Tag Archive for: golf

Golf Club Feels The Heat

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Golf Club Feels The Heat: The impact of the UK’s current heatwave can be seen at Oxford Golf Club.

Just a month ago Oxfordshire’s oldest golf course resembled a lush green oasis, but after the driest June on record, the fairways have frazzled.

Now the most verdant parts of the course on Hill Top Road, Headington, are the greens and tees, which are watered via an irrigation system.

Doug MacGregor, the club’s head greenkeeper, said: “I’ve been a greenkeeper for 25 years in Oxford and Scotland and these are some of the most extreme weather conditions I’ve experienced.”

Meanwhile in Oxford University Parks, walkers are likely to have blamed falling water levels in the pond on the scorching weather.

It is thought hundreds of fish died last week after levels plummeted rapidly, but the water loss was not the result of evaporation – the university suspects river gates on the Cherwell were opened to increase depth of water downstream, without realising the implications.

Golf club worker Mr MacGregor took a photo of the course one month ago and again this week from the 10th hole, to demonstrate the impact the weather can have.

The experienced greenkeeper and his team of five are working to keep the course in good shape amid sizzling temperatures of up to 30 degrees C, with the hot spell set to continue this week.

Mr MacGregor added: “We had a tough winter but came through it and then had a very wet period and a lot of grass growth before the heatwave.

“The course has looked magnificent in recent months and now the weather has changed the fairways and rough have really struggled to maintain moisture levels.

“This, coupled with the lack of a mains irrigation system at the club, has meant that they have suffered in terms of grass density and colour but they are still playable.

“The weather has a massive impact on the course and we have to adapt daily -we live by weather reports.”

The team’s day starts at 6am with an analysis of data from the club’s weather station.

The information informs them which areas of the course have lost moisture and enables them to establish where to focus their efforts.

“With the heatwave we have adjusted our tactics significantly,” said Doug.

“We also have a high-tech moisture meter which we use by hand to take readings on different spots of the greens.

“Wind is a big factor and different parts of the green will need more water than others.

“The readings enable us to focus on areas which require attention and apply the necessary levels of water accordingly.

“The soil is very warm and dry, and we continually aerate it. We have reduced the amount of grass cutting we do.

“I love looking after the course and it’s great when people comment on the quality.”

Met Office forecasters said today’s temperatures would be cooler than yesterday.

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More Than Washing Golf Machinery

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More Than Washing Golf Machinery: Fineturf, founded in 1995 by Simon Hutton, specialise in the construction, installation and maintenance of sports turf surfaces. The company started life providing deep tine aeration and top-dressing services to local golf courses, football and cricket clubs and went on to turf production in 1997. Since then, Fineturf has expanded and the company under Simon’s stewardship, has become established in the fine turf sector along with a good reputation.

Clients include football and rugby clubs, golf courses, bowling clubs, tennis clubs, racecourses and cricket grounds. Services offered include sports pitch and golf course construction, maintenance, drainage and irrigation along with bulk earthworks and contract spraying. Other companies in the group include Tillers Turf, a leading grower of golf, landscape and wildflower turf, throughout the UK and Europe and Fineturf Machinery, who specialise in the sale of new and used groundcare machinery and is a Toro dealer in Lincolnshire and North Nottinghamshire.

More Than Washing Golf Machinery

Simon Hutton, ever aware of current trends and developments in the sector Fineturf operate in, is keen to stay abreast. One such matter of concern was to ensure that, especially with the growing volume of plant and machinery requiring cleaning, compliance with legislative requirements relating to washpads was met. Simon believed that an efficient and effective recycling system was the answer. Having carried out some research on the subject and seen a system in operation locally at Sleaford golf club, Simon visited the ClearWater stand at BTME last year and was most impressed with the latest washpad water recycling system, its unique benefits and competitive price.

Simon was particularly interested to learn that a “self-install” option was available but explained that the site was not so straightforward. Not seen as an issue, ClearWater offered a free site inspection and this was carried out soon after the show. It was immediately clear that a ClearWater system could be easily installed and in the preferred location adjacent to the maintenance workshop. ClearWater provided a detailed plan and quotation and the order was placed.

The system was delivered and, with Jim Coleman acting as project manager, Simon Thorpe and the groundwork team carried out the installation following the detailed installation instructions provided by ClearWater. “It really was easy to do” said Simon.

