Tag Archive for: North

North Berwick takes care with Toro

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North Berwick takes care with Toro: With the order of a full fleet of Toro equipment including three key all-electric mowers, North Berwick Golf Club in East Lothian, Scotland, didn’t have to choose between caring more for its putter than its puffins: now it can do both.

Near the largest puffin colony on the east coast of Britain, North Berwick Golf Club has environmental and noise pollution factors to consider highly in its machinery choices.

North Berwick takes care with Toro

North Berwick takes care with Toro

Course manager Darren MacLaughlan, who has been using and recommending the brand for the best part of 20 years, explains: “North Berwick has been a GEO certified course since 2015 and is located on some of the finest links terrain in the world. With that comes a responsibility to the site ensuring we are operating in the most sustainable manner possible.

“We are recognised as the 13th oldest golf club in the world and only at St Andrews has golf been played continuously over the same stretch of land. While it is important to preserve our rich history, we had to move forward with machinery and this has started with the introduction of both hybrid and electric technology.”

Toro has led the way in the turfcare electric machinery revolution and Darren opted for two Greensmaster eTriFlex 3370 riding greensmowers and a Greensmaster eFlex 1021 pedestrian mower.

“There are multiple reasons we opted for electric technology,” says Darren. “Our firm commitment to lower emissions in line with our GEO status and the quietness of their operation, which allows us to start work early in the morning without disturbing neighbours. Then there’s the reduction in fuel costs, which, with fuel prices as they are, is a huge consideration.

“And while we did not factor this in before the purchase, these machines have actually helped the mental health and wellbeing of our staff. Mowing the greens in the morning, without the old ear defenders, listening to the waves gently roll in from the beach and the birds fly over the bass rock is an experience no other course in the world can offer.”

Also included in the deal from distributor Reesink Scotland were two Greensmaster TriFlex Hybrid 3420, three Reelmaster 3555 lightweight fairway mowers, a Groundsmaster 3500 rotary deck mower, a Multi Pro 5800 turf sprayer and a Pro Force debris blower.

Darren continues: “We’ve received four of the thirteen machines ordered fleet due to the supply chain issues worldwide and we’re sure that when the rest of the kit arrives, we will be even better placed to produce classic links conditions.”

The branch is also providing additional support kit for The Women’s Open final qualifying event held in August at North Berwick. Darren says: “With Neil Mackenzie on the road, the support from Rab Wilson and his aftersales team and Richard Green directing operations, we have always had full confidence in Reesink.”

He concludes: “We pride ourselves in thinking out the box here at North Berwick. As a result, we have seen the course go from strength to strength in the past two years and we are proud to have Toro as a part of our firm commitment to continual improvement.

“Regularly ranked in the world’s top 50 and the UK top 10, we have high expectations to meet for our customers. That means having the best machinery and technology available on the market, and that’s undoubtedly Toro.”

To talk to someone about Toro technology and how the Toro range could suit your course, call 01480 226800.

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North and south for Corvus 4×4

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North and south for Corvus 4×4: The dealer network for Corvus Terrain 4×4 utility vehicles has expanded further with the appointment of B&B Tractors and Kirkland UK. BOSS off-road vehicles, the sole UK distributor for Corvus, made the announcement saying the two dealerships are a natural fit in their drive to establish a seamless network of specialist dealers throughout the UK.

B& B Tractors is a family owned and managed business with four depots covering Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Warwickshire. The business has rapidly expanded since being established in 1991 when Massey Ferguson approached Bowring Transport owners Chris and David Boring about taking on the franchise, originally to cover the Nottingham area and parts of North Derbyshire. Since then, they have grown to represent a wide range of industry leading names, with rapid expansion into the territories they cover today. The Head Office at the Warsop site alone has grown to 30 acres with 150 employees.

North and south for Corvus 4x4

North and south for Corvus 4×4

“We wanted to work with B&B Tractors because of their delivery of the highest levels of customer care to their agricultural, municipal and industrial customers,” says Phil Everett, BOSS ORV’s Managing Director. “Not only can they represent the Corvus Terrain range to those sectors, they can also provide the highest levels of service and support that go hand in hand with being Corvus dealers, as they have shown with the other brands offered by the business.”

The story for Kirkland UK began in the late 1800s when partner Scott Worsley’s great, great, great grandfather set up Worsley Carriage Builders in Kent, building carriages for farming, fruit growing and vineyards. The Kirkland brand began in 2005 as a range of specialist machinery, becoming a company in its own right and growing to become one of the country’s leading suppliers of specialist equipment for vineyard and fruit orchard management. With the appointment as Corvus dealers, Scott is excited to bring the brand to the South-East.

