Tag Archive for: Impresses

Praxys impresses at the Royal Birkdale

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Praxys impresses at the Royal Birkdale: Chris Whittle, Course Manager at the Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, claims that Praxys, ICL’s high performance, highly concentrated systemic selective herbicide, plays an integral role in his weed control programme.

Royal Birkdale hardly needs any introduction – it is after all one of the finest courses in England and has held more Championship and International events since World War 2 than any other course in the world including Open Championships, Ryder Cups, Women’s British Opens, Senior Opens, Amateur Championships, Walker Cups and Curtis Cups.

Praxys impresses at the Royal Birkdale

Praxys impresses at the Royal Birkdale

Chris has overseen many of these prestigious events having been at the club for an impressive 26 years. He currently oversees a team of ten members of staff who all work hard to maintain this truly prestigious course.

When it comes to weed control, Chris has reported highly encouraging results from using ICL’s Praxys for the past five years, after it was initially recommended to him from ICL distributor Aitkens.

Praxys, renowned for killing the toughest of weeds, possesses a number of benefits. Featuring systemic uptake right down to the roots with no regrowth, this fast-acting weedkiller allows rapid entry and is rainfast within just one hour. It also has the lowest dosage rates and water volume of any selective herbicide available.

It combines the three most powerful active ingredients on the market, Florasulam, Fluroxypyr and Clopyralid, to wipe out weeds on golf courses, sports and amenity turf and lawns in one application.

Praxys was developed to target common weeds like daisy and dandelion and it completely kills more problematic ones such as Self-heal, Ribwort Plantain and Spear Thistle

The extremely low dose rate, from one litre per hectare, is flexible depending on the weed spectrum to be controlled. Low dose means less packaging and less waste and because only one application is required, it also makes Praxys one of the most cost-effective options available.

Chris usually applies Praxys in June each year and believes it is an essential product in his weed management programme.

“We predominately apply Praxys to our tees and fairways and it has been really impressive,” he said. “We’ll never totally eradicate difficult weeds, because new weeds keep coming through each year. However, Praxys works well in our integrated approach towards managing them and with its low water volume coupled with its low impact on the environment it makes for a great product for us to use”

“After applying Praxys, you can see initial dieback of the weeds within days and then you notice further results a couple of weeks later on the more troublesome ones such as greater plantains.”

Please contact ICL on 01473 237100 or visit www.icl-sf.co.uk or www.icl-sf.ie if you are in Ireland.

For more news and insightful views, you can follow ICL on Twitter @ICL_Turf

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Rink DS800 impresses in Arbroath

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Rink DS800 impresses in Arbroath: A Rink DS800 from Charterhouse Turf Machinery has dramatically improved the efficiency and results of topdressing the 18 greens at Arbroath Golf Links.

A task that used to take the team approximately 24 man-hours can now be completed by Head Greenkeeper Alistair Wylie in just six, since the club took delivery of the disc spreader in early summer 2019.

Rink DS800 impresses in Arbroath

Rink DS800 impresses in Arbroath

“We were previously using a drop dresser which had given us 20 years of loyal service, but an upgrade was needed to make the process of topdressing less labour intensive” explains Alistair, who heads up a team of three greens staff. “Dressing all 18 greens would take the team a whole day to complete so when it came to looking for a new machine, I was clear that we needed a disc spreader to cover wider areas, more evenly and in less time.” On dealer recommendation Alistair looked into the Rink DS800 trailed model and was confident, without even having a working demonstration, that it was the one for the job.

50 tonnes of sand was applied to the greens in two operations last year, the first shortly after delivery and another in October. “Any initial concerns we had about the DS800 moving and turning on its four wheels quickly faded away – it doesn’t mark the surface at all and because it’s so simple to adjust the spreading thickness, we can conduct light dressings and leave barely any trace that any work has taken place. It has certainly reduced complaints from the members which is another positive!”

