Tag Archive for: Made

Turf management made easy

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Turf management made easy: Turfco built the first mechanised topdresser in 1961 and continues as the first choice of professional turf managers worldwide. Turfco designs and manufactures products that help do jobs more efficiently and effectively in topdressing, seeding, debris blowing, application and renovation. We work with you, and deliver the equipment and services you need to be successful.

We’re driven by a passion for improving the health and playability of your turf, and this unwavering commitment has yielded a continuous series of breakthroughs; that’s quality innovations rewarded by 16 patents.

Turf management made easy

Turf management made easy

In the UK we are primarily known for our high-quality range of trailed and truck-mounted 1550 series top dressers, powerful Torrent 2 debris blowers and our TriWave overseeders. However, we also manufacture the CR-15, a combined material handler and top dresser for fairway maintenance, the Mete-R-Matic range of drop-style top dressers and pedestrian edgers and turf cutters.

To see how productivity can beautify your course, come and see us on in Hall 6 stand 608.

www.turfco.com

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Ariens joins Made in Britain community

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Ariens joins Made in Britain community: Ariens, a leader in outdoor power equipment, is delighted to announce that it’s joined Made in Britain and will now proudly adorn all petrol zero-turn mowers for the EMEAA market with the iconic Made in Britain mark.

Ariens has an illustrious history of manufacturing machinery in the United States, but, to better meet the needs of its European customers, opened its first zero-turn production line at its UK plant over three years ago. This huge milestone means Ariens is able to manufacture its complete petrol zero-turn line-up of EDGE, IKON XD, APEX and ZENITH mowers – for the EMEAA market in Oxfordshire.

Ariens joins Made in Britain community

Ariens joins Made in Britain community

Made in Britain brings together the best of British manufacturing and only accredited organisations that meet its high standards can use its mark. There is also a growing awareness among consumers of the importance of buying local as recent Covid-19 and Brexit issues have caused supply chain concerns and impacted the quality of imported goods.

Darren Spencer, VP of EMEAA is proud to be part of Made in Britain, “Although we find ourselves in uncertain times, both here and abroad, investing in manufacturing in the UK is critical to ensuring our EMEAA customers continue to receive the quality machinery they expect from Ariens. Being able to brand all of our petrol zero-turn mowers with the Made in Britain mark shows them just that.”

For more information on Ariens and Made in Britain visit ariens.eu

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

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Turf clean-up made easy with Billy Goat

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Turf clean-up made easy with Billy Goat: With the summer months approaching, it’s important to clear turf now to prepare it for the heavy use it will endure during the season ahead. Whether it’s community fields, golf courses, residential areas or football pitches, every space will require clean-up and maintenance to get it looking and feeling its best.

Billy Goat has designed and manufactured a range of property clean-up products for all types, including residential, commercial or municipal requirements. Billy Goat understands the importance of keeping spaces tidy and its range of tools make sure that maintenance is simple and hassle free.

Turf clean-up made easy with Billy Goat

Turf clean-up made easy with Billy Goat

Remove loose debris

As the growing season begins, turf benefits from being exposed to sunlight as this will encourage strong and effective growth. A layer of debris over grass can cause stunted growth and due to the dark, damp environment debris creates, it is also at risk of encouraging various diseases. So, clearing away debris will not only help reduce damage to grass but it will also allow vital nutrients, air and water in so it can remain healthy and vibrant for summer.

Billy Goat offers a wide range of powerful and robust debris loaders and vaccums that effortlessly remove all types of debris from turf and the DL1302H Debris Loader offers the perfect combination of power and size. With 2,100 cfm of commercial suction and a discharge chute, high productivity leaf and debris removal across small and midsize jobs and crews is made effortless. Plus, with a dual shredding 14.5” diameter armor plate impeller with a Piranha™ blade that reduces debris up to 12.1 and allows you to load up across multiple properties before dispensing, time and effort is reduced.

