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Cheslett rolls out Relief Greenkeeper service

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Cheslett rolls out Relief Greenkeeper service: After proving the validity of his concept by using it to manage his own working life, Duncan Cheslett, for decades a successful self-employed cabinet market, who turned to greenkeeping in the immediate aftermath of Covid, is expanding his business to provide freelance greenkeeping support for clubs across the UK.

After retiring from his furniture business of several decades, Cheslett, a keen golfer, turned to greenkeeping as a way of combining his love of golf, and in particular golf architecture, with earning a living. “I worked at several courses around the Manchester area, and I loved it, but when you have worked for yourself all your life, your mind is always turning over business ideas,” he explains. He conceived The Relief Greenkeeper concept initially as a way of being able to work part-time while expanding his horizons and working on a variety of courses that interested him.

Cheslett rolls out Relief Greenkeeper service

Cheslett rolls out Relief Greenkeeper service

Cheslett set up The Relief Greenkeeper as an umbrella under which he could market his services, on a freelance basis, to courses that might need an extra pair of hands for a few days from time to time, perhaps to cover sick leave, or to provide more labour at peak times. And he found that hard-pressed course managers loved the idea.

“Because I was self-employed, I could go and work for a club for a few days, and they would not have to incur any of the many costs that arise when you have people on staff,” Cheslett says. “No National Insurance, pension contributions or the like. I could charge an hourly rate that was  good for me, but was much cheaper for the club than paying a member of staff. And from my own point of view, working on a variety of courses was a great way to keep work interesting, and helped me make friends and contacts across the golf industry in the North-West.” He has worked on over 20 courses and events, including Wallasey for the English Amateur, St Anne’s Old Links,  and Hesketh in Southport. He also worked at Royal Portrush for the Open.

Cheslett realised that the Relief Greenkeeper concept had the potential to do much more than manage his own working life. “At every course, people would ask me about what I was doing, and express interest in doing the same – and nervousness about leaving a staff job and having to find work,” he says. “And everywhere I went, course managers told me that they would use a service like this. It was clear to me that some sort of agency that could connect greenkeepers and clubs would be a good thing for both parties.” So he took  his first additional freelance greenkeepers onto his books, and began placing them with golf clubs requiring extra short-term staff.

“I’ve been able to supply my greenkeepers with steady work, saving them the time and stress of continually having to find and negotiate their own contracts, and generally earning them a higher rate of pay than they would have received working at their former course,” he says.

Naturally, to date operations have focused on Cheslett’s home region, but now he has decided to roll the service out nationwide. “I know that the idea is sound, and there’s no reason that greenkeepers and clubs in all parts of the UK won’t find it as useful as those in the North-West do,” he says. This expansion has already started, with Relief Greenkeepers at work in Lincolnshire, the West Coast of Ireland, Aberdeenshire, and the Central Belt of Scotland. And Cheslett says that he is ready to take on more. “I constantly have clubs calling me, saying they’ve heard about my service, and can I provide them with someone,” he says. “If I had more greenkeepers on my books, obviously I could and would. So if any experienced greenkeepers fancy going freelance, they should email me at duncan@thereliefgreenkeeper.co.uk, via our website www.thereliefgreenkeeper.co.uk, or call me on 07720 285376. Any clubs who would like to have reliable, experienced freelance greenkeeping resource for between £23 and £30 an hour should do the same.”

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Take the chore out of coring this spring

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Take the chore out of coring this spring: Spring is in the air, aerating is on the to-do list and Reesink Turfcare is reminding customers how to make this essential task more efficient – and it’s all with one simple, cost-effective Nordic Plow Core Solutions blade attachment.

Aeration is hands down one of the best practices to promote root growth and the movement of air and water within the soil, which is key in spring to ensure a healthy, strong growing season.

Take the chore out of coring this spring

Take the chore out of coring this spring

Up until recently collecting the resulting cores had been a mucky, time-consuming job, but following in its ethos of making turfcare professionals’ lives easier, Reesink procured the perfect solution to that problem when it introduced to its range the clever core collecting blade attachment from Nordic Plow.

This lightweight 64-inch collector fits perfectly, but not exclusively, to the Toro ProCore 648s to aerate the turf and remove the cores in one pass in minutes. It considers the fact that aerating with the grain of the landscape or side to side reduces stress to the turf and results in a flawless measured scrape.

Further advantages include the removable sleeve which removes cores on severely undulated ground without the need for tools and the adjustable scraper edge, which can free float or lock into position.

