Tag Archive for: One

Turf Tank One makes revolutionary change

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Turf Tank One makes revolutionary change: Bromsgrove School has taken a revolutionary step forward in line marking with their new Turf Tank One.

The co-educational day and boarding school was founded in 1553, with the vast one hundred acre site woven into the centre of Bromsgrove. Among it is the Sports Centre, where there are facilities for rugby, football, cricket, hockey, tennis and a vast array of others.

Turf Tank One makes revolutionary change

Turf Tank One makes revolutionary change

At the beginning of the school term in September, Head Groundsperson Richard Hare and his team have to prepare 15 rugby pitches across three different sites, with three groups of staff taking a week to initially mark out and prepare them.

Introducing the Turf Tank to this process is a game-changer for the Bromsgrove grounds team, and for Richard, they are now working with what he thinks is the future of line marking.

“When I first saw the Turf Tank One at the demo, I was absolutely amazed, and having used it, it’s revolutionary,” Richard begins.

“It just makes the job a hundred times easier, all the lines are dead straight, and there’s no mess, that’s the other big thing, it’s clean, and it is good to use, it’s easy, and for us, it’s been really, really good.

“We’ve marked in five pitches and the training grids which would have taken two members of staff at least three or four days, and we’ve done that in less than a day and to a high standard as well. Every pitch is a different size; there are no two pitches that are the same because of the different age groups playing sport and the way we have to fit the pitches in around the site.

“This makes it into a one-person job who can set it all up, keep an eye on it and do other things as well. And that’s not trying to make people redundant or anything like that, because as everybody will tell you, there’s always lots of things that people can be doing. And because staff can be working on other jobs, it will help us to raise our standards around the site.”

Bromsgrove’s transition into robotic line marking has been seamless with the help of Turf Tank’s Regional Manager for the North, Matt Murray. A comprehensive demo and installation have been key to all staff members being comfortable with the robot and ensuring they get the most from the customisable pitch, grid, logo and number options.

“Matt has been absolutely fantastic from day one,” Richard explains. “We set up a training day, and this is the second full day he’s been here, and he’s on the end of the phone all the time if we need any questions answered.

“When he first visited, he went through all the templates with us and set them up, and it’s superb. It’s the way that we can change as well because, like most schools, we’ll have to change from rugby after Christmas into football, so we have to go through all the pitches again, and change them all to football or training grids or whatever we need at the time. So, it’s unbelievable the changes it’s going to make for us.”

For more information on the Turf Tank One or to have a demonstration contact alex@turftank.co.uk (southern UK) or matt@turftank.co.uk (northern UK).

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300 acres, one gold service

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300 acres, one gold service: With 300 acres of grass to maintain, there was no doubt that Glenbervie Golf Club in Scotland, needed the support of the Reesink Turfcare’s ReeAssure maintenance plan.

Paul Todd, course manager at Glenbervie Golf Club, opted for the scheme to ensure the club’s large fleet of Toro mowers and machines remained in premium condition in order to maintain the pristine standards the club and its members were accustomed to.

300 acres, one gold service

300 acres, one gold service

Paul comments: “Our course can experience some pretty wet weather so our fleet needs to remain in excellent working condition to face the challenges presented by the elements.

“With a site of 300 acres of mature parkland, reliability and quality of cut are key factors. We implement a full PGR programme across all areas of the course and the Multi Pro 5800 sprayer had been vital for allowing us to do this effectively and efficiently.

“Our excellent relationship with Reesink ensures that we minimise down time and maximise the efficiency of the fleet. If we have any problems I know I can expect to see a Reesink representative on the same day. The quality of the scheme is second to none and it doesn’t matter if we need new parts, routine servicing or repairs, it’s taken care of.”

With Gold, Silver and Bronze package options, Reesink Turfcare’s ReeAssure maintenance scheme gives customers ultimate flexibility to select a service level that fits with their budget.

Paul and his team opted for the Gold package over five years ago and they still reap the financial benefits of signing up to the scheme. Paul continues. “I always know where we are in terms of cost and that’s enormously reassuring. Knowing that the package is so comprehensive means I can be confident I won’t be hit with big maintenance bills.”

Working with Rab Wilson at the Reesink Livingston branch in Scotland, Paul feels totally reassured. Together they have built up a good rapport which Paul cites as one of the most important aspects of the scheme: “I know I can count on Rab and his team to respond quickly if we have any problems. It’s a very good one-to-one service and having people you can rely on is vital to us. It’s a really good relationship – I can’t fault it.”

Rab comments: “The plan provides ultimate reassurance to customers such as Paul who maintain a very large fleet all year round. We take the stress out of arranging new parts and electrical components, servicing, breakdown support and machine health checks.