For both lawn and hard surface areas, the MV601 multi-surface vacuum offers the perfect machine for larger clean-up projects, thanks to its Braggs & Stratton electric easy start engine, self-propelled and 3-speed vacuum. Plus, its powerful 6-blade serrated impeller encourages maximum suction, picking up leaves, grass clippings, litter and other debris quickly and efficiently, making mass clean-up easy.

The MV601 has also been manufactured using abrasion-resistant composite housing components, offering a lightweight model that won’t rust or dent so it can be used year after year.

Scarify to remove thatch

Whilst removing loose debris from on top of turf is vital in preparing it for the summer months, it’s also important to make sure that thatch, moss and any other unwanted growth is removed from turf to ensure strong, healthy growth.

Scarifying is an effective way of removing thatch from turf and can be done around March and April time, when grass starts to grow and can recover quickly. Billy Goat has a versatile range of scarifiers that takes the backache out of turf maintenance. Its CR550H Power Rake is just one example of its impressive products that efficiently removes matted thatch from small to medium sized lawns, thanks to its rugged design and powerful Honda engine. The model is also self-propelled and can be fitted with a spring tine reel, so even thatch in hard to reach places can be removed, leaving every inch of lawn looking like new.

Undertaking clean-up projects now will help to keep turf looking lush throughout the summer, and Billy Goat provides the tools to help clear turf of any size with ease.

Aerate lawns to life

The Billy Goat range of Plugr aerators enables grounds professionals, landscapers and contractors to be able to tackle large areas of lawn quickly and easily. Plugr aerators offer the perfect solution to promoting spring growth, improving drainage and encouraging new growth by making holes throughout the turf that breaks up compacted soil and allows air, water and nutrients to circulate through the roots. This results in healthier, stronger roots, grass and turf.

The PL1801H has an 18” working width so are ideal for smaller grounds. It also has four tines that place cores 2.75” deep and aerate 22,000 square feet per hour. They have an easy-folding handle that allows for compact use, transportation and storage, and its lightweight design allows for ease in manoeuvrability. For those seeking a more productive, cost-efficient way of aerating larger areas, the 25 Series is best. It offers the best combination of productivity, comfort and results, whilst boasting intuitive controls, and variable speed fingertip hydro-drive innovation.

The PL2501SPV is powered by a Briggs & Stratton Vanguard 203cc engine and is best suited for more intense usage and larger areas. The models have a 25” working width and eight reciprocating cam driven tines that punch to core depths of 2.75”, delivering aeration to up to 42,500 square feet per hour.

Billy Goat products are available nationwide through Henton & Chattell’s dealer network. For more information and to see videos demonstrating their performance visit www.billygoat.co.uk.

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

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The men who made it happen

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The men who made it happen: When Malcolm Campbell struck the official first drive to open Dumbarnie Links in early summer it was a proud moment and one that he sometimes felt he wouldn’t be around to see.

Malcolm, a respected golf writer, who had the dubious pleasure of being my boss in the mid 80s, had been the driving force behind the golf course and the man who had experienced first-hand the highs and lows of turning a dream into reality.

The men who made it happen

The men who made it happen

“We moved to Lower Largo in 1993 and had a disused railway line at the bottom of the garden. One day we walked about a mile along it towards Elie and I came across land that I thought was just waiting to have a golf course built on it. It was all fescue bent on pure sand and you could see where sheep had dug out what could have been old fashioned bunkers,” recalled Malcolm.

In many ways, however, having identified the land for a potentially world class golf course was the easy bit. Who owned the land? Could they be persuaded to turn it over to a golf course? Who would invest the type of money required to build such a course? Would it get through planning? Will the various pressure groups be appeased? Who could design a golf course to fulfil the potential of the land?

That last question was the only one with a straight-forward answer.

Malcolm had long been friends with Clive Clark, the former Ryder Cup player, BBC commentator and award winning golf course architect.