With a 0.8m3 hopper capacity, the DS800 model offers variable spreading widths of between 2m and 12m, and at thicknesses of 0.5 to 15mm. Alistair adds, “It was evident from the very first green that we’d made the right choice – this used to take 27 passes to adequately cover with the drop dresser and with the Rink, it took us just three! The labour savings we’re achieving frees up the rest of my team to carry out other tasks which is crucial when you’re looking after a large course with a small team.”

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FCC Environment impresses with Toro

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FCC Environment impresses with Toro: For several years Toro machinery has been helping FCC Environment’s grounds maintenance department achieve excellent results for its clients, which is why it continues to invest in Toro.

Richard Moss, FCC Environment’s grounds foreman, explains: “We have several clients we work with on a range of projects and across all types of surfaces, from parks and public sports grounds, to highway verges. So it’s very important for us to have reliable machinery that helps us achieve results that keep our clients happy.”

FCC Environment impresses with Toro

FCC Environment impresses with Toro

Making up the bulk of FCC Environment’s maintenance fleet are three LT3340 heavy-duty triple mowers and a T4240 high-output cylinder mower which were purchased four years ago, and most recently a LT-F3000 triple flail mower.

“The T4240 and LT3340 mowers we’ve had for four years and we invested in a LT-F3000 triple flail mower last year,” Richard tells us. “We needed another machine to help with an increase in our workload and it wasn’t really a question that we would look to Toro again and it’s certainly a decision that has paid off! Not only has the LT-F3000 really impressed me thanks to its versatility coping with both long and short grass, leaving an excellent finish every time, but also, despite the wet weather at the start of the year, all the Toro machines have still seen excellent results and really impressed our clients.”

The 21-person-strong grounds team at FCC Environment are out in force every day using Toro machines during peak season, which is why reliable machinery and excellent after sales service make up the vital combination that Richard looks for in a machinery partner, something that together Toro and UK distributor Reesink Turfcare provide.

“We have such a full on schedule that the biggest problem we could face would be machinery downtime,” says Richard. “If our machines were constantly breaking down or it took too long to order parts in for repairs, it would be disastrous. Good reliability is why our frontline grass cutting machines are all Toro. We’ve seen this in action with our T4240 and LT3340, and despite being in use nearly every day for four years, our machinery downtime has stayed at an absolute minimum.

“Not only are Toro machines incredibly reliable, but the after sales service from Reesink is excellent,” Richard concludes.

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GKB Vstrong impresses again

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GKB Vstrong impresses again: Based in Woolpit, Suffolk and with over 35 years of experience and knowledge, Parkers Pitches added a GKB Vstrong to their range of robust and dynamic machinery, through GKB’s distributor Ernest Doe.

Parkers Pitches have a passion for sports pitches and knew the perfect partner to support their passion was the GKB Vstrong. The sports turf management company, run by hands-on Owner Will Parker, have been impressed with the performance of the machine so far, stating: “We pushed the machine very hard this Autumn renovation season with over 40 cricket square scarified in 3 directions.“

GKB Vstrong impresses again

The beating heart of the machine is the CombiRotor, with its generically developed 3mm carbide scarifying blades. “The heavy duty nature of this machine has meant this year we have managed to scarify deeper and with closer blade spacings than in previous years, due to this we have seen great results with superb germination and coverage at all pitches renovated” Will adds. Thanks to the blades being rigidly attached to the rotor, the GKB Vstrong allows you to easily attain an operating depth of 5cm, not to mention it has a working speed of up to 10 kph.

Always completing high-quality work to improve and maintain surfaces and pitches the GKB Vstrong was a perfect match. Will explains “With the great results seen from a machine that is faster and cleaner than any we have previously used, we are in no doubt the Vstrong is the best machine on the market for cricket renovations and many other tasks.”

