Tag Archive for: For

Milestone for golf in the Netherlands

/in , /by

Milestone for golf in the Netherlands: At the Sportive Connect conference on Thursday 23 January in Amsterdam, the Dutch sports sector made an important step in its contribution to the climate agreement by signing the Sustainable Sports Roadmap.

The conference also recognised a milestone in the field of sustainable sport – one hundred golf clubs in the Netherlands have achieved the GEO Certified® distinction. One of the signatories on this agreement is Netherlands Golf Federation Director, Jeroen Stevens.

Milestone for golf in the Netherlands

Golfclub Meerssen in the spotlight

Gerard Dielessen, General Director of the Dutch Olympic Committee and Dutch Sport (NOC * NSF), pointed out that Dutch Golf placed sustainability high on its agenda a long time ago and the sport has already achieved a significant amount as a leader in the field.

Dutch golf’s achievement was celebrated at the congress with the presentation of the GEO Certification to the one hundredth club, Golfclub Meerssen.

Commenting on the announcement, Jonathan Smith, Executive Director, GEO Foundation said: “GEO Foundation is proud to support sustainable golf in the Netherlands in its strategy and delivery of credible, measurable results. The NGF’s vision in creating the future they wanted for the sport is an important example of voluntary leadership.”

“Sustainability because we want to”

In one of the information sessions at the congress, NGF director Jeroen Stevens elaborated on the sustainability of golf through OnCourse Netherlands, the program that golf clubs use on their way to become GEO Certified. Stevens highlighted the shift in golf from “sustainability because we have to” to “sustainability because we want to”. He pointed out that this is also expected by society: research shows that the need for sustainable thinking and doing increases with each generation.

Stevens also underlined the many benefits and opportunities that sustainable management offers. “In 2009, as a volunteer on the golf club’s course committee, I was faced with sustainability for the first time and I have since learned that sustainable management provides a better golf course at lower costs,” he said.

Don’t wait until everyone is ready

Stevens believes that all sports would benefit from the OnCourse Netherlands/GEO programme used by golf. “GEO is about awareness of sustainability and measurement. You have to measure to know what you are doing. GEO is also about community, because that is also sustainability. And I recommend that you just start making your sport more sustainable and not wait until everyone is ready,” he said.

The Netherlands now has more GEO Certified® golf facilities than any other country in the world and has plans for even more to achieve golf’s sustainability distinction in the coming years, benefitting the clubs individually and the sport collectively.

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 and Instagram 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.

More Toro for Badgemore Park

/in , , /by

More Toro for Badgemore Park: Following on from Toro’s success at The Drift Golf Club in Surrey, Toro arrives at Badgemore Park Golf Club in Henley-on-Thames, its sister club, for the first time.

Since it was founded in 1972, Badgemore Park has operated a like-for-like machinery replacement plan and never benefitted from the advantages of having a comprehensive machinery fleet, until now.

More Toro for Badgemore Park

For the last 20 years course manager Lindsay Anderson has wanted that to change and now’s the time, with the club choosing Toro for its first ever fleet package deal.

“We’ve undergone a lot of development at the club recently,” says Lindsay. “Making changes with new greens and tees and re-developing all the bunkers. Investing in a complete Toro machinery package is part of a massive investment in the club and another step in the right direction to improve the course, completing our five-year plan of course improvements in time for our 50th anniversary in 2022.”

And it was a very thorough process for Lindsay when it came to choosing a new equipment provider. “We had demonstrations from a few brands and asked around other golf courses for recommendations,” he says. “It became clear fairly soon that Toro was the way to go. Toro is renowned in the industry as being the best and the demonstration cemented that.”

The machines entrusted with maintaining the beautiful parkland course include three Toro Greensmaster TriFlex 3400 mowers, two Groundsmaster 4300-D mowers, two Greensmaster 1000 pedestrian mowers, two Workman MDX-D utility vehicles, a Groundsmaster 4000-D and a ProCore 648 with quick tine change collars fitted, which Lindsay says is his favourite.

“It’s just fantastic. We have a massive aeration programme proposed for the next six months so it’s going to get a lot of use and I know it will be up to the task. It’s a real quality piece of engineering built for ease of maintenance and ease of operation. Plus, it’s durable and reliable.

“In fact, all the machines are, which makes my job easier on a daily basis. I’m no longer constantly answering the phone to members of the greenkeeping team and having to run to fix issues with the machines, and that’s had an effect on us all. We’ve all got confidence in the machines and it’s really boosted morale and productivity.”

Of course, committing to one machinery brand usually means a change in dealer with Reesink being keen to demonstrate to Lindsay how it offers its customers more.

Reesink sales manager Robert Rees soon made the introductions for Lindsay with his local Toro service centre, CTH Engineering, which reassured Lindsay about the backup service available. He says: “I was unsure where we would go for our servicing if we switched brands, but Robert was great. He put me in touch with another local dealership that dealt with Toro machines and discussed the whole thing in detail which cleared up the concerns I had. And the backup to date – well there have been no issues.”

But when it comes down to it, what has impressed the team and members of the club alike most are the results seen across the course.

“The quality of cut is incredible,” concludes Lindsay. “Within a month members were commenting on the quality of the playing surfaces having improved.”

This is no surprise considering The Drift experienced a similar improvement in both the aesthetics and quality of the playing surface too!

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 and Instagram 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.

