1505 when golfing activity involving Monarch King James was first recorded, as it prepares for its anniversary. But with a carefully constructed Toro fleet the pressure to keep the course up to standard is under control, says course manager, James Lindsay.

Toro Praised At Stirling Golf Club

“It’s an exciting time and everyone is looking forward to it, but it does mean there are a lot of people expecting great things; 150 years is a big deal after all! We’ve been completely redoing the bunkers for the anniversary, working with renowned course architect Howard Swan of Swan Golf Designs repositioning, reshaping and draining them all, which will be finished in time for the celebrations, so members can enjoy a newly refreshed course. It’s important for us to be able to provide the best, especially as there’ll be a full calendar of events over the year with members and dignitaries invited.”

Maintaining such a respected course, James knows having the best turf maintenance equipment is essential. Since his appointment six years ago, he has continually updated the machines at the club and it now boasts a 100 percent Toro fleet.

“I’ve always used Toro, they’re the highest quality and most reliable, so it’s a no-brainer really. Plus, having an all Toro fleet makes it’s easier to train people, which means we can spend more time working on the course. They’re quick to cover the grounds, which saves us fuel, but the speed doesn’t stop them giving a smooth finish. Being 100 percent Toro has improved the club in lots of ways.”

He continues: “The machines themselves are really dependable, but on the rare occasion there’s been an issue it’s been fixed very quickly. It’s comforting to know that if there’s ever a problem, there’s always someone at the end of a phone who can get it sorted.”

With the fleet consisting of a Greensmaster TriFlex hybrid 3420 and two GR3250-D mowers, a Reelmaster 5610-D, RM6500-D and RM3100-D, plus a Groundsmaster 4500-D, Workman MDX-D and Procore 648, the club has built up a comprehensive collection.

“I have to say my favourite to use is the Procore 648,” says James. “Aeration is key and this machine works at a good speed and delivers a tidy finish.”

With the club busier than ever, James and the rest of the greenkeeping team are safe in the knowledge the course is in good hands with Toro – and that’s set to continue as James concludes: “We’re signed on to a five-year exclusivity agreement, I trust the products and service and know what I’m getting. I don’t see us stopping our agreement anytime soon. Toro machines keep this club at the very top of its game, and why would I change that?”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Gripclad At Kings Hill Golf Club

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Gripclad At Kings Hill Golf Club: Kings Hill Golf Club in Kent had a problem with people slipping on wooden surfaces around the golf course and clubhouse. Old railway sleeper have been used on golf courses from the 1930s and provide an ideal material for many situations whilst maintaining a natural feel in the landscape. Many golf courses today use them either in bunkers or grassy hollows or more often than not to provide stepped access to elevated or steep sided tees. The advance of soft spikes and moulded sole golf shoes away from traditional steel spikes has led to an increase of slips on wooden steps and in the early 2000s this was becoming an increasing problem.

Having searched for many years and looked at various ideas at other golf clubs, including carpet, astro, chicken wire, tar and chips and chainsaw cut grooves, all in their various ways trying to eliminate the slip issue and presenting a trip issue or a higher than expected replacement schedule on wooden sleeper steps, a chance advertisement in a trade magazine highlighted a new product called GripClad. That was back in 2006. The club decided to obtain some samples and look at the benefits of the product more closely. Following that initial assessment a trial set of steps were chosen and the product installed. Installation was easy and straight forward, GripClad arrived in pre-cut lengths and to the dimensions that had been specified, only holes had to be drilled and the cleats screwed down with a mastic to act as a cushioning agent. A set of steps could be easily completed in a couple of hours and a large set in a day, much quicker than some of the other products mentioned. In addition if a sleeper had to be replaced it was simply a case of unscrewing the cleat and replacing it onto a new sleeper.

Gripclad At Kings Hill Golf Club

“Since that first installation we have purchased GripClad every year to complete all of our wooden surfaces around the course, which includes 10 sets of very large sleeper step installations, four sets of sleeper rails around teeing areas and ancillary surfaces including service and mobility ramps and so on around the clubhouse,” said a club spokesman. “The performance of the product has been outstanding, not only did it cope with the wear and tear of traffic, it performs in all weathers and has not deteriorated in the 10 years that the initial batch has been down, it still looks as good now as it did 10 years ago. We will continue to use it around the golf course as it provides the most cost effective solution for both time and longevity. I wouldn’t hesitate to rec
ommend this product out on the golf course or around the clubhouse.”

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Football Club Furious As Vandals Hit

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Football Club Furious As Vandals Hit: Bosses at a football club have been left furious, and have hit out at vandals who tore up their pitch.

Yobs used a vehicle to churn up the pitch used by Bishopton FC, which runs teams for men, women and kids.

The site, which is operated by Renfrewshire Leisure, is also home to several other clubs in Bishopton and neighbouring Erskine.

However, the mindless vandalism means it may now be out of action for weeks.

Nori Fian, Bishopton FC’s vice-chairman, said: “We think this may have happened on Friday night and I reported it to the police on Saturday afternoon.

“It looks as if someone has got on something with two wheels and driven round the pitch several times.

“I was filled with revulsion when I saw it. There is a lack of facilities already in Bishopton and now one of its only pitches has been vandalised.

“I don’t think we will be able to use it for the foreseeable future but I’m hoping repairs can be made before we play at home again next month.”

Joyce McKellar, Renfrewhire Leisure’s chief executive, said the damage is being assessed.

She said: “Hopefully repairs can be carried out so the park can be made playable by this weekend.

“The pitch is used by several teams from the Bishopton and Erskine areas and, if repairs cannot be completed by the weekend, other parks are available.

“We don’t expect any games to be cancelled because of the damage to the pitch.”

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