By scarifying and letting the material fly when you collect afterwards with a vacuum or a cut and collect mower, you are collecting less material. This leaves the soil behind and just takes the green waste off the top.

GKB Vstrong impresses again

Parkers Pitches Vstrong features an optional collection box. This is specially designed for work on golf green and cricket squares.

For more on GKB Machines and their reliable and robust range of machinery for natural, hybrid and synthetic turf, please visit www.gkbmachines.com or contact Tom Shinkins on 07495 883617.

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Hunter I-80 impresses at London Stadium

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Hunter I-80 impresses at London Stadium: James Williams, Head Groundsman at the London Stadium, has praised the simplicity and efficiency of the new Hunter I-80 rotary sprinklers which were supplied by KAR UK.

Originally built to host London 2012, the Olympic Stadium, as it was formerly called, is now known as the London Stadium and is home to West Ham United FC – but that’s not all. The stadium also hosts UK athletics and concerts and has been a venue for the Rugby World Cup, The Race of Champions, Major League Baseball and the RFL Four Nations.

Hunter I-80 impresses at London Stadium

James, who started in the industry as an apprentice at Swansea FC, is now the man responsible for overseeing the maintenance of the pitch at arguably one of the most iconic stadia in the UK.

With a team of five, the young groundsman does a stellar job in keeping the pitch in immaculate condition despite the heavy usage but, ever the perfectionist, James is continuously looking at improvements he can make to raise the bar even higher. Therefore, when he felt that he wasn’t getting the best out of the previous irrigation system, he knew that it was time for a change.

James looked to see what was available on the market and it wasn’t long before a meeting with KAR UK was arranged. KAR is the UK’s leading wholesaler of irrigation equipment, and after admitting that he was hugely impressed with everything the company showed him, James’ attentions soon turned to a new Hunter Industries irrigation system which included the most technologically advanced commercial rotor on the market – the all-new I-80.

Engineered for sports turf, the I-80 is built with a robust, dirt-tolerant gear drive that offers the highest torque output of any rotor in the commercial sphere, and extends a radius range from 11.3 to 29.6 meters. The I-80 features a wide range of highly efficient, dual-trajectory, wind-fighting nozzles for highly efficient performance in a range of applications. It also provides total top serviceability (TTS) via its integrated, surface-mounted snap-ring for no-dig easy maintenance – something which James is particularly impressed with.

“It is just so simple – you can take off the turf caps and grow them in in a shed or under a light and then you can just put them straight back on. Even cleaning them is so much easier because you just whip them out like a normal sprinkler instead of having to dig them all out every time.”

James had eight I-80 rotors installed in the pitch and his system is further complimented by the ACC2 controller which is ideal for delivering advanced water management to meet the demands of large-scale commercial projects and the Roam remote – which eliminates the need to go back and forth to the sprinkler controller.

“This new Hunter system is so modern and advanced and the remote is brilliant,” he continued. “In the click of a button you can change the times of the sprinklers, so for instance, on a match-day we can water at half time as and when required.

“The ACC2 controller is also easy to use and that is what I wanted. I didn’t want it to be too technical because I want all of my staff to be able to use it as well as myself.”

James reported that the manager and players are pleased with the new system and he went further in explaining how he uses it in the run up to match-days.

“Obviously a lot of it is dependent on weather, but we tend to give the pitch around 8mm of water on a Thursday or a Friday to prepare the surface for a game. We will then give it a top up before kick-off and then again at half-time if it is required.

“I see it similar to the way you would build a sandcastle. If you use wet sand to build a sandcastle then it will hold it all together and you’ll have a good castle. If you use dry sand then it will just all fall out. It’s exactly the same with a football pitch – keep it wet and it will stay nice and firm and hold together.”

Hunter Industries is distributed in the UK by KAR UK. For more information, please visit www.karuk.com or www.hunterindustries.com.

You can also follow KAR UK on Twitter @KARUK_LTD for much more news, reviews and insightful views.

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