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Fourth fleet for Haydock Park

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Fourth fleet for Haydock Park: It was the fourth time last Christmas when Cheshire Turf Machinery in Stockport provided another Toro fleet on a five-year operating lease to Haydock Park Golf Club in Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside – an agreement that began in January 2006.

Terry Wharton, head greenkeeper, who has worked at Haydock Park for 41 years, overseeing a team of six full-time greenkeepers and one part-time, has remained loyal to the Toro brand, crediting excellent build quality, longevity, performance, better ergonomics, user feel, seating, controls and operation as the reasons for constant renewal of their five-year plan with Cheshire Turf Machinery.

Fourth fleet for Haydock Park

Fourth fleet for Haydock Park

Some of the machines included in the order are two Greensmaster TriFlex Hybrid 3420 mowers, a Reelmaster 3100-D cylinder mower, one Reelmaster 3575-D, a Groundsmaster 4000-D, one GreensPro 1260 greens roller, one Workman HDX utility vehicle, an Agrimetal B35 Blower and one TYM393 tractor with loader.

“It’s what we had in the past so we know how reliable they are,” says Terry. “This combination has always done a perfect job for us. With the TriFlex 3420, we have the 11-blade units for both machines but also the eight blades so we can swap over and that gives us options with the versatility of changing the units. We had the 3250s and we’ve upgraded to the new versions. The quality of the cut is really noticeable.”

Other factors weighing in on the team’s decision to acquire a brand-new fleet are having eco-friendly machines that reduce carbon emissions and consumption. Terry comments on the Greensmaster TriFlex Hybrid 3420: “We’ve seen an enormous saving on fuel. We feel that it’s going the right way as far as the energy laws are concerned. It’s good for everyone – the environment and other users – so yes, the Triflexs, especially, are very energy-smart. Fuel consumption has been significantly reduced.”

Terry and the team have maintained a solid partnership with Cheshire Turf Machinery for over 25 years, a dealer they know very well and who has never let them down.

Steve Halley, managing director at Cheshire Turf Machinery, comments: “We are thrilled that Haydock Park Golf Club has chosen to further extend its long-term relationship with Toro and Cheshire Turf Machinery. On each occasion, the club has embraced the opportunity to bring in new technology to help the continued development of the course.”

To talk to someone about Toro technology and how the Toro range would suit your course, call 01480 226800.

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Drainage cure for Buckingham West End

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Drainage cure for Buckingham West End: Buckingham West End Bowls Club was founded in 1910 and enjoys a strong and loyal membership. Situated in Buckingham itself, the club aims to promote the game of Flat Green Bowls and provide facilities for the social needs and well-being of its members.

As a mixed club, they play men’s, ladies and mixed matches with other clubs in Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire. Greenkeeper Ian Jones joined the club in 2013 at which time, he says, the green drained well but in 2018 they started getting problems with drainage. On Christmas Eve 2020, the nearby river flooded the green to a depth of about 2ft. Although most of the water drained away within 24 hours, because of the drainage problem, part of the green remained underwater so long the roots of the grass began to rot.

Drainage cure for Buckingham West End

Drainage cure for Buckingham West End

“We use contractors Avonmore Associates to do spraying, aeration in autumn and top dressing and we worked with Avonmore’s Brian Buttler to take some core samples. While the topsoil was good, we found there was no drainage layer,” says Ian. Brian’s view was the constant walking on the green over the many years had caused severe compaction. They coupled this with another reason. The green sits on yellow clay, being near Bedford, which is famous for brick making using the clay over the past hundred years. Ian had seen an article on a South Wales bowling club that had a similar drainage problem and they had called in Terrain Aeration, whom Brian also knew of. Whereas normal aeration is an accepted part of a good greenkeeping regime, it only reaches a depth of inches.

Terrain Aeration’s system treats the ground down to a depth of one metre. At this depth, the ground is usually so compacted it requires fracturing to open up fissures and allow drainage. Their Terralift machine hammers a hollow probe through the soil using a JCB road breaker gun, and compressed air is released up to 20Bar (280psi). At the end of the air blast, they inject dried seaweed, which sticks to the fissure walls. This expands and contracts with the moisture in the soil to keep the area breathing. Ian and club member volunteers who help maintain the green backfilled the 1.5-inch probe holes with Lytag aggregate and covered with topsoil. The green was playable almost immediately.

Drainage cure for Buckingham West End

Drainage cure for Buckingham West End

“Had we put in field drains it would have been very disruptive and using Terrain Aeration’s system meant we could do the work in the season,” says Ian. “Then we had no rain for some weeks so we had no idea if it had worked until the heaven’s opened in June. After severe downpours, we found the green drained far better than in years and the club is overjoyed with the result.”

Terrain Aeration 01449 673783 www.terrainaeration.co.uk

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GreenTek’s new solution for nap and thatch

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GreenTek’s new solution for nap and thatch: Improving the health and presentation of fairway turf is becoming an increasingly high priority for many golf clubs. With the vast improvement in greens turf in recent years, it is not surprising that golfers are now becoming increasingly demanding about the condition of the fairways.

Many courses are limited in their options for mowing in different directions on their approaches and surrounds, or even their fairways. This can result in the grass developing a nap, and consequently an uneven cut.  GreenTek’s new Turf-Conditioner 12 is excellent for lifting the grass before mowing to overcome this problem, and is already gaining rave reviews from delighted users.

GreenTek’s new solution for nap and thatch

GreenTek’s new solution for nap and thatch

At a demonstration on a course where their policy of mowing the fairways 50/50 for economy had resulted in a nap problem, the Head Greenkeeper said, “I’ll ask you the question that every Head Greenkeeper should be asking – how much is it, and when can I have one?”

