Tag Archive for: Cup

World Cup Prep Underway

/in , , /by

World Cup Prep Underway: Somerset County Cricket Club is just one of ten UK venues selected for 12th ICC Cricket World Cup next year, and the club are relying on Toro to ensure its outfield is ready for the eyes of the cricketing world upon it.

The club, based in Taunton, is in good company as a World Cup host with Lord’s and The Oval, but as one of the smallest and newest in the line-up, the benchmark is high, says head groundsman Simon Lee.

World Cup Prep Underway

“Our trajectory of growth over the last five years has been huge. As part of our categorisation in to group B we received some funding so for the first time in 100 years we could improve our drainage system. This completely changed the way the outfield grew. What had previously been more like a recreational surface was suddenly more like a sports surface, with thicker, denser grass.

“This has meant a lot more work in terms of cutting and maintaining the area. We’d been using a 20-year old Toro Reelmaster 2300-D, and while that machine has been a fantastic workhorse and we’d never had a problem with it, the time had come to upgrade to a newer model to help cope with the change in the turf’s characteristics.”

A demo, organised by Devon Garden Machinery, saw Simon and the team trial a seven-year old Toro Reelmaster 3100-D, which, says Simon, “set the bar high for everything else that followed.”

He continues: “Whatever machine followed the RM2300-D had its work cut out. We think so highly of it that if its successor is even half as good as it’s been, that will be enough”. And it’s so far so good with the new Toro RM3100-D the club ultimately opted for. Only time will tell if its longevity matches up to the formidable RM2300-D, but in terms of performance, Simon is impressed.

“Mechanically its all the same – an engine and bottom blade – but my goodness the way it chews effortlessly through the grass is really impressive. It takes two and a half hours to cut five acres. Plus, by opting for Toro again, we have the added benefit of the reassurance of having a quality product, one that will last for years, giving us excellent value for money.

World Cup Prep Underway

With three international matches between New Zealand and Afghanistan, Australia and Pakistan and West Indies and Bangladesh to look forward to it in June 2019, it really has been an eventful five years for the club, with the future everything to play for.

Simon concludes: “Being chosen as a World Cup venue puts us on a level playing field with some of the best sporting venues in the country, and it’s incredibly important we present at our best. We feel confident we can do that, especially with Toro looking after the grounds.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Jacobsen A Ryder Cup Supplier

/in , , /by

Jacobsen A Ryder Cup Supplier: The 2018 Ryder Cup is approaching, and Jacobsen® turf equipment is an Official Supplier to the tournament, and will be offering support to the greenkeeping team throughout the competition. Staff based at Ransomes Jacobsen France (RJF) in Toulouse will be assisted by technical staff from the Ipswich-based Ransomes Jacobsen facility.

Jacobsen turf equipment is designed and manufactured by Textron Specialized Vehicles Inc., a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company.

Jacobsen A Ryder Cup Supplier

 In 2016, Le Golf National signed a five-year preferred supplier agreement with Ransomes Jacobsen. The prestigious golf course, which belongs to the French Federation of Golf, has demonstrated its confidence in Ransomes Jacobsen France, which has supplied equipment to the facility since 2010.

 In addition to the course’s regular fleet of Jacobsen equipment, an additional 31 pieces of equipment have been delivered to support The Ryder Cup. The additional machinery consists of 12 Eclipse 2 greens mowers, three SLF-1880 fairway mowers, three AR-3 rotary mowers, two Jacobsen Trucksters, four Smithco Lite rollers and 11 mower caddies.

Alejandro Reyes, Golf and Courses and Estate Manager at Le Golf National, said of the support provided by Jacobsen and RJF:

“Le Golf National has been in partnership with Jacobsen since 2011. The quality of machinery, the back-up support, and the product innovation are just some of the reasons we choose Jacobsen. Together, we have created a world-class golf course that will host The 2018 Ryder Cup, and the Olympics in 2024.

Jacobsen A Ryder Cup Supplier

“We are excited to use Jacobsen equipment during The Ryder Cup. I am confident that it will assist us in making the Albatros course absolutely spectacular for such a huge event. The HNA Open de France went very well, and we are making sure that we maintain high standards all the way through until the Ryder Cup in September.”

