Tag Archive for: GC

Japanese excellence at Whitefield GC

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Japanese excellence at Whitefield GC: Whitefield Golf Club, one of the longest established golf courses in the North West have invested in a brand-new fleet of machinery with a retail value in excess of £250,000 to futureproof the club.

The prestigious 18-hole mature golf course, which boasts superb putting surfaces, undulating, partly tree-lined fairways and spectacular views is also renowned for its par 3 and has a reputation as being deceptively difficult, with golfers coming from miles around to take on the challenge.

Japanese excellence at Whitefield GC

Japanese excellence at Whitefield GC

The club’s ageing fleet had started to become an issue, failing to deliver the standard required and with a prestigious tournament booked for this summer, the team realised that a sizeable investment in an entirely new fleet was required.

Course Manager Danny Chamberlain called upon award winning fine-turf specialist supplier GGM Groundscare. Several considerations had to be taken into account when selecting the best machinery for the job, with reliability and productivity of equipment being key. In addition, being based in the North West of England, it was key for the machinery to perform well in all-weather conditions. The club trialled a range of products from leading manufacturers Baroness and Kubota and the Greens team instantly saw the great results, with the machines staying on cut for longer and giving a precise finish, which is so important for maintaining the image of the course”

Danny was particularly impressed with the results from the Baroness LM2700 Fairway Mower, which  delivers a high work rate while delivering exceptional quality of cut, low whole life service costs and also long life and the Baroness GM2810 Rough Mower, renowned for its fast speed when cutting extensive areas of fast growing  rough, the design of the decks allows cleaner discharge of grass giving a high quality stripped finish.

“It’s the simplicity that I love – not only will it reduce downtime, maintenance and service costs – the Baroness is far easier and safer for the team to use and gives a truly outstanding quality of cut”

Additionally, the Kubota L2501 tractor, RTV X900 Utility vehicle and ZD1211 Zero turn mower are all excellent machines and provide the club with the quality and efficient solutions that it needs. The Baroness and Kubota products work so well together and gives the ideal package to golf clubs.

It was this, along with the reliability and output of all the machines the club trialled and the fixed-cost service and support package that was available that were key factors for Danny. It allows the club to budget better and gave the team peace of mind that they won’t be receiving unexpected repair bills that gave him the confidence to place an order to replace the full fleet.

“It was a huge step for the club to move away from the previous manufacturer, and particularly when it came to making an investment of this size however, GGM Groundscare made the process so easy. Working with the right dealership is essential – after all, they become an extension of your own team. Service levels, parts back up and sales advice are all absolutely crucial. It’s fantastic to know that we’re heading into the future with the very best fleet for our club.”

Chris Gibson, Managing Director at GGM Groundscare said:

“We are absolutely delighted to supply this fleet of machinery to Whitefield Golf Club. It is well known as one of the most prestigious courses in the North West with a reputation for pristine greens, and we are thrilled to play a part in the maintenance of them. It really is Japanese excellence working together with Kubota and Baroness as there are no better machines for golf clubs to use to maintain one of their biggest assets – their course”.

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Woodland Management made easier for Wildernesse GC

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Woodland Management made easier for Wildernesse GC: A CM220TMP woodchipper from GreenMech has transformed the woodland management programme for Wildernesse Golf Club.

The heavily tree-lined woodland/parkland course in Sevenoaks, Kent, requires year-round thinning, pruning and felling. The new 9” machine has significantly improved the productivity for Course Manager Mark Todd and his team.

Woodland Management made easier for Wildernesse GC

Woodland Management made easier for Wildernesse GC

With classified ancient woodland, Chance Wood, at the very heart of the course, the scale of the task at hand led Mark to look for an upgrade to their existing machinery at the end of 2019. “I spoke with our local dealer Burden Bros who suggested we upgrade from a 6” to a 9” machine and demonstrated the GreenMech CM220TMP. You could see straight away how it was going to be so much more effective at dealing with the large quantities of material we have to process.”

The course woodland predominantly consists of beech, birch and oak, however it’s the holly in the understory of the canopy that causes a real issue. “Some areas are smothered in it and the awkwardly shaped branches used to be really difficult to get into our old chipper unless you spent time snedding all the branches off. The CM220TMP’s large hopper means we can take down holly trees up to 20-foot-tall and get them straight into the chipper – reducing handling and stopping backlogs. Thinning this out improves not only the aesthetic and playability qualities, it also allows extra air and light to get down to the playing surfaces.”

“Being tractor mounted means we can take the chipper wherever it is needed, with the chip we produce dispersed in the woodland, used in some of the decorative beds or given to the members for use in their gardens. One of the really great things is GreenMech’s round disc blade chipping technology. Not only does it process more efficiently but when they blunt you simply turn them to the next sharp edge which means that, compared to traditional straight blades, you get three times the life out of each set.”

Mark was also thankful for having the chipper at their disposal during the recent storms, where the course experienced strong winds and fallen trees. “The chipper disposed of these without a problem” Mark explains. “While it comes into its own over the winter months, we have projects to work on throughout the year and with the CM220TMP, these have now become much easier.”

