Tag Archive for: Club

Golf Club Vandalised

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Golf Club Vandalised: A North-East golf club has hit out at individuals who stole two buggies and caused thousands of pounds of damage.

Vandals struck at Insch Golf Club leaving tyre marks on a green, pulling up posts and driving over signs.

Club manager Jayne Farquhar said she and her staff were “really upset” after the incident on Tuesday.

She said: “It’s disheartening because everyone works so hard to keep the greens looking good, and this comes at a time when golf clubs are struggling.

“It would be horrible if this turns out to have been someone local.

“This is a members-only club and they pay a lot to play here so for someone to have done this shows total disregard and disrespect for the work put in.”

It is thought that the damage to the green alone could be between £2,000 and £3,000 – and that doesn’t include the cost of repairing the golf buggies.

One of the buggies was recovered more than a mile away on Western Road in Insch at around 8.40pm on Tuesday with the second recovered a short time later.

Vice captain of the club Colin Campbell was hopeful that repairs could be made to the green.

He said: “We are all disappointed.

“This has happened before but never as bad as this – this is substantial damage.

“Our head groundsman is confident that he can re-cover the green, but because the grass isn’t growing now the scars will be visible for a while.

“The mechanic will be looking at the buggies because the windscreens were smashed and there may be also be damage to the underside as the vandals drove over signs.”

Investigating officer Pc Mark Hammond said: “The buggies had been parked at Insch Golf Club at 3.30pm that day but a member of the public called in about the buggy at Western Road in the evening.

“Anyone who either saw any of the buggies being moved later in the afternoon or in the evening or who knows anything about this incident is asked to contact police.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Police Scotland on 101 quoting reference 3594 of 30 January.

“Information can also be provided anonymously via the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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Success For Deeside Golf Club

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Success For Deeside Golf Club: The greenkeeping team at Deeside Golf Club in Aberdeenshire is celebrating after winning a BIGGA award at BTME 2018. 

Led by Course Manager Neil McLoughlin (41), the greenkeeping team were announced as the winner of the BIGGA Greenkeeping Achievement of the Year Award sponsored by Baroness, at a ceremony held this evening in the Harrogate Convention Centre’s Royal Hall.

Success For Deeside Golf Club

When Storm Frank hit Aberdeenshire the day before New Year’s Eve in 2015, it caused the River Dee to reach record levels, three times covering the course in a thick layer of silt and debris.

In the aftermath, the team was able to get 10 holes reopened after just 77 days and the clean-up saw over six tonnes of grass seed laid down, 10,000m2 of turf laid and all 98 bunkers rebuilt, using 3,000 tonnes of sand for topdressing and bunkers.

During 2017 the hard work continued, with the silt layer impeding drainage. Over 400m of drainage was installed and a programme of scarification and topdressing helped break down the silt layer further.

The Deeside team was presented with the award by television presenter and #ThisGirlGolfs ambassador Naga Munchetty at the BIGGA Welcome Celebration sponsored by Textron Golf. The awards ceremony is one of the highlights of BTME 2018, the premier turf management exhibition in Europe.

Neil said: “It’s a real honour to win this award. Storm Frank came in and devastated the whole Dee Valley and the golf course ended up in a hell of a state.

“We do flood quite a lot, but generally we call them clean floods

BIGGA Chief Executive Jim Croxton said: “Of the golf clubs who were hit hard by the devastation that Storm Frank wrought in December 2015, it was perhaps Deeside who were hit hardest of all.

“For greenkeepers who dedicate their lives to maintaining a relatively small patch of land, the damage must have been heartbreaking. It is therefore to Neil and his team’s immense credit that they were able to pick themselves up and restore the course to its former glory.

“I cannot praise the greenkeeping team highly enough for the work they have done to get Deeside back on its feet. They are truly an inspiration to greenkeepers all over the country and they are worthy recipients of this year’s BIGGA Greenkeeping Achievement of the Year Award sponsored by Baroness.”

The other finalists for the BIGGA Greenkeeping Achievement of the Year Award sponsored by Baroness were Andrew Brougham, head greenkeeper of Astbury Golf Club, and Stuart Imeson, course manager at Dunstanburgh Castle Golf Club.

BTME 2018 runs until Thursday 25 January and features more than 150 exhibitors from all aspects of the turf management industry. Each year more than 4,500 greenkeepers, trade members, club managers and other representatives of the golfing industry come together to network and share news of the latest education and innovation.

Visit http://btme.org.uk/ for more information.

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20/20 Vision At Golf Club

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20/20 Vision At Golf Club: Manor of Groves Golf Club in Hertfordshire has purchased its first fleet of Toro machinery and resolved to be exclusively Toro by 2020, having seen a number of benefits including time-saving, ease of maintenance and noticeable results.

The club invested in a Toro Reelmaster 5510-D, two TriFlex 3400 mowers, a Workman complete with a Multi Pro 200 sprayer, and a ProForce debris blower to update its front line cutting fleet (greens, fairways, tees and approaches).

20/20 Vision At Golf Club

Course manager Lee Brinkley explains why they opted for Toro: “Having worked at other clubs that used a mix of Toro and competitor brand machines, Toro has always stood out to me as the most reliable turfcare brand.

