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Winner of DLF BTME competition

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Winner of DLF BTME competition: Rhys Butler, Links Manager at Royal St. Davids Golf Club in Wales has been announced as the winner of the DLF Sustainability Seed competition held at BTME 2023. Regional Technical Manager Stuart Yarwood MG recently visited Rhys to present the prize of a Greenstester – the perfect tool for monitoring speed, trueness and greens performance.

The winner was randomly selected from those that entered across the three-day event, with Rhys the recipient of a Greenstester – a simple monitoring tool supported by the R&A. When used on a regular basis, the Greenstester can provide a bank of meaningful data relating to putting performance, yielding information on firmness and speed that can be tracked and monitored over time.

Winner of DLF BTME competition

Winner of DLF BTME competition

On receipt of his prize Rhys commented, “BTME this year was a really informative and enjoyable experience and to win this competition is just the icing on the cake. On top of the Greenstester which will be used by my team to track greens performance, it was great to catch up with Stuart and talk all things links turf on his visit.”

Together with testing visitors on some of the new cultivars and changes to mixture formulations across the Johnsons Sports Seed and MM Seed ranges, the questionnaire was also designed to find out the most pressing topics currently experienced in the industry, which will be used to shape future research and education programmes available from DLF.

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Record numbers ahead of BTME

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Record numbers ahead of BTME: The BIGGA Turf Management Exhibition (BTME) doesn’t kick off until tomorrow (Tuesday 24 January), but the 2023 edition of the influential event has already broken multiple attendance records.

The British & International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) organises and hosts the annual trade show and education conference at the Harrogate Convention Centre in North Yorkshire. BTME 2023 takes place this week (24 to 26 January) and is the first time the event has returned to its regular January timing since prior to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.

Record numbers ahead of BTME

Record numbers ahead of BTME

With 24 hours to go until the doors of the convention centre open, BIGGA has reported that 4,930 attendees have pre-registered for BTME, marking a significant increase on previous years. The previous record was set in 2019, when 3,344 visitors pre-registered to attend.

This number includes 900 registrations from exhibitors themselves, who play a vital role in the success of the event.

The number of pre-registrations also does not tell the full story, with visitors able to sign up for the show upon arrival at the Harrogate Convention Centre. In previous years pre-registration has accounted for around 50% of the total attendees and so BIGGA is confident that this year’s event will be among its most successful ever.

Alongside BTME, BIGGA also hosts Continue to Learn and this too has seen incredible numbers. With 1,055 tickets sold, this year’s programme will provide more education hours than ever before across the various education formats, which includes a two-day conference and full and half-day classes. Free-to-attend seminars are also taking place during Tuesday and Wednesday and no pre-registration is required for these.

Continue to Learn brings together speakers from a wide range of disciplines to provide practical learning, management advice and other topics that this year include mindfulness, leadership, personal health and wellbeing.

BIGGA Chief Executive Jim Croxton said: “The BTME pre-registration and Continue to Learn booking numbers are cause for celebration for everyone across the BIGGA community. BTME plays a significant role in setting the agenda for the coming year for the association and our members and we’re delighted that so many people continue to support us in this way.

“It’s clear that for our members and supporters, BTME is the event they enjoy, in the timing and the location that they want, and we’re delighted to be able to offer that to them once again. Where else can you meet the hosts of this year’s Ryder Cup and various other major championships alongside people discussing a sustainable future for the game or providing solutions and opportunities for every golf club in the country?

“BTME is a wonderful event and I’m incredibly excited to discover what this week holds. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the event as we couldn’t do it without you.”

For more information about BTME 2023, visit www.btme.org.uk

Throughout BTME, people are encouraged to discuss the show on social media using the hashtag #BTME2023.

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Huxley Golf delivers security of play

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Huxley Golf delivers security of play: All members and visitors to Royal Troon Golf Club look forward to playing what is one of the most famous holes in golf, the Postage Stamp. The par 3 eighth hole on the 19th Century Club’s Old Course might be the shortest hole on the Open rota but it is one of the most challenging and revered.