“Labour, parts and consumables are all included, so this comprehensive package of support provides a manageable upkeep programme which we take care of. It leaves customers like Paul with more time to focus on their day jobs and perfecting the golf course which his members value so much.”

Call 01480 226800 or go online at reesinkturfcare.co.uk to find out more about Reesink ReAssure maintenance plans.

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Two counties, two courses – one seed

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Two counties, two courses – one seed: Jason Connaughton, Course Manager at Yeovil Golf Club, says that he could not ask for anything more when it comes to the grass seed, customer service, and advice he receives from Limagrain UK.

Set on the outskirts of the town of Yeovil, this fabulous golf club boasts two excellent courses: the eighteen-hole Old Course and the nine-hole Newton Course. The two courses are divided by the River Yeo, which uniquely separates the two courses into two counties with the Old Course located in Dorset and the Newton Course in Somerset.

Two counties, two courses – one seed

Two counties, two courses – one seed

The experienced Jason Connaughton, who has worked at some top courses in the UK, Ireland, and Australia, is the man responsible for the upkeep of both courses. Now in his fourth year at Yeovil, his work across the 189 acres and 27 holes has been widely recognised, but he admits that due to the club’s location, it is not always plain sailing.

“The Newton Course is built on a flood plain which can cause issues,” he said. “The sixteenth green and seventeenth tee are at that same level, so they flood fairly often. When this occurs, there is a temporary green we use but this also tends to get very wet.

“On this small green we were commonly finding issues with moss and other problems – we also needed a grass seed which would be better for wear tolerance. I was not about to use a bent or a fescue because in the past I have found these too hard to establish on this site.

“Therefore, I spoke to both David Bevan from Agrovista Amenity and Matt Gresty from Limagrain UK – and they both suggested I try MM50.”

Limagrain’s leading MM50 mixture is a 100% ryegrass formula which is perfect for achieving consistency throughout a course. This hard-wearing mix has rapid germination, very fine leaved appearance, high shoot density and is tolerant to very close mowing, along with high disease resistance. All these attributes together produce a fantastic sward that has great colour all year round.

“We put MM50 down and it established so quickly – it was incredible,” said Jason. “There is more work to be done on the temporary green, but we’ve got the right seed now and the coverage is so much better – there is a huge improvement.”

After being impressed with the results he achieved on the temporary green with MM50, it led Jason to evaluate other areas of the course.

“After seeing how good MM50 was, it made me realise that we were not getting much out of the other brand of seed we were using,” continued Jason. “I soon made the decision to exclusively use MM50 for divotting and overseeding on the tees, fairways and aprons – and the results have been fantastic.

“It is such a lovely fine rye – the wear tolerance is fantastic, and the establishment is perfect. It ticks all the boxes for me, and the members have noticed the difference.”

Two counties, two courses – one seed

Two counties, two courses – one seed

In further pleasing the members, Jason revealed that he uses a range of Limagrain UK’s Colour Splash mixtures. The range has a floral arrangement for every requirement – whether it be a golf course, a local authority green space or any other establishment that has an area which needs brightening up.

“We have them spread out in visual areas across the course and the members and visitors absolutely love them,” said Jason. “Not only are they aesthetically pleasing but they are great for the environment and it’s lovely to see so many bees around the place. They are cost effective too – especially when you consider the impact that they have.”

Jason concluded by praising the support he receives from Limagrain UK.

“With Limagrain, it shows that you don’t have to be a big high-end golf course to receive the best support. They listen intently to what we want to achieve, and it means a lot to me when someone invests their time in talking to me and helping. I want to work with people who have our best intentions at heart, and I get exactly this with Limagrain UK.

“I couldn’t ask for more.”

For further information, please contact Limagrain UK on 01472 371471 or visit the company’s website www.lgseeds.co.uk/amenity – you can also follow the company on Twitter: @MM_Seed and Instagram @mm_seeds

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SpeedwayTotal the one for Weedfree

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SpeedwayTotal the one for Weedfree: Richard Stow, Managing Director of Weedfree, has revealed why the market-leading company has relied on the spray adjuvant Speedway Total for so long.

“We have been using Speedway Total to enhance the uptake and activity of our total herbicide applications for many years and we are very happy with it,” said Richard. “It always gets us good results and we wouldn’t dream of not using it.”

SpeedwayTotal the one for Weedfree

SpeedwayTotal the one for Weedfree

Weedfree has been a market leader for railway, industrial and amenity weed control for over 50 years, providing weed control and vegetation clearance services to the rail industry, local authorities, industry, utilities and power generators.

“You name it – we spray it,” said Richard, and indeed they do. The company employs up to 150 members of staff during its busiest periods with operatives spraying everything from footpaths to rail tracks and everything in between.

