Tag Archive for: Jack

ICL Appoints Jack Hetherington

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ICL Appoints Jack Hetherington: ICL has appointed Jack Hetherington as Technical Area Sales Manager for Scotland, bringing over 20 years’ experience in sports turf management, developing high-quality playing surfaces, and implementing effective turf programmes.

He began his career in 2005 as an Assistant Greenkeeper at Ponteland Golf Club, before becoming Course Manager at Alnwick Castle Golf Club in 2016. He later held Course Manager positions at Boldon Golf Club and Chester-le-Street Golf Club.

ICL Appoints Jack Hetherington

ICL Appoints Jack Hetherington

Alongside his club roles, Jack has played an active part in the wider greenkeeping community, serving as Founding Chairman of the BIGGA Young Greenkeepers Committee, BIGGA/Bernhard Delegate to the GIS, and most recently as BIGGA Northern Region Director. He has also volunteered at prestigious events such as The Open, The British Masters, and The BMW PGA Championship.

Jack says joining ICL feels like a natural next step. “When I became a course manager, I quickly realised ICL was the perfect partner for producing premium surfaces,” he said.

“Their industry-leading portfolio, commitment to sustainability and science-driven approach stood out to me from the start. I’m looking forward to working with turf managers and distributors to deliver tailored advice and programmes that enhance turf health, playability, and resource efficiency.”

Phil Collinson, Sales and Business Development Manager – UK North, said Jack’s appointment strengthens the team across the region. “He brings deep practical knowledge and experience with ICL products, which will be of real value to our customers and distributors. His professional attitude and focus on delivering expert advice stood out during recruitment. He’ll be a great fit for our team.”

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

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Alan Jack named as INFINICUT® Sales Manager

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Alan Jack named as INFINICUT® Sales Manager: INFINICUT® are pleased to announce the appointment of a new Sales Manager in the form of Alan Jack.

With over 25 years of experience within the greenkeeping and professional turf care industry, Alan is well placed to spearhead sales, service and support for customers and dealers throughout the UK and wider international network.

Alan Jack named as INFINICUT® Sales Manager

Alan Jack named as INFINICUT® Sales Manager

After completing his apprenticeship, Alan embarked on a career in greenkeeping, progressing through the ranks from Assistant Greenkeeper to Management at various courses across Scotland. This foundation set Alan up nicely for further positions in operational management within the sports turf and leisure industry. Combined with a proven track record in the sales of both amenity products and turf care machinery, Alan most recently held the role of Operations Manager at Luxury Carts Group KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) – where he was responsible for the day-to-day coordination of the sales team and distribution of premium golf equipment, including the INFINICUT® range.

Equipped with a wealth of industry knowledge and a successful track record for managing people and a large order book, Alan relishes his new role with INFINICUT® where he’ll be focussed on delivering tailored sales and support across the industry-leading INFINICUT® mower collection along with the TMSystem™ range of maintenance cassettes.

“It’s a really exciting time to be coming on board” explains Alan, “with innovation driving exciting refinements and developments across the INFINICUT® portfolio for both fine turf and sports turf. The products already have an outstanding reputation for quality and efficiency and I’m excited to build on that with the help of our dealer partners around the world.”

After joining the INFINICUT® team at the end of 2023, Alan is excited to meet customers old and new on stand 614 at BTME 2024 later this month.

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Jack Nicklaus courses benefit from Ventrac

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Jack Nicklaus courses benefit from Ventrac: London Golf Club has taken delivery of the new Ventrac 4520 all-terrain compact tractor and selection of attachments to assist in the maintenance of their two Jack Nicklaus-designed courses near Brands Hatch in Kent.

Lee Sayers is the Golf Courses and Estate Manager and heads a team of 27 full-time staff and 15 part-time including two head greenkeepers, a workshop mechanic, irrigation technician and a gardener with 21 members of the team working on the golf course.

Jack Nicklaus courses benefit from Ventrac

Jack Nicklaus courses benefit from Ventrac

“That might seem a very large team to most people, but we have 500 acres of estate including two championship golf courses to manage and large areas of woodland; it’s an intensive job”, he says.

Lee began his career in 1991 at Cottesloe Golf Club in the suburbs of Perth in Western Australia, before returning to the UK in 1994 to take the position of assistant greenkeeper at London Golf Club. Four years later he joined Hempstead Forest Golf Club near Cranbrook and in 2000 returned to London Golf Club as No. 2 to Peter Todd. In 2003 he joined Mid Kent Golf Club near Gravesend, where he spent 14 years until returning to take up his current role in 2017.

