Tag Archive for: golf

Toro Praised At Stirling Golf Club

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Toro Praised At Stirling Golf Club: Lying on a tilted slab of ancient volcanic lava in front of the historic Stirling Castle is Stirling Golf Club, one of Scotland’s oldest golf clubs, which is preparing for its 150th anniversary with a helping hand from Toro and its distributor Reesink Turfcare.

All eyes are on the club in central Scotland, whose golfing credentials actually stretch back to 1505 when golfing activity involving Monarch King James was first recorded, as it prepares for its anniversary. But with a carefully constructed Toro fleet the pressure to keep the course up to standard is under control, says course manager, James Lindsay.

Toro Praised At Stirling Golf Club

“It’s an exciting time and everyone is looking forward to it, but it does mean there are a lot of people expecting great things; 150 years is a big deal after all! We’ve been completely redoing the bunkers for the anniversary, working with renowned course architect Howard Swan of Swan Golf Designs repositioning, reshaping and draining them all, which will be finished in time for the celebrations, so members can enjoy a newly refreshed course. It’s important for us to be able to provide the best, especially as there’ll be a full calendar of events over the year with members and dignitaries invited.”

Maintaining such a respected course, James knows having the best turf maintenance equipment is essential. Since his appointment six years ago, he has continually updated the machines at the club and it now boasts a 100 percent Toro fleet.

“I’ve always used Toro, they’re the highest quality and most reliable, so it’s a no-brainer really. Plus, having an all Toro fleet makes it’s easier to train people, which means we can spend more time working on the course. They’re quick to cover the grounds, which saves us fuel, but the speed doesn’t stop them giving a smooth finish. Being 100 percent Toro has improved the club in lots of ways.”

He continues: “The machines themselves are really dependable, but on the rare occasion there’s been an issue it’s been fixed very quickly. It’s comforting to know that if there’s ever a problem, there’s always someone at the end of a phone who can get it sorted.”

With the fleet consisting of a Greensmaster TriFlex hybrid 3420 and two GR3250-D mowers, a Reelmaster 5610-D, RM6500-D and RM3100-D, plus a Groundsmaster 4500-D, Workman MDX-D and Procore 648, the club has built up a comprehensive collection.

“I have to say my favourite to use is the Procore 648,” says James. “Aeration is key and this machine works at a good speed and delivers a tidy finish.”

With the club busier than ever, James and the rest of the greenkeeping team are safe in the knowledge the course is in good hands with Toro – and that’s set to continue as James concludes: “We’re signed on to a five-year exclusivity agreement, I trust the products and service and know what I’m getting. I don’t see us stopping our agreement anytime soon. Toro machines keep this club at the very top of its game, and why would I change that?”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Improve Your Golf Course With Limagrain

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Improve Your Golf Course With Limagrain: Visitors to the Limagrain UK stand (140), situated in the Blue Zone at BTME 2019, can expect to see a range of market leading products that can significantly improve both the quality and aesthetics of a golf course.

The demand and pressure placed on the modern day greenkeeper to produce a consistent playing surface continually grows at a pace. Seed quality, purity and vigour are the essential ingredients of a first-class golf course and Limagrain’s MM range of seed mixture provides exactly these.

Improve Your Golf Course With Limagrain

For a number of years, greenkeepers and course managers have been reaping the benefits by choosing the MM brand. All the varieties in the MM mixtures are thoroughly tested at the Sports Turf Research Institute (STRI) – ensuring that the finished product will meet your requirements for play, appearance and maintenance.

For greens, the traditional Chewings Fescue / Browntop bent mix, MM11, remains a popular choice in many cases and can be used from spring to autumn. It is ideal for new constructions and overseeding existing swards. A slight variation of which is MM10; both mixes are fine leaved, disease resistant and make good, dense putting surfaces. Where it is difficult to maintain fescue in the sward or where levels of wear are greater, many choose to use MM9 – a three way Browntop bent mixture – in late summer/early autumn for best results. For links style courses, sustainable golf or for early season overseeding, MM8 may well be the solution – a three way fescue mix with excellent disease resistance, drought tolerance and minimal fertiliser requirements.