It is for this reason that the company needs to have confidence in a product and that is where Speedway Total comes in. However, Richard admits that this was not always the case.

“We didn’t always use Speedway,” he said. “Initially we used a competitor product, but we had lots of problems with it. The chemistry, the active ingredients – it was causing problems with our operators, who were complaining about irritation on their skin and around their eyes. We also found that, in accordance with the label, we were putting a lot of product in the tank.

“It was at this point that we discussed the issue with Ed Carter (Sales & Development Manager for ICL), and he suggested using Speedway Total. We tried it, we liked it and we have stuck with it ever since. It was less product going in the tank, there was not any reduction in efficacy, and it was very cost effective.”

ICL’s Speedway Total is a spray adjuvant that contains a blend of surfactants and spreaders. It is designed to enhance the effect of glyphosate and other total and/ or non-selective herbicide treatments. Speedway Total assists herbicide penetration into the leaf cuticle by dissolving the waxy leaf coating.

The surfactants and spreaders also aid the treatment spreading properties, reduce the risk of wash-off and increase the herbicidal uptake. It can be used speed up the response from total herbicide treatments and also enhance the uptake and control for difficult to control weeds such as rhododendron, bracken, Japanese knotweed, brush wood weeds, nettles and docks, sow thistles and others.

With more and more local authorities re-examining their use of glyphosate herbicides Richard claims that the reduced volume needed with Speedway Total was a huge selling point.

“To be honest, I was dubious to start with because it less than half the amount of volume we were using with the previous product. I was thinking – how could this possibly work! But it does work – incredibly well.

“There is a real appetite to reduce the amount of herbicide that is applied, and with Speedway Total we can reduce it down to about three and a half litres per hectare which is quite a significant reduction. We still get the results that keeps both the local authorities and us happy.

“When we tender, we find that Speedway Total may well give us the competitive edge over someone who might use a different product at a higher rate. We can certainly demonstrate that over the course of a three-year contract we can significantly reduce glyphosate while still eliminating problematic weeds.

“Ultimately, I would say that Speedway Total has helped us to be more efficient and I would highly recommend the product.”

Please contact ICL on +44 1473 237100 or visit www.icl-sf.co.uk or www.icl-sf.ie if you are in Ireland.

For more news and insightful views, you can follow ICL on Twitter @ICL_Turf

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Buy two get one free offer extended

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Buy two get one free offer extended: Reesink Turfcare has expanded the buy two get one free offer on Toro’s Flex 35B multi-trajectory block sprinklers to include dual-trajectory sprinklers.

Considering the fluctuating weather conditions so far this spring, this will be music to greenkeepers’ ears; because handling varying temperatures, windy conditions and seasonal weather changes are what Toro’s Flex B Series does best.

Buy two get one free offer extended

Buy two get one free offer extended

Both the Flex 35B multi-trajectory block sprinklers and Flex B dual trajectory sprinklers with universal BSP thread are perfect for a quick irrigation upgrade and for ensuring consistent, efficient and effective irrigation.

Whether your course is exposed and catches the wind, if you have obstacles to avoid or need to reduce your sprinklers’ radius, the Flex B Series benefits from either multi-trajectory or dual trajectory adjustment to help you accomplish what you need. Which you choose from comes down to what level of control and precision you want. Both offer it, just in varying increments.

With the multi trajectory option, precision is in one degree increments from seven to 30 degrees. Dual trajectory meanwhile can be adjusted to a 25 degree setting to provide maximum distance of throw, or a 15 degree setting for improved wind performance and radius reduction.

Both allow you to tackle every obstacle on the course – wind, trees, bunkers, mounds and more.

But that’s not all. The ratcheting riser is an exclusive feature from Toro that allows you to simply pull up the riser and ratchet it to the precise position you want to water which means you can quickly and easily align or adjust watering locations to suit seasonal needs.

Robert Jackson, water division sales manager at Reesink Turfcare, the sole Toro distributor in the UK for irrigation products, says: “Flexibility is vital when it comes to effective irrigation, because in order to get the most out of your irrigation system, you need to be able to adapt to changing conditions fast. The Flex 35B multi-trajectory and dual-trajectory sprinklers have a range of features that allow you to achieve this and that’s what makes the range perfect for golf courses.”

For flexible irrigation in all conditions the Flex 35B multi-trajectory and dual-trajectory sprinklers are the perfect solution. A streamlined body, yet with all the Toro innovation contained within, the buy two get one free offer for either model, is likely to be a head turner, says Reesink, encouraging its customers to enquire while the promotion is on and while stocks last. Call Reesink on 01480 226800 or visit reesinkturfcare.co.uk for further information.

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