Tag Archive for: Club

First club in UK invests in Toro robotic mowing

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First club in UK invests in Toro robotic mowing: Thonock Park in Lincolnshire is the first club in the UK to invest in Toro’s Turf Pro autonomous mowers.

Having made the decision to move to autonomous mowing at the beginning of the year, the club was introduced to Toro’s new Turf Pro mowers at the BTME launch and has subsequently purchased five from local Toro dealer, Russells Groundcare.

First club in UK invests in Toro robotic mowing

First club in UK invests in Toro robotic mowing

The five Turf Pro 500 mowers are being used to cut both fairways and rough of 18 of the club’s 36 holes. According to General Manager Benjamin Hatch: “Our robot mowers are now cutting the fairways and rough for 18 holes on the Thonock Park course, and we are exceptionally pleased with their quality of cut and the definition between fairway and rough grasses.”

Thonock Park and Russells have had two comprehensive training sessions post-install from Lee Rowbotham, GeoLink and Digital Specialist at Reesink UK.

Lee explains the process: “We were there at the point of delivery to install the chargers and base station. The mowers are blind out of the box, so training involves telling them everything they need to know, like where the charging station is, the route to the fairways, what the safe areas, and not safe areas are. And of course, for the team to understand the operation and the terminology involved.”

Once set up, Course Manager Rob Acheson was shown how to control all five mowers through the Smart App. Operation is something Lee likens to how irrigation sprinklers are controlled.

“They are controlled individually, one at a time, and can be set up in advance,” he says. “Just like you can set a sprinkler to come on at 5am, you can set the Turf Pros to start mowing at 10pm once everyone has gone home if you wish.”

This provides a big advantage in getting course maintenance ahead of play. All fairway mowing can be completed before the course opens, supported by “the almost non-existent noise levels” as confirmed by Benjamin.

Another added benefit of these mowers comes from how the club has been able to redefine the job requirements of the team and can guarantee all-year round value.

“Very importantly, these mowers have enabled us to reassign some of our skilled greenkeeping team to other tasks on the course that require more specialist work,” Benjamin says. “During the wetter months, we expect to keep using these mowers, when ordinarily we would struggle to use the much heavier diesel machines. All in all, it has been a very positive investment for us and one that we believe we will continue to benefit from year after year.”

Just as Reesink sees the value in providing dedicated support for this new technology with the new digital specialist role created for Lee, so too do Russells who have recruited two dedicated employees to demonstrate and install Russells’ autonomous mowing offerings to customers, including private properties, estates, schools, golf courses and other sporting venues.

Mark Willerton, Groundcare Sales Manager at Russells, says: “Russells see autonomous mowers as an important part of our future business, it’s something we’re investing heavily in with dedicated specialist staff and demonstration machines.

“Working alongside Thonock Park and Reesink to understand this next generation of mowing and how to maximise the potential and efficiency of the mowers has been a great learning experience. We look forward to continuing working with the team at Thonock Park to ensure they always have the best turfcare options available.”

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Deer Park Golf Club invests in Eco 400 Sprayer

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Deer Park Golf Club invests in Eco 400 Sprayer: Deer Park Golf Club in Livingston has upgraded its course maintenance equipment with the addition of a Cleveland Gambetti Eco 400 tractor-mounted sprayer, supplied by Fairways GM at Kinross.

The Eco 400, part of the British-made Eco range, is designed specifically for golf and amenity use and replaces the club’s previous Gambetti sprayer, which had served for 12 years. Head greenkeeper Mark Campbell continued with the 400-litre tank but opted for the extended booms, blotter, and triple nozzle setup.

Deer Park Golf Club invests in Eco 400 Sprayer

Deer Park Golf Club invests in Eco 400 Sprayer

“We spend on average 20 hours a month spraying, so the extended booms will pay for themselves with the time they help us save,” said Mark Campbell.

The new configuration has virtually tripled the coverage capacity while offering greater control and precision. With 50% less pipework, stainless-steel spray lines, and balanced manual controls, the sprayer delivers accurate application and faster clean-down times.

Mark and his colleague, Martin McKenzie, both hold spraying certificates at Deer Park, ensuring precise and efficient use of the new system.

“Spraying is less stressful now and much faster,” added Mark Campbell. “We can spray confidently, knowing everything works perfectly without clogging. The improvements in consistency were noticeable straight away, and the time saved allows us to focus on other tasks.”

The new sprayer is being used across the entire course, from weekly treatments on greens to summer fairway applications and targeted work on roughs, including growth retardant sprays and pre-competition enhancements.

Hayden Laing, Area Sales Manager at Fairways GM, provided sales and technical support to the West Lothian course during the upgrade process.

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It’s onwards and upwards for Moffat Golf Club

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It’s onwards and upwards for Moffat Golf Club: With two new mowers from Baroness it’s ‘onwards and upwards’ for the maintenance team at Moffat Golf Club – literally!

Situated in the heart of the Southern Upland Hills of Scotland, the challenging topography of the moorland course has proved no match for the new LM311 triple greens and LM551B fairway mower which are delivering improvements in cut quality and presentation to the delight of the members.

It’s onwards and upwards for Moffat Golf Club

It’s onwards and upwards for Moffat Golf Club

For Course Manager Fraser Mitchell the recent purchase was made even more exciting by the fact the pair of Baroness machines were the first new additions to the club’s machinery fleet for many years. “Financial pressures had meant that most of our equipment was well overdue for an upgrade and I was tasked with assessing what was the most critical need” he explains. “When I opted for a new greens and fairway mower there was a lot of pressure to make the right choice – thankfully we got it spot on!”

