Tag Archive for: Fleet

INFINICUT® fleet impresses at Coventry City

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INFINICUT® fleet impresses at Coventry City: It’s been an exciting two years for Dale Gregory since he joined Coventry City Football Club as their new Head of Grounds & Facilities.

Not only has he overseen the significant expansion of the club’s Sky Blue Lodge Training Ground and Alan Higgs Academy Site, but investment has also resulted in the purchase of first-class equipment to maintain it! Among his new fleet are a trio of INFINICUT® SM34 Rotary mowers and another three FL34 cylinders, helping to deliver year-round presentation and outstanding quality of cut.

INFINICUT® fleet impresses at Coventry City

INFINICUT® fleet impresses at Coventry City

Dale leads a team of six, responsible for looking after the surfaces across the two sites. “At the Sky Blue Lodge we have two and a half hybrid pitches that are for the first-team and four natural pitches at the Alan Higgs centre for the academy” he explains. “The construction of the pitches at Sky Blue Lodge is identical to that at the stadium – and we maintain it as such – to give the players the same experience they’re going to get when it comes to match day.” Consistency and familiarity was also what led Dale to the INFINICUT’s, having used these in his previous role at the King Power Stadium.

“The quality of cut and presentation, particularly striping, produced by the INFINICUT® range is one of the best I’ve seen.” With this in mind, Dale opted for a fleet comprised of three SM34 rotary’s and three FL34 cylinder mowers, delivered by Martin Shepherd of George Browns Ltd in February 2023. “Throughout the winter, training is still happening every day so we use the Rotary’s to follow up with a clean-up cut, maintaining the height and removing debris. When we don’t have training, we’ll employ the services of the cylinders to sharpen up the cut and further boost presentation levels.”

He continues, “Not only are we getting the aesthetics we want, the fact they’re also electric was another major reason we opted for INFINICUT®, as we look to improve our operations on the sustainability front. As well as reducing emissions and vibration levels, they’re quiet, which means we can mow one pitch while players are training on the other.”

The club also took delivery of a pair of SpringRake™ and ThatchMaster™ cassettes from the TMSystem™ to quickly and easily equip into their FL34’s. “Grooming is essential for keeping the plant healthy and doing it with the INFINICUT® means we can keep unnecessary weight off the pitches. These operations will be conducted regularly throughout the spring and autumn and play an important part in our overall maintenance programme.”

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Ventracs replace ageing fleet at Ladbrook Park Golf Club

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Ventracs replace ageing fleet at Ladbrook Park Golf Club: Ladbrook Park Golf Club, situated in the Warwickshire countryside near Tanworth-in-Arden, has put its trust in Ventrac and taken delivery of FOUR Ventrac 4520 all-terrain compact tractors and 13 attachments to maintain their prestigious 1908 Colt-designed course.

Kevin Fellows has been the course manager for 38 years, having joined the club in 1985 from nearby Shirley Golf Club. He was appointed to his current position in 1994.

Ventracs replace ageing fleet at Ladbrook Park Golf Club

Ventracs replace ageing fleet at Ladbrook Park Golf Club

Commenting on the club’s decision to take this route, he said,

“With the exception of our fine turf areas, the majority of the course is now maintained with Ventrac equipment. It fits in with our agronomic requirements and does everything apart from fine turf and aeration. For all other areas – approaches, fairways, semi, rough, our ecology areas, transport, ditching, haulage – the Ventrac system fits perfectly. At the moment we have everything we need. It fits our current maintenance plan; tomorrows objectives and our longer-term direction.

“Selling it to the board of directors was not an issue. The initial thinking was to identify machines for replacement on a like-for-like basis and then progressively, over the next few years, replace and update as necessary. The alternative was to take the Ventrac route. Fortunately, the Finance director and board were keen to fund our replacement programme, with the support of the Greens committee, whichever direction we chose.

“When the cost options were put on the table it became a bit of a no-brainer. It is difficult to justify spending close to £100,000, or thereabouts, on a dedicated mower to cut rough, which does nothing else apart from macerate leaves and then put in the shed at the end of October and let it sat there, doing nothing for 3-4 months.

