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Bunkers still drain six years on

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Bunkers still drain six years on: Opened in 1924, Dubsdread in Orlando is the oldest public course in Central Florida. Formerly the site of the Orlando Golf Open, it played host to great names such as Hogan and Snead.

The course was rebuilt by architect Mike Dasher in 2007/8, and its bunkers were reconstructed at the same time, with new sub-surface drainage lines, but no liners.

Bunkers still drain six years on

Bunkers still drain six years on

Superintendent Alan Lichter says it became clear to him fairly quickly that those bunkers would not stand up to the amount of play the busy course receives, especially in Florida summers, where signficant rains are an everyday occurrence.

“The bunkers just kept washing out all the time,” he says. “So we started talking about bunker liners in about 2012, and did a demonstration project on our chipping green bunker using a liner from a company that later went bust. So we started looking at the alternatives, and that’s when I came across Capillary.”

Installing liners across the golf course was a significant investment for a municipal course, so Lichter began tracking the amount of time it took to fix the bunkers after rain events. “It wasn’t pretty, and that convinced the powers that be at the city that it was a good investment,” he explains. “The payback to the city was pretty obvious, and the improvements in playability that would follow were also a big issue. So we started the project in 2017, working with Benson Construction, a Georgia-based contractor. It took three months to install the liner in all the bunkers.

Six years on from the installation and Lichter is still extremely happy with the performance of his bunkers. “I love them,” he says. “They are still draining as they were the first day. We had seven tenths of an inch of rain last night, there’s no water in the bunkers.”

Given the extremes of the Florida climate, Lichter’s bunkers have had to face up to some pretty severe weather – and he says they have come through with colours still flying. Even after Hurricane Ian dumped eleven inches of rain on Dubsdread last year, the Capillary Bunkers still performed. “It took one person – me! – about twelve houtrs to fix the bunkers after Ian,” he says. “Before we installed the Capillary liner, it would have needed three guys working solidly for a week.”

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Ventrac – Three years on at Honiton Golf Club

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Ventrac – Three years on at Honiton Golf Club: Honiton Golf Club in Devon purchased their Ventrac compact tractor and Contour mowing deck in March 2020, just days before the first Covid lockdown and in that time it has been performing consistently well, according to Stuart Broom, the club’s head greenkeeper.

“We sit some 850 feet above sea level and are an 18-hole parkland course with a practice facility, situated on clay, so we can be wet at times, but our elevation and exposure to the wind helps the course dry reasonably quickly,” he said. “I came here in 2015 as deputy and was appointed head greenkeeper in 2019.

Ventrac – Three years on at Honiton Golf Club

Ventrac – Three years on at Honiton Golf Club

“There’s six of us in the greenkeeping team with experience ranging from 38 years to the newest member at just 8 months. Like many other clubs, we had an influx of members as a result of Covid; for us it was significant at around 200, bringing the total membership to 670. We have a great committee, who are fully supportive of us and actively encourage our professional development, which is good for the younger lads.”

“We needed to improve the visual appearance on the banking around our greens and tees and also the semi-rough. I looked at several competitor machines across the major brands, but the Ventrac stood out because of its versatility; there’s a wide selection of implements you can get for it. The second reason was that it’s certified to operate on 30-degree slopes, so from a health and safety point of view, it’s a no-brainer. We have numerous slopes out there that we used to strim, but we now use the Ventrac and save multiple work hours, they get cut more regularly and they look better.

“During the original demo, the demonstrator noticed that we had a SISIS slitter in the shed and asked if he could attach it to the rear linkage and take it across the greens. I was bit sceptical because we usually tow it with our worktruck and I wouldn’t put that on the greens as they were wet. Undeterred, he put it on the back, went across the green and you just wouldn’t have noticed; it was impressive. So, the light footprint was another significant selling point and we use it for that purpose as well during the winter.

“We recently purchased a small link box for the rear of the machine, which can carry a selection of tools and again we use it winter for changing holes. We also have it on the back when cutting banks, so we can carry a strimmer and blower to complete the job in a single operation.

“We hired the Tough Cut deck from our local dealer, Devon Garden Machinery (DGM), to clear gorse and bracken from around our 9th and 13th greens and it performed brilliantly; it’s a fantastic piece of kit. I did break a couple of belts, but the servicing information on this machine is superb. You open a cover and all the information you need is there. It includes the part number, so you can order it and it’s with us the following day. From initial demonstration, through delivery, to after-sales support, Price Turfcare and DGM have been excellent.”

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RHS Wisley calls on Otterbine

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RHS Wisley calls on Otterbine: RHS Garden Wisley has chosen Otterbine to provide its flagship garden with sustainable irrigation.

Otterbine’s 25HP Polaris Giant Fountain was installed at RHS Garden Wisley in Woking as part of the Royal Horticultural Society’s project to create a new rainwater capture lake, providing great quality irrigation to one of the largest plant collections in the world.

RHS Wisley calls on Otterbine

RHS Wisley calls on Otterbine

In today’s climate, water can be a scarcity and harvesting rainwater supports the conservation of this vital resource. The water has to be good enough quality to use though which is where Otterbine’s 25HP Giant Polaris fountain steps in.

Matthew Pottage, curator of RHS Garden Wisley, explains: “The Giant fountain is installed in our new lake which is connected to our garden irrigation system. The lake collects winter rainwater for summer irrigation and the Otterbine aerating fountain makes the water good enough to use.”

