Tag Archive for: GC

Sherriff the ‘ideal tonic’ for Tiverton GC

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Sherriff the ‘ideal tonic’ for Tiverton GC: George Stephens, course manager at Tiverton Golf Club in Devon, claims that Sherriff Amenity has provided him with the ideal tonic to help the greens combat stress and aid root development.

With panoramic views of the Devon countryside, Tiverton Golf Club offers a stunning 18 hole course which was first established in 1932. It was originally designed by famous course architect James Braid whose other designs include Gleneagles, Carnoustie and St Enodoc.

Sherriff the ‘ideal tonic’ for Tiverton GC

George has been the course manager at Tiverton for four years now and he revealed that the board laid out their expectations from the very start.

“When I first came in for my interview it was clear that they wanted change,” he said. “Improvement was vital and they wanted the club to be the Augusta of the West.”

Instead of feeling the pressure, George was determined to set out and make his mark and he began with an overhaul of the existing maintenance programme and products.

“I set out to trial a number of different products to try and identify which products would be the best for this site within our budget. I started with fertiliser trials on the fairways and there was one product which really stood out and that was Sherriff Amenity’s Evolution Controlled 18.0.32.”

Evolution Controlled is a fertiliser range consisting of nutrients packaged in a coated granule that are released over an extended period of time. It is a controlled release autumn and winter fertiliser specially formulated with high potassium for turf hardness which ensures a rapid growth response, even at low temperatures – something which particularly impressed George.

“It gave us exactly what we looking for,” he said. “The first time I applied Evolution Controlled was at the end of the summer to try and get the recovery. I put it down at 35g/m² and in the first two weeks it was like wildfire which is what we wanted. We then applied a growth regulator and from then on it was nice and gradual right the way through until the end of December / start of January.

“I was surprised because there are not many other products that I’ve seen grow in this period – in fact my third fairway was still growing at Christmas. The other products we trialled Evolution Controlled against just seemed to slow up at the end of October.”

George also turned to Evolution Controlled to solve a frequent problem which was occurring at the bottom of the third hole much to the annoyance of the golfers.

“We wanted to create a bit of rough to stop wayward balls bouncing out of control and rolling all the way down to the fence – which was quite an inconvenience for the players. We applied Evolution Controlled, again at 35g/m², to really give it the boost we needed and it really thickened the sward. It’s great because we just wanted to put a product down and not worry about it. This has lasted me a whole year so the longevity is fantastic.”

Sherriff the ‘ideal tonic’ for Tiverton GC

As George continued to implement improvements around the golf course, his attentions soon turned to the greens. He persisted in trial work to find an ideal tonic to help the greens combat stress and aid root development and was adamant that seaweed was the solution.

“I’m quite particular when it comes to seaweed products and although it may sound strange, I can always identify a good seaweed by the smell of it. There are so many types of seaweed and just a basic sniff can tell you so much.

“Sherriff Amenity’s Seavolution liquid really does smell of authentic seaweed. It is cold processed, not heat treated, which means you are getting all of the goodness straight away. I actually saw a video of it being made and the product is basically coming straight off the rock and into the tin.”

As George says, Seavolution is collected from the sheltered bays and unpolluted waters of the Atlantic Ocean, around the North West coast of Ireland. Due to the unique cold extraction process Seavolution is high in micronutrients, plant hormones and alginates, all of which are found naturally in Ascophyllum nodosum. George uses it as part of a tank-mix which also contains elements of nitrogen, iron and potassium and he has reported fantastic results.

“I apply this every two weeks and I feel the Seavolution makes a big difference. What sold me on it was that at one point, the greens were slightly stressed and there were patches of disease. I applied Seavolution at 20 l/ha on nine greens and they recovered in just three or four days. I did the nine other greens with a different seaweed product and didn’t see any improvements until at least ten days. That was what really made my mind up.

“Overall the customer service from Sherriff Amenity has been first-class and the products have made some huge improvements here.”

For further information, please contact Sherriff Amenity on 01638 721 888 or visit www.sherriffamenity.com

For more news and insightful views, you can follow Sherriff Amenity on Twitter @SherriffAmenity.

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GXi8 HD a difference at Banchory GC

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GXi8 HD a difference at Banchory GC: Three years ago, an Aberdeenshire golf club with a keen focus on ecological, environmental and sustainable best practice, chose a Wiedenmann Terra Spike GXi8  HD deep aerator. It was the first purchase made by the then newly appointed course manager at Banchory GC, Richard Mullen.