If you are looking for a mixture ideal for tees then the all ryegrass MM50 should be considered. It is capable of rapid establishment and fast recovery from divot scarring. For large tees where play is less intense, MM22 is a viable option. Where damage and wear are minimal, use MM12 or MM13, both are suited to ‘Links style’ courses, are drought tolerant and have low maintenance requirements.

For fairways, adaptability is the key attribute because soil conditions, light and shade, contouring and wear will vary markedly in different areas of the course. Choose low maintenance, drought tolerant mixtures with creeping varieties where wear levels are low, such as MM12 or MM13 and select ryegrass mixes, such as MM22, on high divot or intense wear areas.

Visitors to the stand can also find out how Limagrain’s Wild Flower and Colour Splash mixtures have been benefitting countless golf courses throughout the UK and beyond. The mixtures are ideal for those wanting to bring a splash of colour to their golf course as well as attracting some fantastic wildlife.

With a wide range of mixtures available, both the Wild Flower and Colour Splash mixtures are extremely easy to sow and the resulting flowers are vigorous plants which are more than capable of competing with weeds. Their vigour is equally matched by robustness; resisting long periods of drought. They are also fast flowering and cost effective.

Limagrain’s amenity seed specialists will all be on hand at BTME to discuss the products in more detail and will also be available to offer their expertise on any queries you may have.

For further information, please contact Limagrain UK on 01472 371471 or visit the company’s website www.lgseeds.co.uk/mm.

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Gripclad At Kings Hill Golf Club

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Gripclad At Kings Hill Golf Club: Kings Hill Golf Club in Kent had a problem with people slipping on wooden surfaces around the golf course and clubhouse. Old railway sleeper have been used on golf courses from the 1930s and provide an ideal material for many situations whilst maintaining a natural feel in the landscape. Many golf courses today use them either in bunkers or grassy hollows or more often than not to provide stepped access to elevated or steep sided tees. The advance of soft spikes and moulded sole golf shoes away from traditional steel spikes has led to an increase of slips on wooden steps and in the early 2000s this was becoming an increasing problem.

Having searched for many years and looked at various ideas at other golf clubs, including carpet, astro, chicken wire, tar and chips and chainsaw cut grooves, all in their various ways trying to eliminate the slip issue and presenting a trip issue or a higher than expected replacement schedule on wooden sleeper steps, a chance advertisement in a trade magazine highlighted a new product called GripClad. That was back in 2006. The club decided to obtain some samples and look at the benefits of the product more closely. Following that initial assessment a trial set of steps were chosen and the product installed. Installation was easy and straight forward, GripClad arrived in pre-cut lengths and to the dimensions that had been specified, only holes had to be drilled and the cleats screwed down with a mastic to act as a cushioning agent. A set of steps could be easily completed in a couple of hours and a large set in a day, much quicker than some of the other products mentioned. In addition if a sleeper had to be replaced it was simply a case of unscrewing the cleat and replacing it onto a new sleeper.

Gripclad At Kings Hill Golf Club

“Since that first installation we have purchased GripClad every year to complete all of our wooden surfaces around the course, which includes 10 sets of very large sleeper step installations, four sets of sleeper rails around teeing areas and ancillary surfaces including service and mobility ramps and so on around the clubhouse,” said a club spokesman. “The performance of the product has been outstanding, not only did it cope with the wear and tear of traffic, it performs in all weathers and has not deteriorated in the 10 years that the initial batch has been down, it still looks as good now as it did 10 years ago. We will continue to use it around the golf course as it provides the most cost effective solution for both time and longevity. I wouldn’t hesitate to rec
ommend this product out on the golf course or around the clubhouse.”

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Golf Environment Awards Finalists Announced

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Golf Environment Awards Finalists Announced: STRI is delighted to announce the finalists for the 2019 Golf Environment Awards (GEAs), recognising golf clubs and individuals that strive to undertake environmental best practice.

Over 30 longlisted clubs were visited earlier in the year by STRI ecology consultants, Bob Taylor and Rowan Rumball, and painstakingly whittled down to 17 finalists, including one club from Switzerland.

Golf Environment Awards Finalists Announced

Four finalists have been named in three GEA categories – Conservation Greenkeeper of Year, Outstanding Environmental Project and Operation Pollinator. However, such was the competition in the Environmental Golf Course of Year category the shortlist has been increased to five finalists.

