Tag Archive for: Newquay

Newquay Golf Club welcomes John Deere GPS Sprayer

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Newquay Golf Club welcomes John Deere GPS Sprayer: A Cornish golf club has become the first in south-west England to invest in a satellite-guided John Deere sprayer to help keep its course the in the best possible condition.

Newquay Golf Club took delivery of the John Deere HD200 ProGator precision sprayer earlier this month after identifying the machine as a tool to reduce costs and enhance its environmental profile.

Newquay Golf Club welcomes John Deere GPS Sprayer

Newquay Golf Club welcomes John Deere GPS Sprayer

The state-of-the-art unit is the first of its kind to be installed in the region and was supplied by local dealer Masons Kings.

Head Greenkeeper Dan Kendle said the purchase was all about sustainability.

“We like to keep up with advancements in technology because they can make us more efficient and do things more accurately,” he said. “Sustainability is the big thing on golf courses as far as I’m concerned and the GPS functionality in the sprayer allows us to be more targeted in our applications and therefore reducing the impact on the environment.

“Over time, it will enable us to use fewer chemicals, less water and save on fuel and time which are also big plus points.”

John Deere’s GPS sprayer is at the forefront of modern golf course maintenance, promising to enhance application accuracy when applying fungicides, herbicides or nutrients to tee boxes, fairways and greens.

The HD200 ProGator is packed with advanced features including autosteer, data recording, and independent nozzle control which automatically shuts off when the sprayer boom reaches a set boundary.

These innovations ensure efficient and eco-friendly operations, enabling precise treatment applications and minimising waste by avoiding spraying non-target areas such as bunkers and hedges.

Masons Kings’ dedicated Integrating Technologies Team carried out the installation with Dan and the club’s greenkeeping staff, ensuring that the sprayer is fully operational and ready to deliver top-tier performance.

Dan added: “We are extremely grateful for the support from entire Masons Kings team which has been instrumental in bringing this revolutionary equipment to Newquay Golf Club.”

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Newquay Natives Prevail

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Newquay Natives Prevail: A bespoke wildflower mixture consisting of native Cornish flowers has helped Newquay Golf Club scoop Syngenta’s annual Operation Pollinator Award.

The aim of the Golf Environment Awards (GEAs) is to recognise, reward and promote outstanding individuals and golf courses, no matter how big or small, for the time and effort they have put into protecting and preserving their unique surroundings.

Newquay Natives Prevail

Newquay Natives Prevail

The Awards consist of four categories – Environmental Golf Course of the Year, Conservation Greenkeeper Award, Outstanding Environmental Project of the Year, and the Operation Pollinator Award.

“I was hesitant at first because I saw what some of the other amazing courses had achieved and I wasn’t sure if we stood a chance,” said Dan Kendle, Course Manager at Newquay Golf Club. “However, a few people encouraged me to enter, and we were selected in the Operation Pollinator category.

“Just being included in the list of finalists was an achievement, but to go on and win it was mind blowing. It is something I am passionate about and my background before greenkeeping was conservation so I’m always trying to combine the two.”

The Operation Pollinator Award celebrates golf clubs that consistently deliver outstanding ecological habitat creation and management to benefit pollinating insects. Amongst other ecological activities on the course, Dan also impressed the judges by introducing native wildflower areas.

“I first spoke to David Bevan at Agrovista Amenity to explain what I wanted to achieve, and it was at this point he brought in Matt Gresty (MM and Designer Sales and Brand Manager for DLF UK). I explained that I didn’t want just a standard mix of wildflowers and that I wanted flowers that are native to my site. Matt went away and put together a wonderful mix and that was one of the main reasons we won the award.”

Appropriately named the Newquay Wildflowers, the mixture contained 24 flower species including Vipers Bugloss, Yellow Rattle, Common Toadflax, Dark Mullein plus five various grass species. Dan and his team created the first area in autumn 2020, and then started rolling it out to other areas on the course.

Not only have they provided a rich, colourful, and diverse ecological habitat but they have also wowed the public and members by offering great aesthetic value.

“We’ve seen a huge increase in the numbers of different butterflies and bumblebees, and we have also been getting rare species of birds including the Cornish Chuff. I record everything on the course, and we’ve had 8 species that are on the red list. It really is wonderful to see the course so alive with wildlife.

“The feedback has been fantastic too,” continued Dan. “We have a public footpath that runs right through the course, and one of the wildflower areas is in full view. So many members of the public have been stopping to take photos, and have been asking questions, so we gladly tell them about Operation Pollinator. The members are also on-board with the project and can really see the benefits.”