“So when [Toro UK distributor] Reesink Turfcare representative Richard Freeman came on course to demonstrate the machines, it made me and general manager James Barker certain that Toro’s machinery is the best quality and value for money.”

Aftersales service was also an important consideration in the investment, explains Lee: “We knew we were buying more than just machines. I now have peace of mind that if I call Reesink with a query, our local representative Richard will be at the other end of the phone to help within minutes.”

Lee’s favourite addition to the new fleet is the Workman complete with a Multi Pro 200 sprayer. He says: “The sprayer is so easy to use and I love that it is such a time saver. This is down to the huge 700 litre tank, which rarely has to be refilled during a cycle and cuts operation time by half.

“Before we did granulised fertiliser for fairways, tees and approaches that had to break down over time and was reliant on the right weather conditions. Now, with the Multi Pro, we can apply foliar based fertilisers which are absorbed through the leaves, making nutrients more readily available to the plants. Another great feature of the Multi Pro is consistent and accurate coverage thanks to the sprayer’s digital display and self calibrating system.”

Out of the new mowers, the TriFlex 3400 model stands out to Lee: “Maintenance is so easy! With our previous greens mower you had to forever pump grease into the bearings to keep everything lubricated, but the 3400 has sealed steel bearings which don’t need greasing – it makes maintenance far easier for us, and saves on time.”

The new machines have certainly won the approval of Lee’s colleagues. He says: “The six greenkeepers in my team think the Toros are a huge improvement from previous machines. Even the Head PGA Professional has noticed and commented on how much better the cut on the greens and approaches is looking.”

According to Lee, Toro has transformed the club: “This is the first time in years we have purchased more than one machine at a time. To have brought five in at the same time means the improvements are really noticeable. We’ve seen the difference Toro can bring to our course and as a result the club’s approach to machinery investment has changed – we now plan to buy new Toro machines every three years and hope to have an all-red fleet by 2020!”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Theft At Cricket Club

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Theft At Cricket Club: A warning to be vigilant has been issued by a cricket club after thieves stole some of its expensive groundskeeping equipment.

On Friday morning, the groundsman at Maidenhead and Bray Cricket Club discovered that a storage container in the club’s car park in Bray had been broken into overnight.

Equipment stolen included a square mower and an aerator which are both used to keep the team’s outfield in pristine condition during the season.

Interim secretary Tom Allen told the Advertiser, “When someone does come and steal stuff or vandalise you just think why do it?

“People are volunteering and putting their own time in and this just ruins their hard work.”

The break-in has been reported to the police and the club is now asking fellow teams to keep an eye out for anyone selling similar machinery in the area.

Tom added, “We would just advise other clubs in the area to check nothing has been taken from their clubs and listen out for anyone selling these things.

“We’re lucky it didn’t happen during the season because it will probably take us a few months to replace.

“Let’s just hope that it’s just a one-off and it’s not going to be a spate of break-ins.”

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Fence To Protect Cricket Club

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Fence To Protect Cricket Club: A new fence is set to be constructed around a cricket ground in order to stop vandals driving across the field after a series of attacks.

Officials at Green Lane Cricket Club in Nunroyd Park, Yeadon, believe they are being targeted by someone with a grudge after persistent vandalism over the last few months.

 

CCTV images have captured a 4×4 being driven repeatedly over the ground in the latest incident, churning up the soil and leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. The club was already facing a bill of more than £1,000 from the recent attacks.

Now ward councillors Graham Latty, Pat Latty and Paul Wadsworth have announced they will pay for a fence to protect the ground.

Cllr Graham Latty said: “I and my colleagues have spent a lot of time and money recently in trying to make Nunroyd Park more accessible to more people. Now it is really depressing to find that there are people in Aireborough who just don’t give twopence for the pleasure of others and drive cars all over the grass, ruining the surface.

“So we have decided to use some of the Section106 money from housing developers to install a fence to stop cars from getting into the park. We can’t afford to completely ring the park with fencing so are putting it where it will have most effect, alongside the access road up to the pavilion.

“There have been protests on Facebook that we are wasting money and should just stick large rocks in place to block access and these might stop cars but would not stop bikes and quads. We value the visual appearance of the park and believe that a low fence will not only look better but will be more effective and will not inconvenience walkers.

“This will happen as soon as the parks team can fit it into their schedule.”

A camera at the club captured the latest vandalism, at about 2am on Sunday, showing a light coloured 4×4 with darker colouring down the side.

Groundsman Tommy Powell said: “You can see the number plate, but it is too far away to see the number. It is definitely the same person – and this time it is the worst of the lot.”

“I just feel like walking away now and saying I have had enough. We think it must be someone with a grudge against the club.

“I have to admit I had tears in my eyes when I saw it. I was just lost for words really. They are going to make it unplayable.”

In November Mr Powell appealed for help in catching the hooligans who had left eight-inch deep tracks in the field by driving a vehicle onto it for the fifth time in four weeks – leaving the club with an anticipated bill of well over £1,000. The ground will need to be repaired in the spring, but Mr Powell said they will struggle to meet the cost.

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