Representatives from the finalists will attend the glittering awards ceremony on 23 January at the Crown Hotel in Harrogate, during BTME week.

Golf Environment Awards judge, Rowan Rumball, said: “This is my first year managing the GEAs, and it has been a fantastic, but challenging, experience. It has been humbling and such a privilege to see first-hand all the good work golf clubs are striving to achieve.

“The range of projects has been massively diverse, and the scale is inspiring. Golf is truly leading the way when it comes to ecological and environmental commitment.”

The GEA provides the platform from which the golf industry can demonstrate environmental excellence in all its forms. This has been demonstrated by past finalists and can range from relatively simple but effective projects, to grand scale schemes.

All finalists receive free entry into the Foundation Award in Amenity Horticulture course, recognised by BASIS, as well as CPD points, and the lucky winners will be able to enjoy a European Golf & Environment Trip of a Lifetime to Portugal.

The Golf Environment Awards 2019 finalists are:

 Environmental Golf Course of the Year

Aldeburgh Golf Club
Ipswich Golf Club
Minchinhampton Golf Club
Warrington Golf Club
St Andrews Links

Conservation Greenkeeper of the Year

Les Rae – Montrose Golf Links
Phil Stain – Notts Golf Club
Mark Broughton – Aldeburgh Golf Club
Neil Sherman – Ipswich Golf Club

Outstanding Environmental Project of the Year

Wylihof Golf Club
Cotswold Hills Golf Club
Hallamshire Golf Club
Woking Golf Club

Operation Pollinator

Wylihof Golf Club
Banchory Golf Club
Wigan Golf Club
Corhampton Golf Club

The winners will be announced at the Golf Environment Awards Ceremony on Wednesday 23h January 2019, at The Crown Hotel in Harrogate. Tickets for the awards, which includes a three-course meal and drinks, go on general sale on 16 Nov. Please email enquiries@strigroup.com for further details.

STRI would like to thank all the golf clubs that entered but didn’t make the final shortlist.

A huge thank you also goes to Golf Environment Award partners and sponsors who continue to support and promote the awards year-on-year, without them the awards simply would not be possible.

The R&A, BIGGA, The Golf Club Manager, Tillers Turf, Ransomes Jacobsen, Wiedenmann, Aquatrols, Syngenta

For further details about The Golf Environment Awards please visit https://golfenvironmentawards.com/

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Reesink At John O’Gaunt Golf Club

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Reesink At John O’Gaunt Golf Club: Celebrating the signing of its third five-year exclusivity agreement with Reesink Turfcare and Toro is John O’Gaunt Golf Club.

After a ten year plan the club in Sandy in Bedfordshire has now established an ‘all red’ Toro fleet of machinery, installed Toro Lynx and dual trajectory series sprinklers on its Carthagena course and the truly innovative Infinity sprinklers on its John O’Gaunt course. And they turned to Reesink when needing aerating fountains for a new lake, for which Otterbine suited.

Reesink At John O’Gaunt Golf Club

Course manager Nigel Broadwith is the decision-maker with a plan in place and the full support of the club’s committee. He says of the signing, which will take the club’s relationship with Reesink and Toro to 15 years: “It was an easy decision to make. When you have a relationship with your machinery distributor which brings you a good product, good support and peace of mind, you don’t need to look anywhere else.”

Over the years Nigel has created a Toro fleet of machinery that brings the best results and the best value, he says: “When purchasing machinery in a five-year lease deal I try to juggle the budget to get the best value and the best productivity. People who know me, know it doesn’t matter to me how old a machine is, if it performs it’s got a place in the shed. We have brand new machines lining up next to 18-year old ones with over 4000 hours on the clock! It’s all about having a balance to ensure the best results for the best value your budget can bring.”

Mixing the old with the new is an approach Nigel says he’s able to with the reliable back-up of Reesink, Toro’s MyTurf fleet management programme which tracks maintenance, repairs and parts, and a full-time on-site mechanic: “This combination of support with a good product means that any issues are sorted out quickly and there’s little, if any, machinery downtime.

“Going with Reesink and Toro was the sensible and logical thing to do, it instils confidence in the team for the foreseeable future.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

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