The ever-modest Dan was also quick to acknowledge the support of those around him and revealed that he plans on further extending the wildflower areas.

“Winning the award still hasn’t sunk in,” he said. “It is as much for my team as it is for me – and they should be proud of themselves. David and Matt have been helpful and I’m looking forward to working more closely with them as we create more wildflower areas.

“Awards such as these are incredibly important because there is still this stigma that golf courses are sterile environments pumped full of chemicals, but that could not be further from the truth. Look around the country and you can see what golf courses are doing now – it’s amazing. I’m delighted to be a part of it.”

For further information, please contact MM Sports Seed on 01386 791102 or visit the company’s new website www.mm-seeds.co.uk. You can also follow the company on Twitter: @MM_Seed

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Newquay GC wins Operation Pollinator Award

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Newquay GC wins Operation Pollinator Award: Congratulations to Dan Kendle, Head Greenkeeper at Newquay Golf Club, for his success in winning this year’s Syngenta Operation Pollinator Award – presented at the Golf Environment Awards during BTME 2022.

Situated right on the rugged north Cornish coast and running behind the entire length of the surfing mecca, Fistral Beach, the course provides an amazing links golf experience, along with providing an immense ecological resource.

Newquay GC wins Operation Pollinator Award

Newquay GC wins Operation Pollinator Award

Over the past few years, Dan and the team at Newquay have been working hard to refine the long ecological rough areas. “It’s already paying huge dividends, with an increase in wildflower populations in areas which were cut and scarified, including yellow rattle, kidney vetch, birds-foot trefoil and pyramidal orchids,” he reported.

At the same time, he signed the Club up to Syngenta’s Operation Pollinator. “As part of that we over-seeded an area outside our maintenance building with a coastal mix of wildflowers.

“It’s created a lot of positive feedback from both club members and also members of the public. The area has been alive with insects, including several species of bumblebee, including red tailed and garden bumblebees.”

Elsewhere on the course bunkers are used by solitary bees, with sandpit mining bees and sandpit blood bees both having been recorded.

Commenting on his success in Operation Pollinator Awards, Dan said: “to find out we had won the award was amazing.

“It’s a great achievement for us and I want to thank all the team for their hard work they have put in to helping contribute to the award. Along with the members and committee of Newquay Golf Club for their continued support in everything we do.”

Syngenta Technical Manager, Sean Loakes, added: “Dan has really embodied the spirit of Operation Pollinator in continuing to manage the golf course for the benefit of the Club’s members, while at the same time managing the out of play areas and particularly the ecological rough for the benefit of pollinators and the vast biodiversity.”

Golf clubs can sign up to join Operation Pollinator and receive a wealth of resources and advice on ecological management from the Syngenta website: www.syngentaturf.co.uk/operation-pollinator

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Newquay GC welcomes Terra Float Air

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Newquay GC welcomes Terra Float Air: The unique setting of Newquay Golf Club makes it an iconic coastal landmark. With Cornwall’s glorious surfing destination, Fistral Beach as backdrop, it sits high atop the cliffs overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

For Dan Kendle, Course Manager, at the Harry Colt-designed links, summer has been as hectic as anything he can remember.

Newquay GC welcomes Terra Float Air

Newquay GC welcomes Terra Float Air

“There’s certainly not been much down time,” he admits. “It’s been mental for the last 18 months. The town has been so busy; actually, sometimes too busy, for infrastructure to cope.

“In the past, the club has never had vast numbers of groups of visiting golfers, just a steady membership made up of locals. However, tourist golfers are loving it. There have been days when there hasn’t been a single tee time available from seven in the morning through to six at night. We imposed a cut off at 7.00 pm for people as we literally can’t fit any more.”

Extra funds have meant Dan Kendle has bought a Wiedenmann Terra Float Air pneumatic seeder, delivered in September, something on his wish list for the last 6½ years since taking up post.

“We’ve never really had a proper overseeder, just a basic one. I considered two or three contenders, spoke to David Barnes at dealers, Mason Kings and narrowed it to the Wiedenmann. I chatted to other links managers who had bought the Air, including Paul Larsen at Royal St George’s. He couldn’t say enough good words about his… that was good enough for me … I had the demo and it backed up all I’d heard.”