More Than Washing Golf Machinery

To make the installation as unobtrusive as possible, the below ground system tank was installed behind the workshop and, with the washpad screened from view by specially designed splash-backs, very little is evident as our pictures show!

The ClearWater system is certainly well utilised and washes not only machines used on their own golf course, but also customers machines being serviced, Fineturf’s work vehicles and their own course construction and maintenance machines. Michael Baxter, Head Mechanic uses and looks after the system which includes dosing the system with micro-organisms. He is most impressed with ClearWater’s performance and said; “It’s certainly made life easy. It is so close to the workshop and there’s more than enough water pressure!” One machine, in for maintenance when ClearWater’s post-installation visit was made, was a GKB Combinator (a multifunctional fraise mowing machine), recently back from a job at a Premiership football club. Michael enthused; “This was caked in 2 – 3inches of mud and ClearWater blasts it of; better than a jet wash!” Compliments indeed.

Asked about the maintenance regime, his comment was: “It’s a doddle”. He ensures that the grass trap is emptied regularly and the pad kept clear and clean. Once a week he doses the system with the ClearWater micro-organisms. These micro-organisms (specially formulated and supplied by ClearWater) ensure that any oils, grease, fuel, etc. is treated and the water cleaned for recycling.

More Than Washing Golf Machinery

A Water Technology List (WTL) officially approved ClearWater system not only provides effective wash-off but ensures futureproof legal compliance by preventing groundwater pollution. It also saves thousands of gallons of precious (and increasingly expensive!) water by recycling. An added bonus is that the cost of the project (system and installation) can be offset against taxable profits under the ECA scheme, enabling further cost savings.

Be it golf, sports facilities, public schools, heritage properties, service and machinery dealers, ClearWater offers cost effective and compliant wash-off.  ClearWater Commercial, with its dedicated rinse package, offers the same effective wash-off with a superior finish and is ideal for hi-end vehicles, motor homes, etc.

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Golf Club Looks Forward With Toro

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Golf Club Looks Forward With Toro: Rochester and Cobham Park Golf Club in North Kent, which has taken delivery of eight new Toro machines, credits Toro with leaving “satisfying” results in its wake as it looks to the future and promises to increase their Toro fleet within the next five years.

According to Danny Dalton, acting head greenkeeper, the decision to go with Toro and Reesink Turfcare was an easy one to make. From his experience of using the brand at The London Golf Club, Danny says quite simply: “if you want the best results, you get Toro”.

Golf Club Looks Forward With Toro

“Greenkeeping is a tough job, so whatever you can do to make it easier is a good thing. Toro is easy to work with and its outstanding build quality means maintenance is less time-consuming.

“But the main appeal is the quality of cut it delivers. To do your work and be able to look back at what you’ve done and feel 100 percent happy with it is so satisfying, and ultimately what we’re all in it for.”

Adding even more appeal to choosing Toro was the fact that Reesink Turfcare is an official distributor in the UK. Danny says: “Just like you choose Toro for the best results, it’s wise to choose Reesink for its customer service. We don’t have a bad word to say about the support we receive, in particular that from Richard Wood, our rep, who is excellent to deal with.”

The order, which consists of two Reelmaster 5610 machines, two Reelmaster 3100 with sidewinders, two Greensmaster 3250-D greensmowers, a ProCore 648 aerator and a Workman MDX-D is, says Danny, the start of an ongoing relationship: “The plan is we will order more Toro over the next five years, I am aiming for a ‘red shed’! Not only do we have our members to keep happy, but we have a comprehensive and varied events calendar too, and there’s no doubt Toro and Reesink are the partners we need to make sure the course presents at is consistent best.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Sentosa Golf Club Loses Its Bottle

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Sentosa Golf Club Loses Its Bottle: Sentosa Golf Club is reaffirming its commitment to the environment and its ‘Keep it Green’ agenda by announcing that it will no longer permit the use of plastic water bottles on its golf carts, instead favouring the installation of a number of water stations on course.

The reduction of its plastic footprint, which is expected to equate to 150,000 water bottles each year, is a continuation of the world Top 100 club’s pioneering efforts to drive environmental awareness and build upon already established eco-friendly agronomic and operational practices.

