Tag Archive for: GC

New Grinders At Richmond GC

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New Grinders At Richmond GC: The Richmond Golf Club are aiming to improve their cutting performance by relief grinding back to OEM specifications using their new Foley Company Grinders.

Located six miles from central London, The Richmond Golf Club has a well-deserved reputation for its impressive 18-hole course which has undergone significant developments in recent years including extensive re-bunkering and substantial upgrades to other areas of the course.

New Grinders At Richmond GC

Course manager, Les Howkins, has been steering these improvements and is now aiming to enhance his mowers’ cutting performance by relief grinding with the purchase of a Foley company Accu-Pro 633 with Accu-Touch 3 control and a 673 automatic Bed-Knife grinder.

Les explained: “For us, one of the main advantages of choosing the Foley Accu-Pro 633 is that it delivers relief and spin grinding in the one machine and the changeover is very quick – approximately 20 seconds.

“This is important because it gives us greater flexibility; we can easily switch from relief to spin and back again. We can choose what’s needed for each unit rather than having to do all the spin or all the relief grinding in one go as we had previously.

“Another reason is that the Foley grinder removes what is known as coning. This is where the reel wears more at one end than the other.  This occurs through general use or in some occasions over adjustment.   With the built-in electronic gauging system, we can set the units up true and grind them back to parallel.

“Other important factors for us are that the wheel-head and spin motors are electric.  Both are neat and tidy units, easy to operate, unobtrusive and quiet, which is crucial for the  health, safety and general operating welfare of our staff.”

Les said “We have “40 cuttings units of varying sizes, the majority of which are John Deere.” His mechanic, Ian Clarke was looking to improve the length of time his units stayed on cut before needing to be re-ground. “Ian is delighted with quality of cut delivered by the Foley. Now that we can relief grind quickly and efficiently and the cutting units stay on cut longer, he will be able to manage our grinding programme much more effectively. As the machines are also very easy to use, we are also planning to improve this further with more of our staff using the grinders.”

It is the 633’s Accu-Touch 3 controls which make this an easy process. It has an automatic computer system that provides a step-by-step tutorial for new technicians and a quicker set-up and spin grind feature for the more experienced operators. You input the make of unit you’re working on and the computer does the rest. Pre-programmed spin speeds, relief torque, and in-feeds are only a few of the new features found in the ACCU-Touch 3.

Complimenting the 633 is the 673 automatic Bed-Knife and the 450 Rotary blade grinders. Automation is an essential feature of Foley grinders because it increases productivity, ensures accurate results and allows operators to carry out other workshop tasks while grinding.

The 673 has an innovative bed-knife mounting system that uses powerful electromagnets to hold the bed bar in place, and positive gauge stops to make set-up fast and straightforward. You can grind any bed bar arrangement without additional tooling and fast angle set-up provides repeatability without recalibration. Set the angle stops once, and the 673 will grind the same angle repeatedly. Changing from grinding the front face to the top face is as simple as pushing a button and watching as the powered Tool Bar rotates into the position.

The 450 rotary blade grinder is a simple pedestal-based machine that can be used to quickly re-face and sharpen our blades, whether there right or left-handed.

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Toro Update At Sherborne GC

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Toro Update At Sherborne GC: 2019 brings plenty to celebrate for Sherborne Golf Club. A 125-year anniversary, a Toro machinery fleet update and recognition for the club’s young greenkeeping talent.

Sherborne Golf Club on the border of Dorset and Somerset has long been a Toro customer, a situation well illustrated by the Toro red shed. In fact, the relationship goes as far back as the arrival of course manager Chris Watson 16 years ago: “I signed the club’s first five-year agreement ten years ago and we’re now into our third!

Toro Update At Sherborne GC

“Toro fulfils the needs of the club. We have a tricky course to maintain and it’s hard work all year round. The free draining soil means there’s a lot of play in winter and no temporary greens. Throughout we expect reliability, a great cut and performance in the face of seemingly endless work, and Toro delivers time and again.”

Plus, there has been a major ongoing landscaping project. 375,000 tons of soil have been delivered over the last seven years, three holes have been redesigned, the practice ground has been increased, the course has been lengthened and new tees have been generated. Chris says: “We’re a forward-thinking club with a supportive management committee. The way we see it, there’s always room for improvement.

“Throughout the years, I’ve remained pleased with our Toro machinery upgrades and the technological advances it demonstrates in the new models we choose, and there’s been no need to change that. The service has been consistent and good, and maintenance is easy. Our Groundsmaster 4000-D, for example, can clock over 2000 hours of work without needing a hydraulic oil change!”