“Our members and guests expect a high level of presentation and we try to maintain a manicured ‘look’ across the entire estate, so the Ventrac was an obvious choice, he added. “I’d seen lots of ‘noise’ about Ventrac in the press and on social media together with good feedback from my peer group across the county, especially Mark Todd at the Wildernesse. We had a really good demo and that just reinforced my opinion, so we purchased the tractor unit and four attachments; the Contour deck, Tough Cut deck, Turbine Blower and Power Brush.

“The Tough Cut deck is great for maintaining the woodland margins. The out-front position of the Tough Cut deck combined with the low profile and agility of the tractor unit, means we can get in and under the trees. Without doubt, it has lifted the presentation of the course. The Contour deck does a superb job on the Nicklaus-designed bunker surrounds, where we previously used ‘Flymo’ mowers on the steep sides. This has saved numerous hours and has increased efficiency.

“We have significant woodland and spend too many hours using backpack blowers removing leaves and other debris, not just in the autumn, but all-year round. This is so time-intensive, but the Turbine blower is brilliant; we can also use it to remove debris after scarifying and even blow cores from the greens after aeration.

“Changing between the different attachments is quick and easy. There’s no three-point linkage to worry about or adjustments to make, you simply drive out of the current implement and drive into the next one. The mounting system is ingenious; it’s so quick that it encourages you to use it to its full potential.”

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Jack Fairhead wins John Deere X127 mower

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Jack Fairhead wins John Deere X127 mower: When Jack Fairhead heard he’d won a brand new John Deere X127 ride-on mower worth £3500, he couldn’t believe his luck.

With approximately half an acre of garden and lawns to maintain, Jack had previously relied on neighbours to help cut the grass and was considering what type of ride-on mower he could buy when he entered the John Deere competition in the spring.

Jack Fairhead wins John Deere X127 mower

Jack Fairhead wins John Deere X127 mower

“I’ve never won anything before, and now I’ve got one of the best mowers on the market,” said Jack. “I’m going to enjoy many seasons of mowing with my new John Deere.”

Jack will now be mowing his lawn in comfort. His John Deere X127 ride-on mower features cruise control as well as a hydrostatic transmission and side-by-side pedals which enable the operator to change direction without raising a foot. The car style dashboard also makes the mower very straightforward to operate.

The mower has been delivered by Shropshire based John Deere dealership Rea Valley Tractors. Dan Brown, RVT Gardening & Groundcare Territory Sales and Paul Roberts, RVT Workshop Manager at RVT Newport depot carried out a professional handover, showing Jack how to gain the optimum use out of the mower for his lawn. Paul also explained how the RVT service team is available to support the lawn mower for any maintenance and servicing requirements.

John Deere Territory Manager Marcus Morris added: “Mr Fairhead is clearly delighted at taking delivery of his new lawn tractor. We’re very pleased that our competition has found such a worthy winner.”

The competition involved visiting the John Deere website www.deere.co.uk and correctly answering questions about the X127 lawn tractor.

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Jack Baxter gains FACTS qualification

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Jack Baxter gains FACTS qualification: Somerset-based fertiliser company GreenBest have long been renowned not just for their technical expertise, but also the care and consideration they invest in upskilling their staff. All of the Sales and Product Managers at GreenBest come from a scientific background, and now another member of the team, Jack Baxter, has joined the ranks of FACTS Qualified Advisors at GreenBest.

Jack has been working at GreenBest (which also owns the Velvit and SmartLawn brands) for three years, having worked in various labs following his Biological Sciences degree. Working predominantly with the domestic and European markets, Jack has helped a variety of businesses find the perfect fertiliser for their needs, and in turn has seen many customers’ businesses grow in size under his care.

Jack Baxter gains FACTS qualification

Jack Baxter gains FACTS qualification

James Whittick, Sales & Marketing Director at GreenBest explained “At GreenBest we have always prided ourselves on the technical knowledge of our staff – our business is built on being able to match the needs of our customers to the right fertiliser. We believe that having the right staff and giving them the training they need to progress is what makes us so special.”

Jack Baxter added “One of the standout benefits of working at GreenBest is the investment they make in your training. I enjoy a good rapport with my customers, and like to think they trust me anyway, but having gone through the rigorous training provided by the STRI this FACTS qualification will add greater weight to my recommendations.”

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