That is why Huxley Golf was honoured to be asked to create an alternative winter tee for this iconic golf destination this autumn. The installation will help to ensure continuity of the Postage Stamp experience without compromise, using Huxley Golf Premier Tee Turf 2, the closest all-weather surface to natural grass. Royal Troon had previously trialled the idea of creating a separate winter tee from natural turf, but it was unable to withstand the extraordinary levels of wear and tear, as Course Manager, Billy McLachlan, explains:

Huxley Golf delivers security of play

Huxley Golf delivers security of play

“The Postage Stamp is an important feature of our Club. Being a short hole, the impacts of wear and tear on the tee are concentrated over a small area. This not only affects play during the winter, but it also impacts the start of the golf season because natural grass takes time to recover fully.

“Our recourse was to turn to Huxley Golf to help us find the optimal solution for our precise needs: one that would look good aesthetically and critically, live up to players’ expectations. As a result, we now have a permanent feature that we can switch to with minimal interruption when the landscape demands it. Over time, this will help preserve play to this exceptional hole.”

Huxley Golf used its superior Premier Tee Turf 2 to create the 12ft x 12ft (3.6m x 3.6m) tee, and supplemented this with a fringe surround, which will enable natural grass to seamlessly marry in around it.

Hugh Fraser, Scotland and North East England Area Manager at Huxley Golf, commented: “We understand that it can be a difficult decision for historic environments to work with the new generation of all-weather turf, but most now realise that Huxley Golf Premier Tee Turf 2 offers a superb option for winter play and to relieve wear and tear at any time of year. It has benefits to both the environment, the greenkeeping team and players, as it protects natural features, requires virtually no maintenance, and yet, offers golfers an incredibly realistic surface to hit from. Its unique surface gives players an excellent experience, even in the most demanding of situations and climates.”

The Huxley name has been synonymous with premium all-weather golf surfaces and products. Endorsed by the UK’s leading golf organisations as well as many legendary golfers and celebrities and their coaching teams, the Hampshire-based company’s artificial golf surfaces are in use all around the world at top-flight courses, resorts, and training academies. Across Scotland, Huxley Golf has also recently worked with St Andrews Links, Gleneagles Academy, the Royal Burgess Golfing Society of Edinburgh, Gullane Golf Club and The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers Muirfield.

For more information visit www.huxleygolf.com or call 01730 829608.

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Spalding GC go into winter clear of compaction

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Spalding GC go into winter clear of compaction: A Deep Tine Aerator (DTA) from GKB Machines was delivered and put straight to work by the team at Spalding Golf Club, as part of their pre-winter maintenance programme.

Delivering impressive aeration down to 12”, the DTA 160 has already completed passes on both the greens and the fairways since its arrival in October 2022 and will be pivotal in keeping the course clear of compaction in the wetter months.

Spalding GC go into winter clear of compaction

Spalding GC go into winter clear of compaction

Head Greenkeeper Kevin Goude took charge just five months ago, and together with the greens team of five, was delighted to learn he’d inherited an order for a new GKB DTA 160 placed by his predecessor and due for delivery from local distributor Russells Groundcare. “We’ve got a pedestrian aerator in the shed which is ideal for summer work at depths of 4” but we needed something to replace an ageing machine that could penetrate much deeper to really help drainage and root growth” explains Kevin.

The GKB DTA is deep by name and deep by nature, offering easily adjustable depth and heave angle of up to 25o for effective compaction relief. At 1.6m wide, the DTA 160 at Spalding GC is well suited for tasks around the golf course – from fairways, tees and aprons to intensive aeration on the clubs 18 greens.

“We took delivery of the DTA 160 at the end of October and went out immediately on the greens, before switching to ¾” tines working at a depth of 10” on the fairways due to the dry summer. One thing we really like about the GKB aerator is the tine blocks which make switching between sets really quick and easy compared to having to replace each tine individually. There’s a whole range of tine options available with this machine as well so we can really make the most of it with operations throughout the maintenance calendar.”