“Aeration needed to be done quickly without compromising standards.  The GXi8 meant we could reduce operator time, reduce fuel and importantly use just one machine,” said Richard Mullen.

GXi8 HD a difference at Banchory GC

Banchory GC sits on the banks of the River Dee, in the heart of Royal Deeside. In the last year the club has received huge plaudits for its biodiversity initiatives in creating both an excellent golfing surface and a welcoming habitat for nature.

“We didn’t start off as a GEO certified golf course when the aerator arrived and we certainly weren’t sustainable. Now three years down the line we’re getting better. The fungicide usage has been reduced by half and we haven’t used any insecticides at all in that time,” he continued.

“We’re like a links course inland. We share many characteristics of a links course.  We’ve sandy soil and the terrain has been naturally formed.  It’s maybe not the largest of courses but the GXi8 goes everywhere; wall-to-wall if you like, fairways, greens, tees, approaches; it misses nothing.

“On any modern course, golfers hate the sight of holes. Frequently it’s so clean our golfers are unaware we’ve actually been out.  If your golfers aren’t noticing holes then that’s a huge bonus. Instantly you’ve got more options. “

Wiedenmann’s GXi8 HD offers a patented Advanced Tine Control (ATC) system. ATC controls the entry point of the tine into the turf. All moving parts of the system like springs and heave linkages are positioned behind covers at the front of the machine away from the workings and ‘dirt area’. Wear and tear is reduced and the covers help quieten the machine.  The centre of gravity being closer to the tractor makes it exceptionally stable.   The tines on the GXi are nearer to the front roller ensuring a uniform job as the spiking action is exceptionally precise and accurate.  Constant hole-spacing is maintained even at high fast forward speed so when following the contours of the ground the quality of work does not falter.

“In a year the GXi8 can be out about 50 times but all the while helping the soil biology of our site.  It’s not uncommon for us to give the greens two passes, using 14mm solids, one at 5mm with 75mm centres and then 200mm deep with 10% heave at 50mm centres. Any oxygen can then be used by plants roots and soil microbes during respiration while carbon dioxide is released allowing nutrient uptake”

Richard, working with just two other colleagues, has made huge strides which have been welcomed by the local community. Already in 2019 Banchory has been a finalist in the 2019 Golf Environment and 2019 inspiring Aberdeenshire Awards.

“With a small team you appreciate the versatility and the ease of use of the GXi8.  There’s nothing time consuming about the machine at all. You can be doing fairways with 20mm tines then later in the session be on greens with 8 mm tines. Switching tines is super-fast. Indeed if we had a different type of deep aerator I don’t think we would get half the things done that we achieve at the moment.  It makes that big a difference to us.” concluded Richard Mullen.

Local dealer Fairways GM supplied the club with their Wiedenmann aerator. Banchory GC also has a Wiedenmann Super 500 and Whisper Twister in its fleet.

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Sherriff success at Milford GC

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Sherriff success at Milford GC: A carefully-planned turf nutrition and treatment programme utilising three key Sherriff Amenity products has produced a sustained rise in the health, condition and playing standard of greens at the Milford Golf Club in Surrey.

The programme is being implemented by course manager Tom Smith who joined the club a year ago and set out to make some immediate improvements.

Sherriff success at Milford GC

“There is historic data which points to a high level of sulphur and a low cation exchange capacity so I began by looking at various methods and purposes which would improve the situation. I felt it was important to get consistency through the old and the new greens and essential to improve root development. After all, if you get your foundations right then you can build a house.”

As Tom says, the Club has recently built four new greens on land recently acquired by Milford Golf Club’s owners Crown Golf. Milford is one of 22 golf clubs in Crown Golf’s portfolio and was opened in 1993.  The course was designed by the famous Peter Allis and Clive Clark duo and was built on the land of the famous Secrets orchard in west Surrey, seven miles from the city of Guildford.

Tom, who started his career as a car mechanic, moved into greenkeeping in 2011 at Wickham Park – which is also under the Crown Golf umbrella. With a newly found passion Tom set about completing his Level 2 and Level 3 qualifications and just last year was deemed the perfect man to take the reins at Milford.

Indeed, Tom immediately got to work and after facing somewhat of a baptism of fire in which he embarked on annual renovations in his first week, his attentions quickly turned to improving the root development on the greens.

Comprising of Sherriff Amenity’s Rootmass Plus, Rapid Root and SeaVolution seaweed, the three complementary products used within the programme are being applied at various times throughout the season.

“I apply the Rapid Root once a month at 15kg/ha and try to fit it in with my feeding and this goes down from May until October. I’ve been using the Rootmass and the SeaVolution all the way through the winter to increase the density of the root.

