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Toro lease deal is cost-effective solution

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Toro lease deal is cost-effective solution: Phoenix Sports and Leisure Club has secured a huge £200,000 worth of new Toro equipment in the club’s first ever lease deal with local dealer Cheshire Turf Machinery.

The multi-sport complex located in Rotherham houses golf courses, football pitches, bowling greens and more and when the time came to replace its existing fleet to be used across all its playing surfaces, a lease package was the most cost-effective solution.

Toro lease deal is cost-effective solution

Toro lease deal is cost-effective solution

Mark Smith, head greenkeeper, who manages a team of six, says: “Leasing is something that is new to us as a club. Until now we’ve bought outright, when we’ve needed things. This was the first time we’ve decided to just clear the cutting fleet and start again, which we’ve been able to do with the lease package. Working with Reesink ensured everything went smoothly.”

The club’s new Toro fleet consists of a Toro Reelmaster 3100, Toro Reelmaster 5010-H, Toro Greensmaster 3250, Toro Groundsmaster 4300, Toro Groundsmaster 1200 towed and a Toro ProCore 648 aerator.

Entering into a lease package was a cost-effective solution for the club, says Mark: “Normally we wouldn’t be able to replace all of the machines in one go, so you end up having equipment that is 10 years old and when you start having problems with it you have to argue your case for a new machine. With a lease package, that’s not really the case. When the lease is up, it’s accepted you replace it.”

Lease packages give clubs all the benefits of ownership without the initial capital outlay. Payments made up of capital and interest can be made quarterly, half-yearly or annually and are fixed for the full period of the agreement. Reesink makes it possible for clubs to design a tailored repayment pattern that matches its business income and expenditure cycles.

Even though this is the first time the club has gone down the route of leasing, it’s certainly not its first time using Toro. Having been at the club for over 23 years, Mark is plenty familiar with these machines.

He says: “When it came time to choose a new fleet, it was between the two big brands. The price point of the lease deal was a huge reason behind why we chose Toro, but so was the fact that we’re so familiar with the brand and everyone on the team knows how to use them so not as much training was needed, we could get them straight on the turf.

“Plus, we know the quality of the machines and that if anything does go wrong, we have the backup of Reesink,” Mark concludes. “Everyone is really happy.”

The deal was brought about through Tony Dodson from Cheshire Turf Machinery who is also a member of Phoenix Sports and Leisure Club. He says: “It’s great seeing Toro out on the course, and knowing the quality of the machines it’s a pleasure ensuring my club is in good hands.”

To discover more about Reesink’s finance packages and how Toro machinery can benefit your club and playing surfaces call 01480 226800, email info@reesinkturfcare.co.uk or visit reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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ICL’s Greenheaven tall fescue is the cultivar for Black Bears

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ICL’s Greenheaven tall fescue is the cultivar for Black Bears: Miles Properjohn, Head Groundsman at Black Bears Polo Club, has been relying on ICL’s Greenheaven cultivar in an attempt to increase the percentage of tall fescue in the one of the world’s most renowned polo pitches.

Lower Bolney Farm in Oxfordshire, home of Black Bears Polo Club, has deservedly gained a reputation for having some of the best facilities in the UK. The five polo grounds are kept in immaculate condition by a dedicated team of grounds staff. Pitch 5 in particular is the talk of the polo community and those that have been fortunate enough to play on it have declared it to be the “best field in the UK – if not the world”.

ICL’s Greenheaven tall fescue is the cultivar for Black Bears

ICL’s Greenheaven tall fescue is the cultivar for Black Bears

The grounds team is led by Head Groundsman Miles Properjohn, a long-term employee who has honed his skills at Black Bears, and he explained the reasoning behind using ICL’s Greenheaven.

“The pitch was originally sown with tall fescue, and we have since used other cultivars for a few seasons,” he said. “We are now keen to build back the percentage of tall fescue as we see its benefit in providing a hard wearing, low input, and great playing surface for polo. The polo schedule is very busy here with high goal being played and the players have incredibly high expectations of how the pitch should play.

“Whenever choosing a seed we always refer to the BSPB/STRI guide and we also do our own plot trial of any new seed to assess its germination speed and visual characteristics. Greenheaven was no exception.”