Since opening in 1990, Le Golf National has hosted the Open de France 25 times. It consists of three courses: the Albatros, an18-hole championship course, on which The Ryder Cup will be played; the Eagle, a second 18-hole course; and the Oiselet, a 9-hole course.

For more information, visit: www.jacobsen.com/europe

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

The 2018 ClearWater Cup

/in , , /by

The 2018 ClearWater Cup: The annual ClearWater Cup took place recently at Corhampton Golf Club with The South Coast Greenkeepers playing The Wessex Managers.

The club is set in an area of outstanding natural beauty and aims to provide members and guests with a quality golfing experience within a friendly and welcoming environment. All lived up to expectations and the greenkeeping team could be justifiably proud of the course. The excellent weather was an added bonus!

The 2018 ClearWater Cup

Highcliffe Castle’s Mike Cartwright captained the Greenkeepers and Barton on Sea’s Sean Trussel captained the Managers and a hard fought event took place; the mangers keen to take the cup from the greenkeepers!

Despite everyone’s best efforts, however, the match ended in a draw and so the Greenkeepers retained the trophy!

An enjoyable meal followed and Acumen ClearWater’s Matthew Mears presented the cup. Thanks were made for Acumen ClearWater’s sponsorship and to those involved in organising the event, hosting, preparing the course and, of course, the meal.

The 2018 ClearWater Cup

Congratulations South Coast Greenkeepers; maybe next year the Managers will prise the cup from them?

For more information, visit: www.acumenwaste.co.uk

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

GrassMaster Takes Centre Stage At World Cup

/in , /by

GrassMaster Takes Centre Stage At World Cup: GrassMaster by Tarkett Sports will play a leading role at the FIFA World Cup in Russia from June 14 to July 15.

The pioneers of hybrid grass were part of the game in the last two FIFA World Cups: Brazil in 2014 and South Africa in 2010.

GrassMaster Takes Centre Stage At World Cup

In Russia, Some 16 World Cup games in total will be played on GrassMaster pitches at the Volgograd Arena, Kazan Arena and Nizhny Novgorod Stadium which all have a brand new GrassMaster pitch installed.

Kazan Arena will host six games from June 16th to July 7th. France vs Australia will be the first fixture of the World Cup to be played on a GrassMaster.

Four games during the group stages will be played in Kazan as well a Round of 16 game and a quarter final.

At the Volgograd Arena, four games will be played starting with Tunisia vs England on June 18. Also on that date, the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium opens its doors with the first game of group F with Sweden vs Korea Republic. This stadium will host four group phase matches, a Round of 16 game and a quarter final.

With six games being played in three weeks in the Kazan Arena, four matches in Volgograd Stadium in 10 days and six in two and a half weeks in Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, GrassMaster proves once again to be the trusted partner for top-level tournaments.

Thanks to the unique technology of GrassMaster a higher degree of player safety and faster surface recovery is ensured, so neither players, fans nor organisation suffer from loss of quality on the pitch.

We stand for a perfect pitch anywhere and anytime. With a lifespan of up to 15 years, these GrassMaster pitches will leave a legacy for the Russian teams, communities and for the venues.

Training pitches

Furthermore, the CSKA training pitch in Moscow will be used by the German football team and the training pitch of the football club Rubin Kazan is going to be used by Japan for training throughout their stay at the 2018 World Cup.

On both pitches, the premium hybrid turf system GrassMaster is installed.

Tarkett Sports Russian partner InSport Pro Co installed the GrassMaster in the Kazan Arena and the CSKA stadium in Moscow.

Additionally they are responsible for the maintenance of the pitches.

Andrey Kanunnikov, managing director of InSport Pro Co said:

“Both the German and Japanese teams recently visited their training grounds and were satisfied with the pitches we’ve prepared for them.”

Installation partner for the Volgograd and Nizny Novgorod stadiums was Golftechnology. Charles Henderson of PSD/Labosport Group is pitch consultant.