QuadChip a hit for Tai Tarian

/in , , /by

QuadChip a hit for Tai Tarian: Tai Tarian are one of the largest social landlords in Wales, responsible for over 9000 properties across the Neath Port Talbot County Borough.

A dedicated Arb team make up one of seven in-house grounds maintenance teams, looking after the borough’s green spaces. With over 7000 trees under their remit, a QuadChip 160 from GreenMech is keeping the team on track, providing ultimate flexibility for kerbside working.

QuadChip a hit for Tai Tarian

Martyn Davies, Senior Neighbourhood Coordinator, spearheads the team which was set up in 2012. “The very first job was to source the machinery we were going to need to cope with the variety of tasks of materials we were going to be handling. Access when turning up to narrow car-lined streets is one of our biggest headaches but having seen the full 360o turntable on the QuadChip 160, we quickly decided it was the right chipper for us.”

With the majority of domestic tree works taking place in restricted-access and/or kerb-side locations, the manoeuvrability and flexibility of the QuadChip sees it in use five days a week. “With the QuadChip, we can turn the chipper 90o to the road and bring brash from the gardens of properties and feed it straight into the chipper, with the chips going straight into the back of the tipper – it’s brilliant! We then recycle this material around trees and put it to community use, creating pathways and borders.”

So impressed with the versatility it delivers, Martyn has exchanged the chipper like-for-like three times, taking delivery of his newest model in January 2020 from their local dealer, Powercut (Wales) Ltd. “The back-up support we get from them is fantastic and was another crucial factor in why we chose this machine.” Final word from Martyn, “As we now embark on a new tree planting programme, the workload for the team is only going to increase, but we’re safe in the knowledge that with the QuadChip we’ve got a robust and reliable chipper at our disposal to tackle the tasks at hand.”

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 and Instagram 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.

Winning bid announced for charity auction

/in , /by

Winning bid announced for charity auction: Maskinia, the Authorised Doosan Construction Equipment Dealer in Sweden based in Linköping, is delighted to announce that the winning bid of SEK 202,000 (19,100 Euros) was made by local company, CN:s Gräv AB, in the company’s on-line charity auction of a new Doosan DX10z 1 tonne mini-excavator to raise funds to fight prostate cancer.

Held as part of Sweden’s anti-prostate cancer campaign, Mustaschkampen, the DX10z auction was run in collaboration with suppliers, RF System and Engcon, and in partnership with the auction site, Klaravik.

Doosan DX10z Blue Edition

Painted in the same blue colour used by the Mustaschkampen campaign, the DX10z carries the Mustaschkampen ‘moustache’ logo and the logos of the participating companies, RF System, Engcon and Klaravik. Designated by Maskinia as the Doosan DX10z Blue Edition, the machine has been delivered to CN:s Gräv AB, equipped with a new tiltrotator from RF System and new buckets from Engcon.

In a press announcement, CN:s Gräv AB expressed great joy and pride in being able to contribute to the fight against prostate cancer, a form of cancer that affects many people in the Linköping area. CN:s Gräv AB had been interested in the DX10z model from Doosan, so the company saw the auction as the perfect opportunity to contribute to the fight against cancer at the same time as bringing home the superior machine in its class.

Raising Funds to Fight Cancer

Two years ago, during the Svenska Maskinmässan 2018 Fair in Sweden, Maskinia auctioned off a unique black edition Doosan DX140W-5 wheeled excavator, which brought in SEK 760000 (71,850 Euros), which was divided into three equal parts between the three organizations, the Breast Cancer Association, the Prostate Cancer Association and the Child Cancer Foundation.

For more on Doosan construction equipment, visit the website: www.doosanequipment.eu

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 and Instagram 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.

BASF choose BTME for new launch

/in , /by

BASF choose BTME for new launch: BASF will launch Attraxor®, a new plant growth regulator (PGR) at BTME in Harrogate on January 21st, 2020. The product is new to the UK market and features the powerful active Prohexadione calcium.

Attraxor reduces the longitudinal shoot growth of grass which lessens the frequency of mowing and the volume of clippings created. Dr Manuel Daumann, Technical Manager Ornamentals, Turf & Beneficial Nematodes for BASF explains: “At the recommended dose rate, one application of Attraxor will give a reduction in fresh weight of grass cuttings of up to 70% and a lowering in grass height of up to 40% for up to four weeks after application. Attraxor also enhances turf root formation and acts, due to its unique effects on seed head production, as a Poa annua management tool.”

BASF choose BTME for new launch

Poa annua, also known as annual meadow grass or bluegrass, negatively impacts turf quality and sward density. In sporting situations, such as a golf putting green, it can also affect the roll of the ball. “Attraxor works by reducing the seed head production and regenerative potential of Poa annua. In doing so it supplants Poa annua, strengthens turf and increases sward density which helps reduce the risk of fungal infections such as Anthracnose,” explains Dr Daumann.

BASF is expanding its portfolio of products in the amenity market and Attraxor is the first product being introduced in 2020. Anthony O’Hare, UK Country Manager for professional & specialty solutions says: “We are excited to launch Attraxor in the UK. It is a unique product that will help manage turf in a number of sporting applications such as golf, football, tennis and horse racing. However, we also see applications for it to be used in parks and other public areas.”

BTME will feature more than 150 exhibiting companies and will be held at the Harrogate Convention Centre from 21st January to 23rd January. It will showcase the latest innovations and technology in the golf and sports surface maintenance industry offering an expected 9000 total visitors a chance to discover new products and gain valuable industry insight.

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 and Instagram 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.