Greenheaven, from ICL, is a European-bred tall fescue which presents a midgreen compact growth habit. A fine leaf texture combined with excellent disease tolerance makes Greenheaven a very visually appealing variety.

Miles and the team sowed Greenheaven in September 2022 as part of a post season renovation: “Germination and development were very good after overseeding, and we found Greenheaven to be a finer more attractive cultivar than other versions,” he said.

“The tall fescue has been extremely hard wearing under a high level of wear from all the matches. It has a dense root structure and has great stability in the turf.”

Greenheaven also features excellent drought tolerance, something which Miles believes is essential. “When making a decision on species/cultivars, drought tolerance is of high importance. The irrigation is used to provide the correct firmness and traction for the ponies and players, so irrigation is for playability more than plant health. Irrigation is time consuming so the sward will have periods of no irrigation therefore the pitch needs to have excellent drought tolerance. In the hot/dry summers of 2018 and 2021 it was the only thing that was thriving. Water security and responsible water usage will be a factor for the future, so affects the decision-making process.”

Commenting on the use of Greenheaven at Black Bears Polo Club, ICL’s Martyn Parrish, said: “It’s been very much a collaborative effort learning from each other along the way, listening to Miles’ unique needs and requirements to produce a top polo pitch and providing the correct product advice and solutions to meet those needs.”

Please contact ICL on 01473 237100 or visit www.icl-growing solutions.uk or www.icl-growingsolutions.ie if you are in Ireland.

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

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COMPO is top of the range for bowls greens

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COMPO is top of the range for bowls greens: Ian Dickson, a bowling green contractor, believes that COMPO EXPERT products have proved to be top of range without the premium price tag.

Ian originally started his career in greenkeeping but switched to bowling green maintenance ten years ago. While admitting it is a completely ‘different animal’, Ian says he quickly got an appetite for maintaining bowls greens and has done so ever since.

COMPO is top of the range for bowls greens

COMPO is top of the range for bowls greens

He explained how he first started using COMPO EXPERT products on bowls greens.

“In my greenkeeping days I used to order a lot of products from Agrovista Amenity (the exclusive national distributor of COMPO EXPERT’S turf products in the UK) and my representative was Ramsay MacGregor. I stayed in touch with Ramsay when I switched to bowls because he is very knowledgeable, and he gives valid reasons behind using products.

Ramsay is genuinely interested in a plant’s health and his advice is key to my operations.

“Ramsay came in and looked at the bowls greens I was working on. He suggested using some COMPO EXPERT products and explained how they had been getting great results on some golf courses, so I decided to give them a try.”

COMPO EXPERT believes in sustainable, integrated turf management by focusing on modern fertilisation concepts, consistent regeneration of growth and optimal support of the plant’s own physiological processes. All of which promote vitalisation, stress tolerance and root development while providing optimum turf quality.

The innovative product range includes specialty mineral and stabilized fertilisers, slow and controlled release fertilisers, water soluble and liquid fertilisers as well as biostimulants, trace elements and soil conditioners.

The first product Ian tried from the COMPO EXPERT range was Fertilis® Speed, an NPK complex fertiliser with emphasis on nitrogen for spring and summer application to promote growth and a quick green-up.

“The green where we applied the Fertilis® had a lot of bare areas and the growth has been tremendous,” said Ian. “We applied it in May and had a full 12 weeks out of it. There has been less disease, the sward is a lot thicker, and even during a big drought period the greens performed superbly.”

Ian also maintains a sand-based green which is prone to leaching. For this green he applied Floranid® Twin Eagle K – an extra fine granulated slow-release complex fertiliser of excellent solubility.

“The nutrient levels on this green are very hard to maintain. With the Twin Eagle K, you don’t get the flush of growth in the way you would from the Fertilis®. Instead, you get an even, consistent growth. I judge the consistency of it by looking at the amount of grass cuttings I take from the mower each week. We get three boxes of cuttings three times a week and that underlines how consistent the Twin Eagle K is. Again, we get excellent results.”

Ian claims that he has been very impressed with the longevity of the products and believes that there isn’t much on the market that can beat COMPO EXPERT products in terms of performance and price.

“A lot of other fertilisers just don’t have the longevity that these do,” he said. “We were using a cheaper fertiliser in the past and I was applying twice as much product, so it ended up costing me more.