“Alongside the tine system, another thing we’ve been particularly impressed with is the build quality of the DTA – well engineered and robust to handle some of the more challenging ground conditions we have on the fairways.” Kevin concludes, “Beside the machine itself, the support and back-up service we’ve had from Russell’s Groundcare and Tom Shinkins at GKB has also been excellent. We can now look to aerate deeper as we go into winter and be best placed to cope with whatever the weather can throw at us!”

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Planting of a new ‘community woodland’

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Planting of a new ‘community woodland’: Leading international exhibition for sports turf professionals helps create wildlife habitat at Harrogate Golf Club with the planting of a new ‘community woodland’

Staff from the British & International Golf Greenkeepers Association joined the greenkeepers and members at Harrogate Golf Club recently to plant a ‘community woodland’, comprising more than 200 trees donated by exhibitors at the upcoming BIGGA Turf Management Exhibition (BTME).

Planting of a new ‘community woodland’

Planting of a new ‘community woodland’

BTME is due to take place at the Harrogate Convention Centre from 24 to 26 January and is recognised as among the most influential events on the UK golfing calendar, with more than 5,000 golf greenkeepers and turf professionals in attendance.

High on the agenda each year is sustainability and the increasing importance of environmentally friendly practices on golf courses, particularly with the annual Golf Environment Awards taking place in Harrogate concurrent to the trade show.

Overall, British golf courses cover an area roughly equivalent to the whole of Greater Manchester and provide wide-ranging habitats including wetlands, wildflower areas and woodland. Countless forward-thinking golf clubs around the UK are now undertaking activities that boost their environmental credentials and the team at BIGGA, as the UK’s only membership association for golf greenkeepers, wanted to do their bit.

When booking their spot at the 2023 exhibition, supporting companies were invited to ‘Plant a Tree for BTME’ and it is hoped that over the years sufficient trees will be planted to create a network of ‘BTME community woodlands’ around the UK, with Harrogate Golf Club the first to participate in the scheme.

BIGGA is extremely grateful to those exhibitors who have participated in the scheme, with Reesink UK purchasing 100 trees, Aquatrols purchasing 50 and The FairWays Foundation purchasing 20. Other contributors included: Advance Grass Solutions; Bernhard and Company; Campey Turf Care Systems; COMPO Expert; East Riding Turfcare; EVEN Products; GreenBest/Velvit; LFP Civil & Environmental Engineering; Redlynch Leisure; Shelton Sportsturf Drainage; and The Double A Trading Company.

James Hutchinson is Membership Services Manager – Ecology & Sustainability at BIGGA and is considered one of the UK’s leading authorities on golf course ecology. James said: “Plant a Tree for BTME is a wonderful scheme and I’m delighted that so many exhibitors purchased saplings, which we have planted at Harrogate Golf Club. This is such a brilliant idea because trees sequestrate carbon in the soil, meaning we are able to offset some of the carbon that is generated at BTME.

“Not only that, but trees create wonderful habitats for the great British wildlife. Golf clubs are often overlooked by the general public, but they provide priceless habitats for countless species, often forming safe zones for wildlife to thrive in urban areas. Harrogate Golf Club is a fantastic example and the addition of these silver birch, downy birch, rowan and cherry trees will create outstanding habitats for years to come.”

Ken Ward is Head Greenkeeper at Harrogate Golf Club and said: “I was thrilled when James asked us if we would like to take part in the Plant a Tree for BTME scheme. We are very much about ecology and sustainability at Harrogate GC and creating new wildlife habitat by planting trees is very much in line with the ethos of the club.

“Harrogate Golf Club is hugely appreciative of BIGGA and all the exhibitors who contributed to this scheme as it is such a worthwhile cause, not only for us but also for our kids, grandchildren and future generations.”

Lauren Frazer, Head of Business Development at BIGGA, said: “We’re committed to making Plant a Tree for BTME a fixture on the BTME calendar and I’m hopeful that next year we’ll be planting even more trees at another brilliant golf club and once again highlighting the vital work golf greenkeepers do to support the wider environment.

“Thank you to all of those who contributed to this wonderful scheme and I’m really looking to seeing all our exhibitors and the attendees at BTME in just a few short weeks.”

For more information about BTME 2023, head to www.btme.org.uk

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