The Terra Float Air combines three units in one. A base unit aerates and prepares a seed bed to a max depth of 30 mm by way of fine slits or spikes. Then the top-mounted pneumatic air seeder accurately distributes the seed either pre or post top dressing. Finally, a brush and roller combination gives a desired finish incorporating the materials and leaving the surface smooth. Thanks to finitely accurate electronic static calibration, quantities as low as 1.0 g / m² can be achieved.

Having had his Air less than a month, Dan, and his team of four full timers, have decided to try a few schemes to see what works best.

“In the past, we really only overseeded greens twice a year and annually some fairways.  This involved putting a blunt tine in the greens and the seeds via a broadcast spreader, but this is a different league. Going forward, we will start off overseeding greens probably every six weeks just lightly and see where that takes us. We’ll keep pushing the fescue low, maybe 4-5 grammes per square metre on greens and surrounds.  Tees will be two or three times a year while Fairways once or twice a year, up at about 8 – 10 grammes. Then we’ll review. We’ll be using Limagrain’s MM Coastal mix fescue, something also relatively new for us.

“It’s easy to get the Air on the tractor. The stored electronic memory feature is one of the brilliant details. Once you input your programme you don’t have to touch it again.

“Even before it had arrived word had got out that Air was on its way and a few nearby course managers have already asked if we will be hiring it out. We also own a Wiedenmann GXI8 HD deep aerator and the Terra Float Air are both very similar as they are totally reliable, and we can use them in every area of our course.”

David Barnes, at Mason Kings, Wiedenmann UK dealers for Cornwall, said: “The Air also has an assured performance on undulations with good forward speed and leaves a very clean surface.   The beauty of the Wiedenmann is that it respects that seed is a very precious and expensive commodity and meters it so precisely there is no wastage. These days that is a big saving and brings peace of mind to a club or a contractor. With a much busier course, Dan and team can be out in a matter of minutes when opportunity allows.”

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Toro Lynx System At Newquay GC

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Toro Lynx System At Newquay GC: Cornwall’s Newquay Golf Club, a traditional links course with traditional links irrigation issues, has opted for the Toro Lynx control system and Flex Series sprinklers to keep the course in pristine condition, and within six months the results are the talk of the county.

Head greenkeeper Dan Kendle explains: “It was time for a new system, but we also wanted to make sure we have a system which could cope with the fact that we’re an exposed links course. We’re built on sand dunes beside the Atlantic Ocean and we get a lot of wind and salt spray. I knew we needed an irrigation system capable of dealing with that.”

Toro Lynx System At Newquay GC

With the previous system failing the club, it’s easy to see why a change was needed, and Dan worked with irrigation specialists Irritech to assess the current system and design a new one. The process concluded with Full Circle Irrigation installing a Toro Lynx Central Control System with FLEX 35 and 55 Series sprinklers provided by Reesink Turfcare on the greens, surrounds and approaches last winter.

“Our old system wasn’t efficient in terms of the time it was taking and the water it was using,” comments Dan. “It was malfunctioning to the point where we couldn’t use it automatically overnight and had to water manually by hand in the day, which wasted valuable resources and time that could be otherwise spent maintaining the course. The difference since we switched to Toro is massive. We now have denser and greater grass coverage, especially across the greens. Members say they can’t believe how much better the course is now, and the buzzword is our greens are the talk of the county!”

The FLEX 35 and 55 series features a dual trajectory main nozzle with an easy adjustment to a 15 or 25 degree setting providing improved performance against harsh links conditions, which has been particularly beneficial at Newquay. Plus, the added benefit of part/full circle drive allows easy adjustment to accommodate specific watering needs which is ideal for a links course. The features of the sprinklers work alongside the Toro Lynx Control System perfectly, with the intuitive interface allowing for customisation to suit course conditions.

Newquay Golf Club has long been a Toro machinery customer, but Toro Irrigation was chosen on merit through extensive research and viewing different systems in action.  “We already had a full fleet of Toro machines, so from the start I was keen to go with Toro as it’s proved itself to be reliable and dependable. However, it was important we considered all the options before deciding and we were really thorough with the process. It’s a big investment and members needed assurance we’d done our research. We had a lot of discussions and went to see the Lynx system and another brand in action. After seeing how they operated, it was clear that the superior system was Toro’s.”

He concludes: “The whole experience with Toro and distributor Reesink has been first class from start to finish. The rep, Robert Jackson, was really helpful which made the process stress-free, and any issues were sorted really quickly. With such a difference to the course already, I’m confident the future of the course is in safe hands with Toro Irrigation.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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