The celebrations for the 125th anniversary are year-long and jammed full of hosting duties including the Dorset County Championship, South England Boys Open and a Pro-Am, to name but a few. “The preparation work we’ve done in recent years has ensured we’re in great shape for all these events,” says Chris.

An unexpected bonus for the club’s 125th year is the news that one of the greenkeeping team has been selected to proceed to the regional interview stage in the Toro Young Student Greenkeeper of the Year Awards.

Chris says: “Throughout my career I’ve always been keen to encourage the younger generation into the industry and feel proud that four of my trainees now hold positions as head greenkeepers. When I first met Sam Richards, I knew he’d make a great apprentice and could see he had potential. To have this recognised, and supported, by his Myerscough College lecturer who nominated Sam and to see him progress into the next round of the Young Award is testament to his promise.

“Even being shortlisted in Toro’s Student Greenkeeper of the Year Awards is a huge achievement, it’s a competition which has identified some of the country’s brightest and most promising talent.”

All that’s left for us to say is happy anniversary to Sherborne Golf Club and good luck to Sam – and all those progressing into the regional interviews for both Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year Awards this summer!

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Okehampton GC Sign Sherriff Deal

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Okehampton GC Sign Sherriff Deal: Devon’s Okehampton Golf Club have signed a new deal which sees Sherriff Amenity as its preferred supplier of products for a period of three years.

Okehampton Golf Club features an 18 hole parkland course, sheltered by the highest tors of Dartmoor, on the northern edge of Devon’s magnificent National Park. It is a challenging course and can be deceptive if the wind is blowing – especially on the 12th hole where the West Okement River awaits to the left and behind the green.

Okehampton GC Sign Sherriff Deal

Stuart Entwistle has been the course manager at Okehampton for just over four years and is pleased with the progress he has made in that time.

“I used to work at a large club but was quite restricted in trying new methods and products. However, once I came here I had a free reign to trial a number of new products. I personally feel there has been a big improvement to the course. My main goal to start with was to be able to offer golf all-year round and we have already achieved that.”

Stuart initially focused his attentions on the tees and after a recommendation from Sherriff Amenity’s David Chammings, he turned to Evolution Xtra 24.4.4 granular fertiliser for the summer and then Evolution Controlled 18.0.32 in the winter.

“I would say that the majority of our members have said that the biggest improvement here has been on the tees,” said Stuart. “When I first arrived the tees just looked tired and weak so they needed immediate attention. I went with an initial application of the Evolution Xtra 24.4.4 at a rate of 30g/m² in the middle of March. It gave me a great initial hit and I applied it twice more in that first year.

“This really worked in getting them in a better condition and for the second year we went with two more applications of the 24.4.4 but then for winter we went with the six month release fertiliser – Evolution Controlled, which was the perfect feed to see us through. The growth was steady and strong – exactly what we needed.

Okehampton GC Sign Sherriff Deal

“The other good thing about Evolution Controlled is that it is chloride free so it has a low scorching index. Therefore, I can put it down and not worry about the scorch, which was one of my concerns at first because we don’t have any irrigation on the tees.”

For the greens at Okehampton, Stuart claims that he just wouldn’t be without Sherriff Amenity’s GoGreen Energy – a concentrated bio-stimulant, formulated to assist plant health and relieve stress symptoms.

“GoGreen Energy works really well for us – we go through the summer with it at four weekly intervals at the full rate of 60 l/ha. Before we started using the product, the greens were starting to yellow and were a bit stressed but now they are a beautiful green colour and it has really helped with root depth.

“We have tried a number of similar products in the past but GoGreen is the one we have consistently stuck with. I honestly believe that if we didn’t use it for one summer then we would notice the difference.

“It’s a nice low nitrogen product, contains simple sugars, a bit of chelated iron, has a bit of seaweed in it and is a complete trace element package – but not too much of one thing and that’s what we want. It just gives you a nice steady pattern.”

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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Edgbaston GC Extend Toro Link

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Edgbaston GC Extend Toro Link: Having been at Edgbaston Golf Club for 31 years, course manager Eddie Mills knows more than anyone what’s best for the club, which is why he recently signed a second five-year agreement plan with Toro.

Just one mile from the centre of Birmingham, the course provides golfers with 144 acres of stunning parkland, including a lake and woodland nature reserve, so keeping the maintenance up to a high level is no easy feat.

Edgbaston GC Extend Toro Link

“I’ll have been at the club for 32 years this August and course manager since 2007, so I know the course pretty well to say the least,” says Eddie. “Before we signed our first agreement, we had a real mix of things in the shed, but we always preferred Toro.”