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New Toro system at Kings GC

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New Toro system at Kings GC: Kings Golf Club in Inverness has relocated with a brand new 18-hole, 6,600-yard, par 70 layout and a new Toro Lynx central control system and sprinklers to take the club into the next phase of its life.

When the ‘gateway for the Highlands’, the West Link by-pass around Inverness, was routed straight through the existing course, Kings Golf Club, then known as Torvean Golf Club and renamed in 2019, knew it was going to benefit from a new home from the Highland Council who owns the land, and in the summer of 2019, the course, designed by Scottish golf architect Stuart Rennie, opened to great acclaim.

New Toro system at Kings GC

Stevie McIntosh, course manager, says: “The new course is a real accomplishment to all involved. While it was a challenge to get to this point, it’s been well worth it. Throughout construction, which involved creating 16 new holes and completely renovating two from the existing course, we had to ensure there were always 18 holes open for play and timing was tight in accordance to the deadline of phase two of the road construction.”

The new site is located on undulating land to the North West of the existing site and modern day design characteristics have been incorporated, biodiversity has been improved and it benefits from a new layout.

The greens and tees are built on 92 percent sand and 8 percent soil, plus it’s in an open, exposed, breezy location, which gives it characteristics more in line with a links course than inland like it is. That will always be a challenge when it comes to irrigation, but having given the Toro Lynx central control system and Infinity sprinklers on all but the tees, which benefit from the Flex 800 sprinklers, a good run since it was switched on last summer, it’s one which Toro has sailed through.

Stevie continues: “I’m really impressed with the system. It could not be more different to the system on the old course and using it is a real pleasure. An irrigation system is the lifeblood of a course and it’s so important to get it right, you only get one shot! We put our trust in Stuart as well as Declan O’Malley from contractors European Golf Services, and they couldn’t have chosen better. It’s delivered all I would expect and want from a system; it’s easy to use, accurate and we’re getting uniform coverage.”

And with Toro on board, the next phase of the club’s life is off to a good start.

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Prince’s GC chooses innovation

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Prince’s GC chooses innovation: Prince’s Golf Club recently underwent an extensive renovation process to all three nines on the 27-hole property, which saw developments made to bunkers, teeing grounds and a number of greens, with plans in place to make further improvements in 2020.

In order to produce work of the highest quality and keep the fine links turf as healthy as possible, the club made significant investment into to the latest Bernhard grinding systems.

Prince’s GC chooses innovation

The specialist grinders are designed to keep the mowers as sharp as they can be, allowing Course Manager, Sean McLean and his team to prepare the golf courses in perfect condition all year round.

Machinery Manager at Prince’s Jon Bartlett was keen to achieve more efficient accuracy and speed of work. The Express Dual 5500 and the Anglemaster 4500 provided Jon with versatility and uncompromised performance upon testing and were installed in the club’s new facilities in November.

The automated reel surveying on the Express Dual 5500 allows for maximum precision and helps to determine wear and assist with the resolution of “coned” and “barrelled” reels. With a host of features, this innovative piece of equipment allows the user to achieve the highest precision grind in the industry.

Commenting on the new Bernhard grinders, Course Manager, Sean McLean said: “We are delighted with the new set of grinders. We are always striving to achieve greater accuracy and consistency on our courses and particularly the greens.

“Being able to maintain a precise quality of cut through the automated fleet set up is saving us time and will be financially beneficial for us in the long run.”

Machinery Manager, Jon Bartlett added: “Working with such precision machines makes my job even more enjoyable. We now know that we can keep our machines updated through the remote assistance at the press of a button, which is extremely reassuring when dealing with a large fleet of machinery.”

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New Sandspreader for Kingfishers GC

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New Sandspreader for Kingfishers GC: Home to a picturesque 18-hole golf course set in 120 acres of rural Suffolk, Kingfishers Golf Club has recently purchased a GKB Sandspreader SP100 to maintain their impressive grounds, through GKB’s distributor Ernest Doe.

“Finding a machine that‘s compatible with our Jacobsen Truckster was essential to us and a main factor when choosing the GKB Sandspreader SP100,” explains Matthew Thacker, Managing Director of Kingfishers.  Matthew also comments on the quality of customer service and the product range offered by GKB and its distributor Ernest Doe saying, “GKB machines are extremely well designed and built.”

New Sandspreader for Kingfishers GC

Developed and produced in GKB Machines’ Dutch energy neutral industrial plant the GKB Sandspreader SP100 showcases premium quality with industrial durability. Available in four different designs with several options, Kingfishers Golf Club will mostly be sanding their greens with the GKB Sandspreader SP100. Accurately applying sand and in varying quantities to keep golf courses in prime condition, this machine is ideal for both construction and maintenance.

For more on GKB Machines and their reliable and robust range of machinery for natural, hybrid and synthetic turf, please visit www.gkbmachines.com or contact Tom Shinkins on 07495 883617.

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