Otterbine’s fountains have the highest oxygen transfer rates in the industry and the Polaris is the brand’s largest floating fountain. The geyser-like spray of the Polaris throws water droplets into the air where they attach to oxygen molecules that can then be absorbed into the lakewater.

Matthew, who oversaw the aesthetic of the new landscape and horticulture around the lake, explains there were additional reasons for choosing the Otterbine Giant Fountain: “The Wisley is one of the UK’s most visited and best-loved gardens, attracting around a million visitors each year and we wanted to use the opportunity to create a new atmosphere and beautiful place for visitors to enjoy and relax at Wisley.

“The lake is designed in an ornamental fashion and the fountain’s visual beauty and the fact that it muffles noise disruption from a nearby road helps bring a sense of theatre and peace to the space,” says Matthew.

Another benefit of the Otterbine Polaris Giant fountain is its unique launching system that eliminates the need for cranes during installation in most applications, despite its size. Miles Water Engineering was responsible for the build of the lake and the subsequent fitting of the fountain. “The whole thing was easy and efficient. We are very grateful for that,” Matthew comments.

Installing the new rainwater capture lake is not the only change to the grounds that RHS Wisley is undertaking. Matthew says: “We are planning a massive new landscape of grasses and perennials with Piet Oudolf, a world-renowned planting designer.”

To find out more about how the Otterbine range of aerators and fountains can help your lakes and ponds, contact Reesink on 01480 226800, email info@reesinkturfcare.co.uk or visit reesinkturfcare.co.uk.

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Padded straps available on Cooper Pegler knapsacks

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Padded straps available on Cooper Pegler knapsacks: Professional knapsack specialists Cooper Pegler have introduced cushioned straps on more of its models to heighten operator comfort and limit body strain for operators.

Many of the go-to knapsacks across the popular brand include ergonomically tailored harnesses to channel loading forces in a way that limits stresses on the body.

Padded straps available on Cooper Pegler knapsacks

Padded straps available on Cooper Pegler knapsacks

The latest advance from manufacturer Hozelock-Exel, which follows extensive trialling, further enhances operator safety and protection to include cushioned strapping on Cooper Pegler’s Classic and Series 2000 knapsack models.

“This is a global initiative,” says Allan Wainwright, Hozelock-Exel’s UK Sales Manager, “which aims to make our knapsack brands fully inclusive for all spray operatives.”

The cushioned strapping is introduced at a time when more sports venues and amenity sites are reducing the quantity of treatment liquids they apply in a bid to improve their green credentials.

Golf course greens teams report they are using knapsacks increasingly for spot-spray weed control, a practice that cuts the quantity of liquid applied significantly.

More knapsack hand spraying raises the importance of operator comfort to new levels, therefore.

“Those who spend a full day knapsack spraying will find the new cushioned straps more comfortable,” Allan adds, “reducing the stresses and strains possible on the body during extensive sessions in the field.”

The strapping is now available on new knapsacks but models already in use can be retrofitted with the accessory.

www.cooper-pegler.com

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15 years of DLF R&D delivers sustainability you can rely on

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15 years of DLF R&D delivers sustainability you can rely on: DLF’s continued focus on breeding environmentally responsible varieties has seen the introduction of a number of exceptional cultivars, helping facilities and turf managers achieve their own objectives for more sustainable management.

In trials for the Chewings Fescue category, DLF’s Orionette demonstrated a high-quality sward that is more drought tolerant and resistant to disease, reducing the reliance on inputs. It is therefore no surprise to see its inclusion in a number of top-performing DLF golf mixtures and find it ranked as number one in the 2023 BSPB Seed Guide!

15 years of DLF R&D delivers sustainability you can rely on

15 years of DLF R&D delivers sustainability you can rely on

Chewings Fescue grass (Festuca rubra commutata) is a popular cool-season grass, valued for its fine texture, early growth habit, attractive green colour and ability to thrive in a range of soil conditions. Its upright growth results in dense tufts without rhizomes, so it doesn’t spread like it’s Slender or Strong Creeping cousins. Over the years, Chewings Fescue has been extensively bred and developed to offer a hardier and even more adaptable turf, tolerant of close mowing and typically blended with other fescues to create a golf mixture with exceptional ball roll and playability.

In recent years, breeding efforts – including those by DLF – have focussed on developing Chewings Fescue cultivars that require less water and fertiliser and be naturally more resistant to pests and disease, reducing the need for chemical inputs and therefore improving environmental sustainability. Orionette is the result of more than 15 years of research and development, created by combining plants of the very best germplasm available in DLF breeding. Extensive screening across DLF’s European trials network followed, including for drought tolerance in France, winter tolerance in the Czech Republic as well as green trials conducted in Denmark.

The results showed superior performance in all aspects and thanks to its high tiller density, Orionette is more tolerant to winter diseases such as Red Thread and highly resilient to wear and tear.

It’s ability to perform under a lower Nitrogen-input programme is another reason why Orionette excels in a number of popular Johnsons Sports Seed mixtures for fine turf – both as a drought-tolerant fairway cultivar in J Premier Fairway or in a disease and weed resistant capacity in a greens mix such as J Fescue and J Green. J Premier Fairway is a high-performance blend of seven fescue cultivars for the sustainable management of non-rye tees and fairways. Orionette makes up 15% of both J Fescue and J Green, requiring less water and fertiliser and contributing to fast and sustainable surfaces.

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