Tag Archive for: GC

Headland programme praised by Gillingham GC

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Headland programme praised by Gillingham GC: After previously suffering with the side effects of excessive thatch content, the Course Manager at Gillingham Golf Club has praised a programme from Headland Amenity for its role in transforming the health and presentation of the greens.

Together with a comprehensive cultural regime, the improvement in course condition has seen a reduction in disease activity and reduced reliance on fungicides, and saw Gillingham proudly play host to a Kent Golf Captains event for the very first time.

Headland programme praised by Gillingham GC

Headland programme praised by Gillingham GC

John Hunnisett joined as Course Manager just over a year ago, where he was faced with a course that lacked any definition – with multiple areas including bunker surrounds and tee banks left completely unmaintained. To make the transformation project even more challenging, the greens team consisted of three trainees and, 13 months on, John remains the only qualified greenkeeper out of the team of five. “I pretty much had to start from scratch in all areas” explains John. “I’d used a few Headland products previously but had the benefit of seeing a full Headland programme in action during a stint spent at The London Golf Club. It opened my eyes to a whole new range and so called in our Headland Technical Manager Andy Ward to help with the monumental task at hand.”

Soil analysis taken by Andy highlighted high levels of organic matter in the top 20mm which, combined with an increase in aeration, scarification and topdressing, has been improved with a new nutritional regime. “Our summer programme consists of Protec® Plus, TeMag™ Elite, Turfite® Elite and Ascoflex® Plus. This combination of products delivers a long-lasting, balanced supply of nitrogen together with maximising health and recovery following periods of heat and/or stress. We have received lots of positive comments from the members about the presentation, with many saying that the greens have never looked better!”

“In the autumn and winter we switch to Headland’s 20-20-30 tank-mix which is probably my favourite discovery and has made the biggest difference to the greens. The combination of reducing organic matter and enhancing plant health with monthly applications of 20-20-30 between September and March drastically reduced the amount of disease we registered – and what we did get was easily recoverable and didn’t lead to scarring.”

Headland’s industry-leading 20-20-30 tank-mix combines Liquid Turf Hardener, Turfite® Elite and Seamac® ProTurf Fe, proven to deliver enhanced plant strength and disease resistance when applied as part of a preventative approach. John continues, “The course emerged in the spring of 2022 healthier than ever, which was great as we entered preparations to host the Hampshire County Match at the end of June. Being selected for this for the first time was testament to just how far we’ve come, with the right products and the pure passion of my team.”

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Topdressing transformed at Arscott GC

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Topdressing transformed at Arscott GC: The arrival of a Rink and Speedbrush from Redexim has transformed topdressing for the team at Arscott Golf Club – turning a task that would have previously taken 14 hours into one that’s complete in just four!

The labour-savings and convenience brought about by their new DS800 now means that Head Greenkeeper Andrew Lewis can topdress more frequently and in more areas around the site, bringing further benefit to the condition of the Shropshire course.

Topdressing transformed at Arscott GC

Topdressing transformed at Arscott GC

Andrew has been at Arscott since it opened in 1992 and was part of the original team that converted the agricultural land into an 18-hole golf course. Together with changes to the course, Andrew has seen changes in trends and maintenance techniques over the years – topdressing included. “Where we would have previously been putting two ton’s down on a green and working it in, now it’s all about little and often dressings that work down in just a couple of days.”

To keep pace with the requirement for more frequent topdressing, the club purchased a Rink DS800 delivered by Charlies Groundcare, in the spring of 2022. The DS800 features a 0.8m3 hopper capacity, variable spreading widths of between 2m and 12m, and spreading thicknesses of 0.5 to 15mm for optimal versatility and effectiveness. “Previously, we were using a fertiliser spinner which did the job but was very small and meant repeated trips backwards and forwards to the shed to collect material which was ¾ of a mile away from the furthest green! We looked at a couple of different models of disc spreader and opted for the Rink because of its size, reliability and the fantastic back-up support from the team at Charlies.”