“I spoke with the club’s Finance and Greens directors in conjunction with the greens committee and we arranged a demo with a couple of Ventracs and a selection of implements. After some training and machine familiarisation, Jon Lewis, Price Turfcare’s regional sales manager, who I’ve known for years, left it with us so we could thoroughly evaluate it on our course. When you’re looking at new equipment you need to bring your team with you. You sit back and listen to what they say and sitting there one lunchtime, there was a comment which really sticks in my mind; one of the guys said ‘it’s becoming increasingly difficult to say no to.’ And he was right, because it suited our course. You’ve got invest in machinery that suits your course.”

“It was a big commitment to swap out our existing fleet and go, almost exclusively, with Ventrac. Once we started to look, we became increasingly discontent with some of the market forces; supply lines and cost were major considerations. As a course manager you have to think laterally, so I asked myself is there a better way of doing this? Covid caused a reset in thinking; prior to the pandemic a lot of clubs were committed to one manufacturer or another. We were principally a one manufacturer machinery operation.

“I was looking for something that gave us more versatility and began by looking at compact tractors from various manufacturers. Then, by pure chance Jon Lewis dropped by one afternoon with a trailer of Ventrac equipment. Naturally enough I had a look and next morning Jon gave me a brochure. And the rest is history!

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Redexim fleet completes year-round maintenance

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Redexim fleet completes year-round maintenance: Frequently ranked among the top 20 courses in England, Royal West Norfolk sets the bar high when it comes to the play and presentation characteristics of links golf.

Maintaining the 18-holes for the last 37 years is Gavin Playford, who is supported by a team of five and a fleet of Redexim equipment which, he says, gives them complete control over tasks around the site and throughout the maintenance calendar.

Redexim fleet completes year-round maintenance

Redexim fleet completes year-round maintenance

The unique location of Royal West Norfolk Golf Club, along the picturesque Brancaster coastline, means that access to the private members course is off-limits during certain times of the day due to hightide. While this creates a headache for delivery drivers, the biggest challenge for Head Greenkeeper Gavin and the team is the exposed location and sandy soil profile. “The warm, drought-like conditions over the last few years has driven a big increase in the amount of overseeding we’ve been doing as we undertake recovery work, and attempt to increase fescue populations around the site” explains Gavin.

A pair of Redexim overseeders have been helping with the project – a Double Disc 1430 and a Speedseed 1500. “The DD 1430 we’ve had for roughly five years now and is our go-to for work on the fairways and the greens. We like the weight of this machine and the small spacing between the discs which has been critical to regaining coverage on our fairways and some of the greens following the severe drought of 2018.”

“For smaller, more targeted overseeding we’ll then switch to the Speedseed dimple seeder, which we purchased though Ben Burgess Groundcare last year.” The individual conical ring sections of the Speedseed create pockets in the soil into which seed is accurately delivered. The holes are then closed with a rear roller, safely concealing the seed and creating the optimal conditions for germination. “This machine complements what we’re doing with the disc seeder, allowing us to focus on particularly problematic areas such as perimeters, where we can incorporate finer seed varieties.”

With overseeding work complete, come the Autumn the team will then switch their attention to an intensive aeration programme, delivered by their Redexim Level Spike and trusty Verti-Drain® 7416. “From October, we’ll be conducting frequent slitting and verti-draining on greens, tees and fairways. This will continue until the New Year when preparations are then put into place for renovations.”

“On top of that, we also have a Redexim Turf Tidy which we purchased two years ago, again from Ben Burgess” Gavin adds. “This has been brilliant in helping us to thin out some of our roughs in an attempt to encourage finer grasses.” In its cut and collect set-up, the Turf Tidy features a powerful flail rotor. Alternative rotors for fast, effective leaf collection or scarification are also available.

Gavin concludes, “We like the Redexim kit, we’re familiar with it, the build quality is great and we can trust that it’s going to do the job. We also like the brilliant back up from Ben Burgess, particularly our local area Sales Manager Stuart Edge, whose advice and support is second to none.”