“I visit Clive every year at his home in Palm Springs, California and one evening we were sitting having a gin and tonic and I started telling him about this piece of land. I told him that he’d make a great job of it but that we’d need to find a developer, investors and convince the owner,” explained Malcolm, who had by this stage found out that Lord Balniel, the owner of Balcarnes Estate, was the man who would need to be persuaded.

One might have thought that dangling the carrot of a new Fife links course in front of potential investors would have drawn quite a crowd but Malcolm and Clive found it harder than they had hoped and the initial investor actually pulled out when the project was well into the planning process.

“It then took another year for Clive to put together another group of private investors and we had to start the planning process again from the very beginning.”

Having been persuaded that his land would make a world class golf course, Lord Balniel was on board, even agreeing to free up more land when Malcolm showed him what moving the original site up to some higher ground could offer.

“It was a huge site and from the escarpment the views were incredible stretching all the way from Elie across the Firth to Edinburgh. When I visited it with Lord Balniel he said we could take what we needed. So I went back to Clive and we reappraised the plans and he did a fantastic job on the newly agreed land, with 13 holes looking out to sea and only two holes, the 7th and 17th playing uphill,” explained Malcolm, who had ladled more pressure on his old friend by saying that it needed to be a course ranked in the world’s top 100.

“There was no use just building another golf course. It needs to be ranked in the top 100 to tap into the American market and, let’s face it, if you are going to build a links golf course near St Andrews it would have to be in the top 100 worldwide.”

But judging by the now completed and opened course, neither Malcolm nor Clive need worry. It is stunning and there is one other course somewhere out there, which is going to drop out of that elite listing.

Due to Covid, Clive couldn’t make it over to the grand opening so it was left to Malcolm to play the opening shot but while he was disappointed not to have his old friend there doing the honours Malcolm revealed that they had played many rounds the previous summer, with only minor tweaks being made by Clive along the way.

Malcolm can rest happy that golf course he “discovered” is now being shared by golfers and will be for as long as golf continues to be played.

Woodland Management made easier for Wildernesse GC

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Woodland Management made easier for Wildernesse GC: A CM220TMP woodchipper from GreenMech has transformed the woodland management programme for Wildernesse Golf Club.

The heavily tree-lined woodland/parkland course in Sevenoaks, Kent, requires year-round thinning, pruning and felling. The new 9” machine has significantly improved the productivity for Course Manager Mark Todd and his team.

Woodland Management made easier for Wildernesse GC

Woodland Management made easier for Wildernesse GC

With classified ancient woodland, Chance Wood, at the very heart of the course, the scale of the task at hand led Mark to look for an upgrade to their existing machinery at the end of 2019. “I spoke with our local dealer Burden Bros who suggested we upgrade from a 6” to a 9” machine and demonstrated the GreenMech CM220TMP. You could see straight away how it was going to be so much more effective at dealing with the large quantities of material we have to process.”

The course woodland predominantly consists of beech, birch and oak, however it’s the holly in the understory of the canopy that causes a real issue. “Some areas are smothered in it and the awkwardly shaped branches used to be really difficult to get into our old chipper unless you spent time snedding all the branches off. The CM220TMP’s large hopper means we can take down holly trees up to 20-foot-tall and get them straight into the chipper – reducing handling and stopping backlogs. Thinning this out improves not only the aesthetic and playability qualities, it also allows extra air and light to get down to the playing surfaces.”

“Being tractor mounted means we can take the chipper wherever it is needed, with the chip we produce dispersed in the woodland, used in some of the decorative beds or given to the members for use in their gardens. One of the really great things is GreenMech’s round disc blade chipping technology. Not only does it process more efficiently but when they blunt you simply turn them to the next sharp edge which means that, compared to traditional straight blades, you get three times the life out of each set.”

Mark was also thankful for having the chipper at their disposal during the recent storms, where the course experienced strong winds and fallen trees. “The chipper disposed of these without a problem” Mark explains. “While it comes into its own over the winter months, we have projects to work on throughout the year and with the CM220TMP, these have now become much easier.”

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

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