Despite seeing early on the clear benefits of Toro, the club needed to wait for the right circumstances in order to sign an agreement deal. But it was only a matter of time, says Eddie.

“Since our first agreement we’ve had a great relationship with Jon Lewis at Reesink Turfcare and our back up service provider, Redtech Machinery. With the first agreement we saw a real improvement to the course, and I predict we’ll experience the same outcome with the updated fleet.”

The club’s comprehensive fleet is a mix of like for like renewals and some new additions, including three Greensmaster TriFlex 3420 mowers, one of which is set up for surrounds and approaches with universal groomers. Plus, three GR1600 hand mowers, a Reelmaster 3575-D fairway mower with groomer brushes, Groundsmaster 4000-D, Groundsmaster 3500, Reelmaster 3100 Sidewinder, Groundsmaster 7210 zero turn rotary mower, Multi Pro 5800-D sprayer and a new TYM T654 tractor to boot.

“We are constantly trying to improve the club and the course,” says Eddie. “So maintaining and updating the fleet on a regular basis is really important.

“I particularly like the Reelmaster 3100-D Sidewinder, it’s compact, really economical fuel wise and leaves an excellent finish. The new TYM T654 we have is another of our favourites, it’s versatile, robust and really comfortable to use.”

With the club’s 125th anniversary coming up in a couple of years, there are big plans in the works for the future, and it’s likely Toro will be a part of that.

“Now that we’re close to reaching such a milestone anniversary, we’re starting to look at what the next 125 years will look like for the club,” Eddie concludes. “If Toro continues to deliver on performance and price, that partnership has the potential to continue as we take that next step for the future of the club.”

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Carbon Gold Success At Mullion GC

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Carbon Gold Success At Mullion GC: With more and more chemical fungicides getting banned, how can Greenkeepers keep their turf healthy?  A chance encounter at the 2018 BTME conference in Harrogate led Mullion Golf Club to the answer…  

Mullion Golf Club is the most southernly course in the country, just a few miles north of Lizard Point in Cornwall.  Being right on the coast, it’s under constant barrage from the Atlantic winds and, as such, often suffers salt damage, irrigation issues and disease outbreaks, particularly on the 14th green which is considered the club’s problematic green, sited on a cliff and constantly being awashed with salty air from the Atlantic Ocean. The green was built with a fine sand and has always struggled to get good rooting.   

Carbon Gold Success At Mullion GC

Head Greenkeeper, Gordon Tamblyn, happened upon Carbon Gold’s enriched biochar Turf Improver at the Sherriff Amenity stand at the BIGGA’s annual exhibition BTME at the start of 2018 and was intrigued. 

Biochar is a high-carbon, purified form of charcoal that improves the structure, aeration and water-holding capacity of soil.  Its chemical stability means it doesn’t break down, making it a one-time application, and its porous structure provides a permanent refuge for beneficial microbiology.  

Carbon Gold’s biochar is enriched with mycorrhizae, Trichoderma, seaweed and wormcasts and has been shown to improve the health and vitality of turf, improve grass rooting, reduce irrigation costs, eliminate the need for fungicides and dramatically reduce the need to put down fertiliser in trials by Sherriff Amenity.  

In March, during the Clubs greens renovations, Mullion’s 14th green had been hollow-tined ready to have Carbon Gold’s enriched biochar Turf Improver swept into the Rootzone.   

“I was intrigued by Carbon Gold’s Turf Improver because the science around biology made a lot of intuitive sense and the trial results were impressive, plus the fact that it reduces costs and is a one-time application, it was definitely worth a shot.  I’m always looking for new ways of improving soil structure, preventing disease and promoting the Fescue grasses, due to the nature of our environment at Mullion owing to how exposed to the elements we are.” 

Gordon Tamblyn, Head Green Keeper, Mullion Golf Club 

The biochar was used in conjunction with mycorrhizae inoculants and, eight months on, despite an outbreak of Fusarium this Autumn, the 14th green is completely disease free, the grass is showing better rooting, feels firmer and is looking much healthier.  

“I’m really impressed by the fact that our biggest problem-green is a lot healthier, firmer and is disease free.  And the rooting is impressive, I noticed there’s absolutely no break-off when changing holes.” 

Gordon Tamblyn, Head Green Keeper, Mullion Golf Club 

As a result of the trial, Gordon is applying Turf Improver to its putting green and would like to incorporate it to the rest of the course, permanently improving the health of Mullion Golf Club’s turf. 

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