“Getting equipment on demonstration is so important for us given the challenging nature of our course. From the very first phone call, Colin Gray at Hamilton Ross Group and Richard Connell from Baroness were fantastic, they brought us demo units and we knew there and then they were exactly what we needed to improve reliability, presentation and quality of cut around the course.”

Renowned for their samurai sword sharpness and robust build quality, the Baroness LM311 greens mower and LM551B for fairways set the standard for pinpoint precision and turf quality. The LM311 all-hydraulic triplex, with fully steerable units, economic Kubota diesel engine and optimal operator comfort is ideal for greens and tees – delivering consistency in even the most challenging conditions. Promising similar consistency for fairways thanks to its industry-leading range of motion, is the LM551B.

Strong on paper, Fraser has been delighted with their performance in the field. “They’ve been fantastic. They’re very well built and stand up to the challenge – delivering a far superior cut and finish which has been admired by so many of our members.” He adds, “From an operator perspective, they’re also incredibly comfortable and easy to maintain. The pair give us everything we need to focus our efforts on the course and not spend all of our time in the shed with our heads under the bonnet!”

For more information on any of the models within the Baroness golf range, visit www.baronessuk.com

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The Heron Golf and Country Club Leads the Way

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The Heron Golf and Country Club Leads the Way: The Heron Golf and Country Club, one of Essex’s premier 27-hole courses, has announced a major step forward in golf course management with the adoption of seven Belrobotics Robotic Mowers. These advanced machines now maintain all fairways and the club’s expansive driving range.

Leading the Way in Innovation and Sustainability

Renowned for its pristine fairways and natural parkland setting, The Heron has long been a favourite among members and visitors alike. Now, the club is reinforcing its commitment to excellence by integrating cutting edge robotic technology into its turf maintenance.

The Heron Golf and Country Club Leads the Way

The Heron Golf and Country Club Leads the Way

Why Robotic Mowing?

More and more golf clubs are making the move to robotic mowing, and for good reason. Here’s why:

Healthier Grass, Better Play
Robotic mowers trim the grass daily, creating a finer cut and promoting stronger, healthier turf

Eco-Friendly Operations
Electric mowers significantly reduce emissions and noise pollution compared to traditional gas powered machinery.

Efficient Grounds Management
With mowing handled automatically, the grounds team can focus on other vital tasks like irrigation, landscaping, and bunker maintenance

“At The Heron Country Club we have worked with AMS for a number of years since their installation of robotic mowers at our driving range, and they have recently expanded their service of robotic mowers to all 27 fairways on the golf course.

The automation has resulted in an improved quality of grass cutting and savings in resources and bills.

AMS provide an excellent service and we would highly recommend.”
— Alex Bartle

A Course for the Future

With this investment, The Heron continues to set the standard in modern golf course care—combining technology, sustainability, and an unwavering focus on delivering premium playing conditions.

To book a tee time or learn more about our facilities, visit www.herongolfclub.com.

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Flood relief at Caersws Football Club

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Flood relief at Caersws Football Club: Caersws Football Club, founded in the late 19th century, adopted its present name in 1974 when it relinquished its amateur status. The club’s first successes came in the nineteen sixties, winning the Mid-Wales League and the Welsh Amateur Cup.

In 1992 they became founder members of the League of Wales and subsequently won the League Cup twice. The team plays at the Recreation Ground, Caersws, which accommodates up to 4000 spectators.

Flood relief at Caersws Football Club

Flood relief at Caersws Football Club

Situated close to the River Severn, the ground floods regularly when the river bursts its banks in winter months. But once the flood water subsided, the pitch would not be playable for up to 2 weeks due standing water on the pitch not draining away. This resulted in the club having to move matches to another club’s ground, which had a 3G pitch, to meet the demands of the league schedule. In the 2023/24 season, they managed only one game across three winter months (Nov-Jan). Playing elsewhere also meant supporters would not travel to games, so the issues mounted. Investigations into the causes revealed the pitch to be sitting on 0.7 metres depth of clay and constant rolling over the years had compacted the surface even further. Normal aeration would have no impact on the problem.

Caersws Club chair, Neil Lewis, had heard of the work by Terrain Aeration at other pitches and called them in to see if they could resolve the issue. Terrain has a unique system used for over thirty years with their Terralift machines. The Terralift features a JCB road hammer and probe, which reaches a depth of one metre where it releases a blast of compressed air. This fractures the soil, creating fissures to allow drainage, and as the probe is withdrawn, dried seaweed is injected. This has the effect of expanding and contracting with moisture and, in simple terms, keeps the holes open. The process is repeated on a grid system, usually at two-metre intervals, to interlink the fracturing. The probe holes are backfilled with an aggregate and the surface is almost immediately playable.

“This season we had only one first team and a second team game postponed,” says Neil Lewis. “We had the Ground Management Association come and take a core sample. They found even though the topsoil was wet, the soil at depth was dry. We have also had the pitch scarified to remove thatch, so next season will see it drain even better. The difference since Terrain Aeration did their work is incredible and we will promote them to other club and associations looking for a drainage solution. It saved money, there was no digging and being non-invasive, we were able to play a pre-season friendly the same night as the work was done. Why would you not do it?”

Terrain Aeration 01449 673783 www.terrainaeration.co.uk

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