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George Browns delivers new machinery fleet

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George Browns delivers new machinery fleet: Major, course-wide investment and redevelopment plans at Essex’s Crondon Park Golf Club have taken a big step forward thanks to the recent installation of a brand-new machinery fleet package from George Browns Limited.

Everything from tractors, mowers, implements and accessories have been replaced with solutions from leading brands including Kubota and Baroness, to further raise course standards and achieve ambitions of a top-ranking status in the county.

George Browns delivers new machinery fleet

George Browns delivers new machinery fleet

Set within the 220-acre Crondon Park Estate, Managing Director Marlon Fox is the second generation of the Fox family now taking charge of the 18-hole championship course, originally built by his father 35 years ago. “Since COVID, good machinery appears hard to come by with a lot of manufacturers not holding much in the way of stock” he explains. “In our search, we spoke to Luke Farrow at George Browns Great Dunmow branch who, right from the start, understood our requirements and what we’re looking to achieve here, building us a package of machinery to reach that.”

Within that package were two RTV X1110 utility vehicles, a L2622 and L1552 compact tractor from Kubota, together with two Baroness LM315 greens mowers and a LM551 fairway mower.

“We had the demonstration units arrive and the greens team were very happy with everything, the quality of cut and finish we were seeing, we were very impressed with. Coming away from our previous brand naturally brought with it an element of trepidation but George Browns, Luke and Tim Mason in particular, have looked after us very well at every stage of the process.”

Promised in May 2023, and delivered on time, the Crondon Park greens department then underwent full and comprehensive training on the new equipment. “The team were able to ask any questions and given all the support needed to get the very best out of the new fleet. Everyone is very happy, and we know we have the expertise of George Browns nearby or on the end of the phone if we need them.”

Marlon concludes, “We have a massive five-year plan, so having new machinery that is going to give us quality results, reliability and no age-related issues is setting us off on the right path to achieve our goals and deliver an unforgettable golfing experience!”

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Tillers Turf and Fineturf fleet expands

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Tillers Turf and Fineturf fleet expands: Whether it’s through the delivery of expert construction and renovation services, or the supply of 26 different varieties of turf, the combination of Fineturf and Tillers Turf have proudly worked with a huge number of the UK’s leading sporting venues – and at the heart of nearly every operation is a Kubota.

Following the delivery of six more Kubota units to their fleet, Managing Director Simon Hutton explains how it’s the reliability of the brand that keeps them coming back for more, having not let them down on a job in over 28 years.

Tillers Turf and Fineturf fleet expands

Tillers Turf and Fineturf fleet expands

Working for high profile clients across the sporting sector comes with high expectations and means that for Simon and the team, reliability is key when it comes to specifying new equipment. “The oldest tractor we have is a Kubota L4630 which is 18 years old, with close to 11,500 hours on it and continues to give us what we need day in, day out” explains Simon. “The simplicity of operation, consistency in performance and value for money we get from the brand is unparalleled.”

Among the recent delivery were two L2522 tractors from Kubota’s popular L2 series of cabbed, compact tractors – taking Simon’s total tally of L-Series machines up to the mid-twenties! “These are the workhorses on our contracting division” he explains. “We’ll have at least one on most jobs, and they’ll remain on site for the duration of the contract whether that’s one day or six months. The operators love the durability of the L2’s, they work long hours and stand up to every task. Because they’re not ‘over-computerised’ we can also conduct all of the servicing and maintenance ourselves and, if something does go astray while we’re on a job, nine times out of ten the team can resolve it quickly and easily to get the work complete.”

Tillers Turf and Fineturf fleet expands

Tillers Turf and Fineturf fleet expands

While the L2522’s are additions to meet with demand, the new Kubota M6111 and M4073 are replacing another brand and join an M6002 series already in use on the Tillers Turf operation. “We use these tractors at every stage of turf production on our 2200 acres – from getting the seed in the ground to getting the turf onto the pallets and out to the customers.”

“Where we are now and with the scale of the operation, I honestly believe that without the level of service we get from our equipment and the fabulous people at Kubota who provide outstanding ongoing support, we wouldn’t be in business.”

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