The benefits of the Turf-Conditioner are numerous. Not only is nap lifted and thatch effectively removed, but better air circulation is provided around the grass plant which helps to minimize the conditions for fungal disease.

Josh Thurley, Golf Course Manager at Malden Golf Club says, “We chose the GreenTek Turf-Conditioner because of its ability to follow the contours and undulations on our fairways without any hassle. We have been using it on the fairways since March and have seen some great results already within the sward and surface quality. We have 8 hectares of fairways, and we complete the whole golf course within 4hrs. I’m looking forward to also using in our long eco rough, to thin the sward and still leave the long wispy grasses.”

“The versatility and quickness of use is excellent, and I would recommend any club to invest in one for their course”

The turf-conditioner has many unique features.  The three rows of rakes are all slightly offset so that the tines give a very closely spaced raking pattern. The angle of pitch is adjustable to enable just the right degree of thatch removal to be achieved.

GreenTek’s new solution for nap and thatch

GreenTek’s new solution for nap and thatch

The unit floats freely on the tractor’s linkage when working across rig and furrow undulations, and the pivoting wing sections enable it to accurately follow the contours around course features.

The Turf-Conditioner demonstrates that not all course machinery needs to be complex or expensive to yield outstanding benefits. Sometimes you just need a more efficient way of implementing good common-sense greenkeeping practices.  Demonstrations are readily available through GreenTek’s nationwide dealer network by calling 0113 267 6000.

A video of the Turf-Conditioner 12 in action can be viewed on the website at:  https://www.greentek.uk.com/products/turf-conditioner/

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UltraGroomer™ cassettes satisfy need for speed

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UltraGroomer™ cassettes satisfy need for speed: Recording in the region of 4000 rounds played every month, Southport’s Hillside Golf Club is a very busy course!

Tasked with balancing the expectations of the players with the sustainability of the Course is Links Manager Chris Ball – who is now conducting weekly passes with a set of UltraGroomer™ cassettes from the TMSystem™ to satisfy the golfers ‘need for speed’ without reducing heights of cut.

UltraGroomer™ cassettes satisfy need for speed

UltraGroomer™ cassettes satisfy need for speed

Chris has been in charge of the 18-hole links venue since his return to the club in 2018 and together with his greenkeeping team of eight has to manage not only the challenges of their exposed coastal location, but the demand for pace on the greens. “While simply lowering heights of cut may work for some clubs, because of factors such as the wind, this is not sustainable for us without detriment to the overall health and condition of the plant” Chris explains.

“Our previous verti-cut setup was no longer fit for purpose, so we spoke to our local dealer Turner Groundscare who introduced us to the UltraGroomer™ cassette.”  One of 12 maintenance cassettes from the TMSystem™, the UltraGroomer™ features over 80 1.3mm tungsten tipped blades, spaced 5mm apart, to remove Poa, lateral growth and organic matter – enhancing the downward movement of oxygen, nutrients and moisture and making it more difficult for disease pathogens to take hold.

“We trialled the cassette, fitted in the pedestrian INFINICUT® unit, on a couple of greens and it did a fantastic job of removing the coarser leaves without disturbing the finer species we’re trying to encourage, and without leaving lines in the ground. Although we hadn’t seen them operating on a triple, we were all impressed straight away and promptly purchased a set for our JD 2500 triple.”

Through the main growing season, the Hillside team are running the UltraGroomers™ over the greens once a week to remove any lateral growth, refine and reduce ingress of unwanted species and stand the plant upright – all without causing undue stress. “Having proudly hosted some pro events in recent years, and by being in regular contact with bodies such as the R&A, we know what pace we’re ideally trying to achieve and the best methods to attain that. We are delighted to be maintaining ours, with relative ease, using the UltraGroomer™ cassettes and are very pleased with the results we’re seeing so far.”

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A tougher machine for tougher jobs

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A tougher machine for tougher jobs: The Toro Company, a global leader in turf and landscape equipment, has revealed a heavy-duty and battery powered addition to its domestic line of lawnmowers. The Toro 60V HD Proline further reinforces Toro’s move to more environmentally friendly products, while still providing a powerful and reliable machine.

The HD Proline features a 6mm thick cast aluminium deck and is designed to withstand the demands from professional gardeners and landscapers – but still remains simple and easy to use for the everyday gardener. The HD Proline is the ideal choice for those with slightly larger areas of land, where a standard consumer lawnmower would not be suitable, and a ride on would be too large an investment – the HD Proline fits perfectly in this gap.

A tougher machine for tougher jobs

A tougher machine for tougher jobs

The Recycler technology is designed to lift, suspend and recut grass clippings into a fine mulch, and redistribution across the lawn contributes towards a much healthier turf. The design of the deck also works to reduce the chance of blockages and will more efficiently collect grass. While being designed to withstand the extremes of commercial mowing, the HD Proline is extremely lightweight for its purpose, allowing for extended daily use.

The HD Proline uses a heavy duty 60V lithium-ion battery to optimise its runtime and output. The battery is also interchangeable with the Flex-Force range of garden machinery, to allow for maximum flexibility and easy power to get the job done. The range includes a leaf blower, hedge trimmer, chainsaw and string trimmer – all of which may be required in an area with more land. The Flex-Force range also includes more domestic Recycler lawnmowers.

For more information please visit: https://www.pros.toro.com/equipment/powered-by-battery-fueled-by-toro-new-60v-hd-proline-53cm/

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