“Every little helps,” commented Andy Johnston, General Manager and Director of Agronomy. “We are continually monitoring every aspect of our agronomy programs and operations to ensure we are doing all we can to work in harmony with the environment. The decision to remove all plastic bottles from golf carts will allow us to considerably reduce our plastic usage and take another positive step in demonstrating what is possible if golf clubs commit to simple measures.”

Sentosa’s agronomic practice has long been considered at the forefront of the golf industry. Continual efforts have been made in developing the most sustainable methodologies and maintenance programmes, demonstrated best in the reconstruction of the New Tanjong course.

Over the course of an extensive redesign, Sentosa took a number of steps to reduce the environmental impact, including the creation of a temporary nursery to facilitate the relocation and replanting of more than 260 palm trees, the installation of six reservoirs-cum-water features to ensure self-sufficient irrigation and the re-use of concrete from old cart paths as the basis of all new paths.

“The future of the golf industry requires clubs, owners and managers to understand more about what can be done to neutralise and enhance the environment,” continued Johnston. “I hope that Sentosa serves as inspiration in this respect as we continue to find new ways to benefit the environment. From taking food wastage and working it back into the ecosystem to introducing bees into the community, there is a long list of small changes we are implementing and we hope other clubs can make that, when combined, can have a lasting and sustainable impact.”

Sentosa introduced its ‘Keep it Green’ campaign at the SMBC Singapore Open, where stars of world golf voiced their praise of Sentosa’s approach to sustainability. Further activity at the inaugural Women’s Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship and the LPGA Tour’s HSBC Women’s Champions provided opportunities for the club to promote its practice to a global audience and campaign messaging has so far been viewed by over 500,000 golfers.

The golf club is home to the renowned Serapong Course and the New Tanjong Course, and will host the 10th Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in October 2018; the culmination of a landmark year of major events.

Sentosa Golf Club lies at the heart of the Singapore golf and leisure community. Located on the famed Sentosa Island, which attracts millions of visitors each year, the club is home to the R&A’s Asia Pacific office and is the Official Headquarters of the Asian Tour.

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Jacobsen Support Golf Tournaments

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Jacobsen Support Golf Tournaments: Jacobsen® turf equipment is an Official Supplier of The 2018 Ryder Cup at Le Golf National, and is providing tournament support to the greenkeeping team throughout the competition as well as the HNA Open de France tournament taking place between 28th June – 1st July. Technical staff from the Ransomes Jacobsen facility in Ipswich, U.K. will support staff based at Ransomes Jacobsen France (RJF) in Toulouse throughout both competitions.

Jacobsen turf equipment is designed and manufactured by Textron Specialized Vehicles Inc., a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company.

Jacobsen Support Golf Tournaments

In 2016, Le Golf National signed a five-year preferred supplier agreement with Ransomes Jacobsen. The prestigious golf course, which belongs to the French Federation of Golf, has demonstrated its confidence in Ransomes Jacobsen France, which has supplied equipment to the facility since 2010.

 In addition to the course’s regular fleet of Jacobsen equipment, an additional 31 pieces of equipment have been delivered to support The Ryder Cup and HNA Open de France. The additional machinery consists of nine Eclipse 2 greens mowers, three SLF-1880 fairway mowers, three AR-3 rotary mowers, two Jacobsen Trucksters, four Smithco Lite rollers and 11 mower caddies. An additional three Eclipse 2 greens mowers will be delivered after the HNA Open de France, to assist with The Ryder Cup preparations.

Alejandro Reyes, Golf and Courses and Estate Manager at Le Golf National, said of the support provided by Jacobsen and RJF:

“Le Golf National has been in partnership with Jacobsen since 2011. The quality of machinery, the back-up support, and the product innovation are just some of the reasons we choose Jacobsen. Together, we have created a world-class golf course that will host the HNA Open de France, The 2018 Ryder Cup and the Olympics in 2024.

Jacobsen Support Golf Tournaments

“We are excited to use Jacobsen equipment during The Ryder Cup. I am confident that it will assist us in making the Albatros course absolutely spectacular for such a huge event. We are prepared for the HNA Open de France, and we will make sure that we maintain high standards all the way through until the Ryder Cup in September.”

Since opening in 1990, Le Golf National has hosted the Open de France 25 times. It consists of three courses: the Albatros, an18-hole championship course, on which the Open de France and Ryder Cup will be played; the Eagle, a second 18-hole course; and the Oiselet, a 9-hole course.

For more information, visit: www.jacobsen.com

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