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Top Dresser In The North East

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Top Dresser In The North East: Beaumont Grounds Maintenance took delivery of a GKB top dresser at the start of the season to help fulfil the needs of their many contracted sites.  Covering an area across the North East, Cumbria, Yorkshire and Humber, the family-run commercial and sports grounds maintenance business looks after a diversity of clients from schools, academies, sports clubs, councils and factories through to hotels and property management companies. In recent years the company has pushed the boundaries with expansion in the sports turf market, contracting directly for sports clubs and golf courses, providing specialist services and working with the clients’ own teams. One such venue is Gateshead International Stadium and it was to there the GKB SP230 Sandspreader was delivered.

“The GKB machine was recommended by our local dealers, Lloyd Ltd of Bishop Auckland, and we were very impressed with the service,” says Beaumont’s Managing Director, Alex Lineton, “it took less than a week from order to delivery and Tom Shinkins, GKB’s own Operations Manager, brought the top dresser to us and set it up at the stadium.” The Sandspreader can be used to distribute a variety of materials and the version ordered, the SP230 with a bunker capacity 2.3 m³ / 81 ft³ flat filled, is one of four different designs ranging from 1 m3 to 4 m3. There are several options.

Top Dresser In The North East

With the standard design, you can set the speed of the conveyer belt and the disc spreaders by means of a control unit attached to the Sandspreader. The shape and design of the sand bunker ensures an efficient operation and ensures a clear view along the machine. The sand is transported by means of a conveyer belt to a metering valve, which, optionally, is also available in a hydraulically adjustable version. The double, hydraulically powered, spreading discs are adjustable on multiple points and in this way the Sandspreader enables you to create perfect sand distribution. A touchscreen operated from the tractor cab gives complete control.  The towed version can be delivered with four pivoting balloon tyres and there is a model suitable for assembling on a turf truck.

The Beaumont machine has been fully employed throughout the season across a large number of sports venues including Northumberland University, the renowned sports university with its two sites and several pitches. “We’re very pleased with the results,” says Alex, “the GKB machine is simplicity itself, well built, easy to maintain and it does a good job. I highly recommend it.”

For more details on GKB machines visit www.gkbmachines.com  or call Tom Shinkins on 07495 883617.

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BIGGA Members To Take Part In FTMI

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BIGGA Members To Take Part In FTMI: Each year Jacobsen, a Textron Golf brand, invites 20 ambitious greenkeepers to its headquarters in Ipswich to undertake high quality education designed to help them take the next step into golf course management.

Each of the greenkeepers is a member of the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association, which has worked alongside Jacobsen to provide the education programme for 20 members every year since 2013. FTMI was born in the UK but has rapidly expanded in the years since and has been introduced in Spain, Portugal, Australia and New Zealand.

BIGGA Members To Take Part In FTMI

Across two days of intense education, high quality speakers and experienced mentors, themselves course managers and head greenkeepers, will provide candidates with a wide range of knowledge and skills that will prove invaluable as their careers progress.

BIGGA is proud to reveal the members who have been selected to take part in the 2019 edition of FTMI, to take place from Tuesday 5 to Thursday 7 March 2019.

The successful candidates for the “FTMI Class of 2018” are:

Andrew Wilson, deputy course manager, Whitecraigs Golf Club;
Ben Hunter, deputy course manager, The Richmond Golf Club;
Ben Williams, first assistant greenkeeper, Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club;
Christopher Jones, deputy course manager, St Anne’s Old Links;
Craig Berry, course supervisor, St Andrews Links Trust;
David Stewart, deputy head greenkeeper, Walmley Golf Club;
Edward Campbell, deputy course manager, Sandford Springs Golf Club;
Gareth Hunt, deputy head greenkeeper, Cricket St Thomas Golf Club;
Graeme Davidson, assistant greenkeeper, Murrayfield Golf Club;
James Bruder, deputy course manager, East Berkshire Golf Club;
James Cleaver, senior greenkeeper, The Belfry;
John Scurfield, first assistant, Morpeth Golf Club;
Luke Hine, deputy head greenkeeper, Gaudet Luce Golf Club;
Michael Hughes, deputy course manager, Scotscraig Golf Club;
Phil Worth, first assistant greenkeeper, Prestbury Golf Club;
Sam Sweetzer, assistant greenkeeper, Queenwood Golf Club;
Scott Corrigan, assistant greenkeeper, Royal Troon Golf Club;
Scott Logan, first assistant greenkeeper, Royal Bled Golf Club, Slovenia;
Simon Pyett, greenkeeper, Halesworth Golf Club;
Tim Brewster, deputy head greenkeeper, Reigate Hill Golf Club.

Jacobsen and BIGGA recognise the importance of preparing the next generation of greenkeepers to take on a management role at a golf club. FTMI has been designed to provide practical tools and guidance to help delegates pursue their career aspirations through this professional development course.