“The COMPO EXPERT products are top the range, but you don’t pay top of the range prices for them. They are very fairly priced compared to their competitors.”

For more information about Agrovista UK, visit www.agrovista.co.uk/amenity

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Reform Metrac H75 is in demand

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Reform Metrac H75 is in demand: The Blackburn based Stuart Taylor dealership has recently taken delivery of three Reform Metrac H75 bank mowers from UK Agent Simon Richard Ltd.

Tommy Taylor said, “ two of the Reforms are for Stoke City council for maintenance of banked grassed areas and a wide range of open spaces. The authority say they are impressed with both performance and operator safety”

Reform Metrac H75 is in demand

Reform Metrac H75 is in demand

Simon Richard added “ the 75hp Reform Metrac H75 has proven itself to be a year round workhorse for a wide range of groundcare tasks. Steering modes include front, rear, Crab and four wheel steer”

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ES-34R is the one for Bromsgrove School

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ES-34R is the one for Bromsgrove School: The grounds team at Bromsgrove School has chosen the Dennis ES-34R as its first ever battery-powered mower. 

Richard Hare has been the Head Groundsperson at the prestigious Bromsgrove School in Worcestershire for nearly a decade. In his time at the school Richard has overseen many changes and has produced some truly wonderful sports pitches.

ES-34R is the one for Bromsgrove School

ES-34R is the one for Bromsgrove School

Richard is embarking on another exciting chapter at Bromsgrove School as he starts to explore the world of battery-powered equipment.

“The school is committed to change and is pushing for sustainability in a massive way. As the grounds team, we are on a mission to do exactly the same,” he said. “Approximately, 99% of the gardening team’s equipment is already battery-powered and our aim as the grounds department is the same. It is slightly more difficult because the equipment is bigger, but the technology is advancing all the time.”

Richard has already taken the first steps towards replacing all his petrol mowers with electric ones, and it all started with a Dennis ES-34R rotary mower.

“I looked at a few other battery-powered mowers, but I think it was always going to be Dennis,” he said. “I’ve always been a big fan of the equipment from Dennis and SISIS. Personally, I think the two brands have the best machines on the market.

“We started by replacing our Dennis PRO 34R rotary mower for its electric equivalent – the ES-34R. I will say that I love the petrol PRO 34R’s – they are brilliant, but the ES-34R is on another level. It is by far the best mower I have ever used.”

The ES-34R is a 34″ (860mm) battery powered twin blade rotary mower using the latest lithium-ion battery technology. It is ideal for fine turf mowing and cleaning up operations in stadia and training facilities. Utilising the contra rotating hardened steel blades and low chute ensures maximum collection performance.

While allowing ground staff to achieve an aesthetically pleasing appearance and desired playing surface, the E-Series range will also help meet sustainability and environmental initiatives, minimise carbon footprint, emissions, running costs, HAV’s and noise without any range anxiety.

“For a 34-inch mower it is just incredible how easy you can manoeuvre it,” continued Richard. “With it being electric there are less things that can go wrong. We’ve never once had a maintenance issue with it, and we have used it virtually every day since we bought it. It has saved us money on maintenance costs as well.”

ES-34R is the one for Bromsgrove School

ES-34R is the one for Bromsgrove School

Richard also revealed that the ES-34R is just the start of the Dennis electric evolution as he intends on switching his other PRO 34R, and his two G860 and two FT510 cylinder mowers to their electric equivalents.

Oliver Baldi-Turner, a member of the grounds team at Bromsgrove School, provided further insight into how the Dennis ES-34R fits into the maintenance schedule.

“Predominantly, we use it on the cricket square during the summer and on the rugby pitches during the winter months. It is such a quick machine – we can cut a cricket square in both directions in 42 minutes and a rugby pitch in less than 4 hours.

“We can use the ES-34R for about 7 hours before it needs charging. It is such a quick charge too – we put it on charge while we are having lunch and by the time we are finished, it is pretty much fully charged.

“The ES-34R always provides an equally as good cut, if not a better cut, than most cylinder mowers. Also, it works like a vacuum, so it is picking all the debris up as well. It is a highly efficient mower, leaves a brilliant finish.”

For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact Dennis 01332 824 777 or visit www.dennisuk.com

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

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