“We found CORVUS UTV’s to be the perfect addition to our range of machinery solutions for our customers. These popular UTV’s are ideal 4×4 vehicles thanks to their powerful, robust design with generous storage and load capacity making them high performers in any weather condition, which is exactly what the South-East needs!”

Phil Everett says, “we had been looking for a partner for Corvus in the South East of England and after talking to Scott for five minutes, it was obvious that Kirkland UK would be a natural fit with us. We share the same passion for success and rapid growth and an impatience to achieve. They are an extremely customer focused organisation and hungry to grow the business and explore diverse opportunities to achieve this. Together with their already very well established customer base in the region it was a very easy decision to partner with them for this area.”

For more information about the Corvus Terrain range, you can call 01597 810188, E-mail: sales@bossorv.co.uk or visit www.bossorv.co.uk

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Toro Lynx At Blackpool North Shore

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Toro Lynx At Blackpool North Shore: Stage one of the irrigation refit at Blackpool North Shore Golf Club is complete with the successful – and quick – installation of a Toro Lynx central control system.

Toro and Reesink Turfcare, an official UK supplier of Toro, have long advocated innovation through renovation in its irrigation strategy, but more often than not customers have a sprinkler upgrade rather than the integration of a central control system.

Toro Lynx At Blackpool North Shore

Blackpool North Shore provides a classic example of how, when it comes to renovation with Toro, it doesn’t matter which part of the system needs replacing success is sure to follow.

Course manager Andy Moore says: “There was no question about it, Blackpool North Shore needed a new central control system. Ours was 13 years old and left unsupported by a brand which had subsequently left the sector. The main issues we had to rectify were getting the control system talking to the sprinklers again and improving operation.

“In recent years, things were held together by hand-watering and returning to the course out of hours and late at night to apply water. Obviously, that wasn’t a sustainable situation, but the shortfallings of the system were really highlighted to everyone in the drought of last year. By then I’d been appointed course manager and this was the project with which I could make my mark.”

Andy had whittled his decision down to two control systems and says Toro Lynx triumphed thanks to its technological benefits and the thorough and comprehensive demonstration provided by Reesink. “Not only did Peter Newton come to demo the system to myself and the team and took his time explaining all the USPs, but he came back and went through everything again in a presentation to the board. That made all the difference, everyone bought into it and knew what we were investing in.”

Installation was completed by Rob Green by Green Irrigation in just a couple of days, to deliver Blackpool North Shore a system more than capable of working with any sprinkler or weather station, no matter its age or brand.

As long as the correct sprinkler data is entered into Lynx, no matter what the brand of sprinkler is being used – and all can be catered for – the result will be accurate watering, as Andy confirms: “The Lynx system has delivered a level of accuracy and consistency we haven’t had in many years. We can now irrigate in millimetres. It’s incredible really and can all be done via the mobile app, which myself and my deputy Dan are finding to be a real benefit and so easy to use.”

Stage one of the irrigation refit is the first step in an all-encompassing plan of course improvements, says Andy: “We’re bringing definition to the fairways of this Harry Colt-designed course. At the moment the fairways are rolling and each seems to roll into the next. By adding gorse plants and pathways we hope to improve the presentation of the course for our members and visitors. We’re also reducing the number of bunkers significantly and making those we keep have revetted faces, and we’ll be releveling the tees.”

And, of course, stage two of the irrigation refit will be taking place. The sprinklers will be replaced for either Toro Infinity or Flex, depending on which suits the club’s system and course best. The Flex Sprinkler has the same riser to Infinity, just a different body. Andy continues: “We’re trialling four Infinity sprinklers on the 18th green at the moment and they’re performing really well. I’ve heard good things about Toro Flex too so the jury’s out for the moment. What I can say is, it’ll definitely be Toro we go for!

“We’re a relatively small greenkeeping team and anything we can do to ease the pressure and load is going to be something we’ll consider. Most of the course improvements we have planned will go some way in helping make the day-to-day maintenance and care of the course easier to manage. The same applies to the irrigation. Technology – and Toro – have proven that one simple change, done in a couple of days, can make all the difference.”

Some have credited Toro’s Lynx control system with bringing industry buzzwords ‘interchangeable’ and ‘future-proof’ irrigation to life, and Blackpool North Shore is the latest living proof in how simple and quick it is to deliver that kind of improvement.

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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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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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