“The time it now takes us to get around all 18 greens has more than halved, and as a small team of just three, it frees up all-important labour to be working on other tasks. It’s already completed one pass in April and where we would normally do just one more in September, we’ve actually decided to do an additional dressing on all 18 greens mid-summer as well as some work on the tees and surrounds which would just not have been feasible before.”

To complement the Rink, Ascott also purchased a Redexim Speedbrush which Andrew says is proving to be a brilliant piece of equipment – not just for working in dressing. “We’re finding more and more things to do with the Speedbrush, from dispersing clippings to clearing moisture and standing the plant up on the surrounds to improve the quality of cut. All of this, together with the increase in topdressing are already making a huge difference to the course.”

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SISIS Maxislit proves beneficial for Pastures GC

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SISIS Maxislit proves beneficial for Pastures GC: Pastures Golf Club in Derby no longer need to rely on a contractor to aerate their fairways after they recently purchased a SISIS Maxislit.  

Set in the grounds of the old Pastures Hospital, Pastures Golf Club is a well-established course built on meadowland.

SISIS Maxislit proves beneficial for Pastures GC

SISIS Maxislit proves beneficial for Pastures GC

It is a well-known fact, that in the 52 years the course has been open, not one golfer has ever broken par. It is for this reason that golfers come from far and wide to play the course and attempt to beat the record.

Therefore, it is essential that the course is kept in impeccable condition and that’s where Head Greenkeeper Paul Smith and his assistant Roger Spalton come in.

Paul and Roger explained the reasons behind purchasing a SISIS Maxislit.

“For numerous years we have had problems with drainage on the course,” said Paul. “We have had times when we have been shut for 2-3 months which has caused issues.

Ultimately, the members are paying a fee to play golf for 12 months and we want to make sure they get that.”

“We were also paying a lot of money to a contractor who would come out and aerate the fairways,” added Roger. “We just thought that it would be better for us to be able to do the work when we wanted with our own manpower.

“We had a demo of the SISIS Maxislit and purchased it straight away.”

The SISIS Maxislit is a tractor mounted deep slitting aerator for sports field maintenance, golf course maintenance and amenities, with deep, clean penetration. Suitable for maintenance of football, rugby and cricket pitches and golf courses, it can also be used for lawns and formal garden areas.

Aeration is needed to improve drainage, reduce turf compacting, thatch build up and boost the health of turf.

SISIS Maxislit proves beneficial for Pastures GC

SISIS Maxislit proves beneficial for Pastures GC

The Maxislit produces outstanding underground cultivation due to the angle of the tines and spiral design of tine shaft assist penetration and its simple design requires little maintenance.

“As a minimum, our aim is to use the Maxislit twice a year in spring – to help get the grass ready to grow and also in autumn – to open it up ready for when it needs to hold moisture,” said Paul. “We’ll use it on the fairways and approaches initially and then eventually look to use it on the greens.

“We’ve had great results,” said Roger. It is very easy to use, very efficient, and it doesn’t take any pulling – a small tractor doesn’t struggle with it. Long-term, we are confident that the Maxislit will improve soil condition and help root growth which will improve our drainage at surface level. It is very flexible, and we can adjust the length of the tines and go even deeper if we want to.

“It has been a good investment for us.”

For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact SISIS on 01332 824 777 or visit www.sisis.com

For more news, reviews and insightful views, you can follow SISIS on Twitter or Instagram @SISISMachinery and like the company’s Facebook page – www.facebook.com/SISISMachinery. You can also view the latest SISIS videos by visiting www.youtube.com/SISISMachinery

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Penwortham GC opts for Wiedenmann GXi8 HD

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Penwortham GC opts for Wiedenmann GXi8 HD: A busy Lancashire Golf Club which wants to target excess thatch on fairways and rough has chosen a Wiedenmann Terra Spike GXi8 HD deep aerator.

Preston’s Penwortham GC is a fine parkland course, situated on the banks of the River Ribble. The northwest club is part of the prestigious Classic Lancashire Tour. It has an active year-round membership and a full-time greenkeeping team of five.