“The beauty of the Seavolution is that I can use it both with my wetting agent and also with my Rapid Root mix. The plant absolutely loves it and even in hot conditions the seaweed always stays wet. In fact it is probably the most natural product out there. The roots are like babies and if we look after them and use more natural products then the turf is going to be fine – it is going to look after itself.

“Since using these products I’ve definitely noticed more root development. From the top of the profile right the way down we are seeing strong roots. The plants ability to uptake and retain nutrients has improved and they hold a lot more moisture and stay greener longer.”

For further information, please contact Sherriff Amenity on 01638 721 888 or visit www.sherriffamenity.com

For more news and insightful views, you can follow Sherriff Amenity on Twitter @SherriffAmenity.

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Toro a hit at Robin Hood GC

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Toro a hit at Robin Hood GC: Robin Hood Golf Club in Solihull has come on board as a Toro fleet customer for the first time as course manager Luke Dennis attests to Toro outperforming other brands across the UK and beyond.

With a career that has seen him work on championship courses hosting major tournaments such as The Ryder Cup, across the UK for European tour events at the Belfry, Forest of Arden and Slaley Hall and further afield to Sweden for the Scandinavian Masters, as well as working in machinery parts maintenance, Luke certainly has an in-depth perspective when it comes to golf course machinery.

Toro a hit at Robin Hood GC

“I have the benefit of having experience working on the maintenance of machinery parts and as course manager which means I can look at a machine from two different perspectives – what it requires for upkeep and how it operates,” says Luke. “And my experience has shown me on both fronts that Toro outperforms and outlasts the competition.”

The club has had a mix of machinery up until now and the difference in having a full Toro fleet of high-quality, durable machines is palpable. And it came as no surprise to Luke when extensive demonstrations for the club’s new fleet, organised by Reesink Turfcare’s Jon Lewis, beat out the competition.

“In particular the Reelmaster 3575 really stood out,” says Luke. “The after cut appearance achieved with the perfection brushes is the best I’ve ever seen despite unfavourable weather conditions at the time of the demo.

“We also opted for the Reelmaster 3100 with groomers to enhance the semi rough. Although quite an unusual decision, so far we have received amazing feedback on the definition and quality of the ball lie achieved, which allows a cleaner impact to the back of the ball for golfers.”

With Robin Hood Golf Club now 126 years old, the parkland course of Harry Colt design is a well-regarded golfing venue near Birmingham, and its recent addition of a full Toro fleet comes as the next step in its ongoing development.

Over the last ten years, there’s been a substantial investment to help reconstruct and modernise the course, and the Toro package deal is the cherry on the cake, explains Luke.

“The full Toro fleet means we have reliable, high quality machines, which allow us to present the course to a high standard week-in week-out for our members and visitors,” concludes Luke. “And I’m pretty sure we will continue to see the course improve with Toro on board.”

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Willingdon GC targeted by vandals

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Willingdon GC targeted by vandals: Vandals took a spade to greens at Willingdon Golf Club in an ‘extreme’ and ‘premeditated’ attack this week.

Course manager Luke Turner described it as the “worst vandalism” he’d experienced in his decade at the club, and says it could take until spring to fully repair the damage.

Course manager Luke Turner described it as the “worst vandalism” he’d experienced in his decade at the club, and says it could take until spring to fully repair the damage.

He said, “We put in a lot of work and time and effort into creating excellent surfaces and some person decides to come along and vandalise and create damage.

“This is about the most severe I’ve seen in 10-11 years. It’s very extreme and premeditated.”

Luke said someone had cut a hole in a fence and taken a spade or shovel and dug up large areas of three greens, at about 4-5 square metres wide.

“They have come equipped to do it,” he said, “They have walked a considerable distance, almost a kilometre.

“It took about 25 hours to get the surfaces repaired enough to play on again. To get it back to the required high standard it will take most of the winter and into the spring.”

So far it has cost around £1,500 to repair the damage, and has put teams behind schedule.

Luke said, “It affects our visitors and members that come to play here. We work so the greens are in fantastic condition all year round. The amount of work that goes into repairing mindless vandalism…”

A post on social media has received a lot of support from the public, he said,

It said, “It really is difficult to understand some people. This morning we have been greeted by the worst vandalism I’ve experienced.

“Sorry for the disruption to the regular course… it is going to take time to fix this.”

The incident happened overnight on Wednesday, between the hours of 10pm and 5.30am.

If you have any information, contact police online or on 101.

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