BIGGA Members To Take Part In FTMI

Karen Proctor, Director Global Marketing at Textron Golf, said: “Congratulations to all 20 delegates chosen to take part in FTMI 2019. Each year the number of applicants increases, giving us a very tough job to choose just 20!

“We are looking forward to welcoming the class of 2019 to Ipswich in March and providing a unique experience that will help the delegates on their way to achieving their career goals.”

Sami Strutt, Head of Member Development at BIGGA, said: “FTMI pushes our members out of their comfort zones. Each of the successful candidates will be at the point in their career where they are itching to take the next step in their career. But what does that mean in a practical sense and what skills do you need to learn that you may not gain in your day-to-day working life?

“FTMI provides 20 ambitious BIGGA members with the necessary skills to take that next step. Each year the education gets better and better as we find out more about what the delegates find most useful and relevant as they work towards their career goals.

“We’re delighted that so many FTMI graduates have built upon their experience and are now embarking upon careers in course management. I’m sure the same will soon be true of this year’s 20 delegates, who were all of an incredibly high standard.”

For a closer look at FTMI, check out this video on the BIGGA YouTube page: https://youtu.be/xbl8mjt1dUY

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HTS Group Invests In Toro

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HTS Group Invests In Toro: At SALTEX 2017, Toro’s LT-F3000 triple flail mower stood out from the crowd to Harlow Council-founded facilities management company, HTS Group Limited. In fact the company, which deals with grass cutting and landscape maintenance for the postcode, was so impressed it promptly invested in two machines.

As Andrew Bradley, landscapes manager at HTS Group, explains: “The LT-F3000 not only stood out with its signature Toro red, but for looking professional and robust. After making some enquiries, it was clear that it would tick all of our boxes, too.

HTS Group Invests In Toro

“Post-show, I got in touch with our local Reesink Turfcare representative, Danny Lake, who took me on a tour around the Spellbrook Toro Factory in Bishop Stortford. Seeing machines hand built before my eyes convinced me that for quality and robustness, Toro was the way to go.”

Two LT-F3000 flail mowers join HTS Group’s fleet of 19 grounds machines and replace a 12-year-old cylinder mower to maintain medium-sized open spaces across the Essex district too small for a tractor-drawn mower and too large for a rotary.

Another box ticked for Andrew is that the LT-F3000 is road legal. He says: “With most sites six miles away, and their proximity to busy roads making parking a nightmare, being able to drive our machines to jobs is a must. A bonus with Toro’s triple flail is that it has a good road speed of 15.5mph.”

And the machines are proving their worth in action too, meaning Andrew’s show instincts were well-founded: “The wet spring has made grass grow like mad, but the flail mowers are chewing through it effortlessly. This would have been too much for our cylinder mower,” he says.

“The Toros, however, make light work of the grass and even leave a beautiful striped finish to really top it all off,” Andrew concludes.

To find out more about Reesink’s groundscare range, tailored to the needs of the UK groundsman, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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New Face In The North For DLF

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New Face In The North For DLF: To support their continued investment, growth and increase in sales, DLF Seeds have announced the appointment of Alistair Eccles. Joining the amenity team as Regional Technical Sales Manager for Scotland and the North, Alistair’s new role will see him working closely with both customers and distributors, providing advice and support on the Masterline and Johnsons Sports Seed ranges.

Alistair has a wealth of industry experience in many different areas of agronomy, grass seed and turf production. He joins DLF on the back of 12 years spent at Germinal Seeds where he worked closely with a range of customers including golf courses, sports stadia and landscapers. Prior to this, Alistair spent 18 years in several roles in the crop protection industry. He is a BASIS and FACTS qualified advisor and is now looking forward to putting his expertise to good use in his new role with DLF Seeds.

New Face in the North for DLF

“Over the years I have been fortunate enough to work alongside some fantastic turf managers and I look forward to furthering acquaintances old and new, delivering technical advice and support in my new role.  DLF are continually researching and developing exciting new breeding innovations which I’m excited to be working with in the golf and sports turf sectors.”

A keen golfer himself, Alistair can often be found out on the course in his spare time.

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Pompey’s Fox In The Box

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Pompey’s Fox In The Box: It appears Portsmouth may have unearthed a new fox in the box, but it’s not a new striker that has arrived at Fratton Park.

Not that they need much help in that department as things stand anyway!

Nor is it the breakthrough of one of their academy youngsters, who’ll set the world alight with his youthful exuberance and a disregard for reputations, leaving even the most experienced of defenders running scared.

Unfortunately, it’s the discovery of a danger of a different kind that will have the club’s groundsman feeling nervous. Fratton Park has always had problems with foxes.

And it appears the latest batch of unwanted residents at PO4 have taken their residency to a new level.

As Pompey prepare to play host to Wycombe on Saturday, the ground staff at Fratton Park arrived at work on Thursday to discover some interesting chunks had been taken out of the playing surface.

That will leave the groundsman ‘holed up’ all day in a race against time to repair the damage ahead of the visit of the Chairboys.

And he’ll have to come up with a cunning plan so that he’s not outfoxed in the future!

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