Penwortham GC opts for Wiedenmann GXi8 HD

Penwortham GC opts for Wiedenmann GXi8 HD

Head Greenkeeper, Steve Hemsley, has been in post since June 2021, and already is starting to tick off key projects on his list.

“Ours is quite a clay-based site, relatively flat and reasonably wet.  The recently established USGA greens are doing well. Elsewhere, fairways and roughs are just a little too thatchy, so we needed to develop a regular aeration programme. We brought contractors in last winter, but it made sense to have a machine of our own,” said Steve Hemsley

Following a successful demo with local Wiedenmann UK dealer, Balmers GM at Burnley, the club’s machine arrived at the end of April.  Wiedemann’s lead demonstrator, Andy Kerr, along with Balmers’ salesperson, Ben Cooke, returned to give a thorough session of induction training.

“Its first task, early May was to spike the fairways and some choice areas of rough with 20 mm diameter tines,” continued Steve.  “Our fairways aren’t huge but with a 1.8 m wide machine we easily got finished in around 2 ½ days. When the contractor did the fairways, they went to 150 mm without issue, so with the new machine we targeted around 175 mm, getting more air into the profile and decompacting the surface underneath.  Ideally, we’ll go again in September and, conditions allowing, during the winter again, so three times yearly.

“I had the GXi8 at my previous club, Bolton Old Links GC, so was aware how much time we would save compared to the long-serving machine we retired. The shock absorption and the speed set it apart. The spring systems mean no shock is delivered to the tractor or the operator, so it is an entirely smooth operation. Speed for me though is the biggest thing. It’s just easy to set up and go, just much less time out on the course interrupting play.”

Penwortham’s greens also had deep aeration in May to encourage deeper rooting. “After the fairways, we switched to 8 mm needle tines to do all greens. I’ve renovations booked in for mid-August so they will be done again then, but the priority is elsewhere in the course.

“During Autumn, with 20 mm tines we’ll get back to the spiking the fairways to break up the surface underneath. Then we’ll target the roughs and finally the fairways again in winter when conditions allow.”

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New Verti-Drain at Rotherham GC

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New Verti-Drain at Rotherham GC: After delivering more than 25 years of reliable service, a Redexim Verti-Drain has been replaced by… another Redexim Verti-Drain at Rotherham Golf Club!

With ever-increasing restrictions on chemical usage impacting on plant growth and root development, Course Manager Andy Unwin cites an increase in the amount of aeration work taking place as the stimulus for the purchase of their new Verti-Drain 7316, delivered in March 2022.

New Verti-Drain at Rotherham GC

New Verti-Drain at Rotherham GC

Rotherham offers a true test for golfer and greenkeepers alike, as Andy and his team of five deal with thousands of mature trees and historic push-up greens across the 18-hole parkland course. “A lot of work has gone into the greens over the years, lots of aeration and topdressing which now means we’re in a good position with sandy, free-draining greens” explains Andy, who took over as Course Manager last year. “However, things are always changing and one of the biggest issues we now face is the changes in chemical legislation, making aeration more important than ever for retaining root strength and plant health.”

“With our Verti-Drain® 105-145 we would traditionally have two main ‘aeration weeks’ – one in March and one in August, with spot treatments as and where required. This machine was purchased in 1994 and gave us years of trouble-free and effective aeration, but with more work on the cards, the time was right for an upgrade. Redexim’s Andy O’Neill and Tony Dodson of Cheshire Turf Machinery brought in a 7316 and it ticked every box.”

With a 1.6m working width, the 7316 is one of the most versatile models in the Redexim Verti-Drain® range. Small enough to suit smaller chassis tractors, but weighty enough to handle compacted ground, it is available with a range of tine options to suit all sports turf applications and maintenance tasks throughout the calendar.

“Of course we’re all noticing the differences between the two machines. This one is smoother, with much less vibration during operation, and it’s all really user-friendly – adjustments to speed and depth are nice and straight forward.” Andy adds, “With the Verti-Drain® you know what you’re going to get and that’s reliability, which is going to be critical as we continue to undertake more aeration work around the course over the next few years.”

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