GrassMaster’s expertise and experience of nearly 30 years has been used on more than 700 pitches worldwide.

The GrassMaster system with a proven lifespan of 15 years and more, is a 100 % natural grass pitch reinforced by 20 million high performance fibres.

These Polypropylene fibres are injected by computer-controlled machines, 18 deep and 2 cm above the surface, in a grid of +/- 2 x 2 cm. The natural grass roots entwine with the fibres and grow deeper and wider, building a stronger and healthier rootzone. The PP fibres above the surface ensure an always even and stable surface.

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Allett Scores At World Cup Venues

/in , , /by

Allett Scores At World Cup Venues: British manufactured Allett Mowers are the choice of the majority of the FIFA World Cup football venues in Russia. Allett is by far the top selling pedestrian mower brand for the very prestigious competition, supplying a total of over one hundred and eighty-five units of mowers and accessories across eight stadiums and thirteen official training grounds.

The process of taking Britain to Russia and winning the mower business for the World Cup venues started about two years ago when Allett’s Export Sales Manager, Dave Allett, made a series of presentations at two seminars and demonstration days. Allett’s Russian distributor Unisaw followed this up by investing in demonstration machinery and carried out more demonstrations at the stadiums and training grounds. Unisaw are a particularly strong dealer and it was the combination of Allett products and Unisaw’s supply and support that resulted in success.

Allett Scores At World Cup Venues

“I recently participated at a wonderfully well-run and attended seminar in Moscow, all organised by Unisaw” says Dave, “and took the opportunity to present Alexander Markin, the CEO of Unisaw Group, with two awards, one for outstanding sales achievement – Russia was our biggest single export market last year – and the second for service excellence.”

Dave attributes this great British success story to the products being chosen for their ease of use and high performance, which makes them ideal for sports turf surfaces, coupled with the exceptional sales efforts of Unisaw. “We offer a comprehensive solution: high-quality equipment for the care of football fields and constant service support, and our partnership with Allett is a very important part of this. Our company has all the necessary skills and takes great responsibility. We are ready and willing to share this with the stadiums, both before and after the games. Our specialists will work very hard on a special schedule, travelling to the facilities to assist at any time.” Says Alexander Markin, CEO of Unisaw Group. The main mowers supplied to the stadiums and training grounds are the Allett C34, together with cartridge accessories, the Regal 36, Buffalo 34 and RM34 models. The Allett C34, in the Allett professional mower range and powered by the Honda GX200 engine, offers in one machine the capability of performing up to eight different turf tasks. The cartridge head options include a six or eight blade cutting cylinder, powered scarifier, verticutter, brush, sorrel roller, turf rake and scarifier.

The Regal is regarded by groundsmen around the world as the ultimate large area dedicated mower for sports grounds, cricket pitches and other large grass areas. Hydrostatic forward and reverse drive with infinitely variable mowing speeds, power steering and compatibility with an optional trailing seat, combine to make it the prime choice for precision mowing with sharp, defined stripes on the turf.

The RM34 is a rotary stadium mower, which was designed around feedback from stadium groundsmen, with a full width rear roller to produce perfect pitch stripes. The twin contra-rotating blades and high lift system vacuum speedily and efficiently lifting debris, providing busy grounds staff with greater capability in the post match clear up, and for mowing higher when grass is being grown in.

Most of the eight Russian stadiums such as Kaliningrad, Rostov-on-don, Ekaterinburg and Saransk, to name but a few, ordered three Allett C34’s and two Regals each. Sochi Fisht stadium has four Allett C34’s, two Allett Buffalos and four Allett RM34 mowers. The Unisaw supplied training fields took thirty C34’s and fourteen RM34’s between them. In all, a major British export coup for Allett Mowers. 01889 271503 www.allett.co.uk

FIFA World Cup 2018 Stadiums Supplied by Allett Mowers

  • Rostov-on-don
  • Kaliningrad
  • Saransk
  • Ekaterinburg
  • Samara
  • Volgograd
  • Sochi Fisht

For more information, visit: www.allett.co.uk

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.