Brushes drag top dressing into the cores and they can still be removed even if the turf is wet, and there’s no issue with small tine clear up, despite them having less structure and more sand, which normally makes the job more difficult and time-consuming. Additionally, creating tall piles of plugs with little spillage has the added benefit of brushing sand deeper into the holes as it goes.

Jon Cole, Business Divisional Manager of Reesink Turfcare, comments: “It’s always a priority for us to bring to our customers equipment that can complete a labour-intensive process with less manpower. It’s always going to be about working smarter not harder, whether that’s with the most cutting-edge, ground-breaking technologies or an innovative tool that does a simple job brilliantly which is exactly what the Core Collector does.”

For further information, or to place an order, call 01480 226800 or visit reesinkturfcare.co.uk.

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Origin marking out the future at GroundsFest

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Origin marking out the future at GroundsFest: Origin Amenity Solutions (OAS) has announced its return to GroundsFest for the 2024 exhibition after a successful debut last year. OAS will showcase its comprehensive range of products and services, aimed at servicing the fine turf, sports, and grounds care sectors. You can find their prominently branded trailer and dedicated team in the outdoor arena on stand OSA 240.

Focus on Line Marking Excellence

With an expanded team of line marking specialists, OAS is positioned to offer the most comprehensive line marking solutions and support in the UK. Visitors to the stand will have the opportunity to see a diverse range of line marking machines, from pedestrian spray markers to the latest innovations in GPS-guided TinyLineMarker robotic line markers.  Experts will be on hand to demonstrate these cutting-edge machines and discuss their applications in various settings.

Origin marking out the future at GroundsFest

Origin marking out the future at GroundsFest

Additionally, they will be highlighting their industry-leading IMPACT ready-to-use paint range, known for its durability, vibrancy, and ease of application. This paint range, coupled with advanced line marking equipment, ensures that every marking project is executed to the highest standards.

Exclusive Show Offers

Exclusive show offers will be available to show visitors. Furthermore, an exciting competition will be announced on the stand which is likely to attract a lot of attention.

Looking to the future

Reflecting on the past year and looking ahead to the future, Glen Howard, OAS Line Marking Product Manager, shares his thoughts: “I am incredibly proud of the progress we have made over the past year. Our dedicated line-marking team is a testament to our commitment to innovation and excellence. At GroundsFest 2024, we are excited to showcase our product range and demonstrate how our solutions can make a real difference for our customers. Our goal is to continue leading the way in line marking technology and support, ensuring that our clients receive the best possible service and products.”

Continued Commitment to Excellence

OAS’s presence at GroundsFest 2024 reaffirms its commitment to providing high-quality, innovative solutions. Since the successful merging of four leading brands, OAS has continued to evolve, making strategic changes that benefit its customers. Their dedicated line-marking offering includes the widest selection of equipment, paints, and accessories available in the UK, supported by the largest sales and support team in the industry.

Join them on stand OSA 240 to experience firsthand the expertise, innovation, and customer-focused approach that defines Origin Amenity Solutions. Whether you’re looking to enhance your line marking practices or simply explore the latest technology, their team is here to help you mark out the future of your grounds care needs.

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Protect turf from the inside out

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Protect turf from the inside out: Greenkeepers across the UK are turning to strobilurin-based fungicide Insignia® to keep their turf protected this summer. With its key ingredients helping to prime the turf immune system, resist disease attacks, withstand heat and drought, and grow more efficiently, Insignia® works in a variety of ways to keep turf green, strong and healthy.

As a fungicide, Insignia® works by severely inhibiting the mitochondrial respiration inside the cells of pathogenic fungi, preventing the breakdown of carbon that is required for fungi to produce the energy they need to function. As well as stopping fungi, it also works by triggering a cascade of positive events which lead to plant health benefits. In a nutshell, it works both by stopping negative forces, and encouraging the good.

Protect turf from the inside out

Protect turf from the inside out

At this time of year, red thread is a particular threat that Insignia® helps to banish. The fungal infection causes slow growing grass and red to coral-pink strands – not ideal on prized pieces of turf! Insignia® controls diseases like this and dollar spot – which creates pale, blighted areas of turf – ensuring continued grass health throughout the summer.

While it’s suitable for application all year round, Insignia® must be applied in temperatures between 5-25°C for best results. Unlike other fungicides, it is ‘rain-fast’ after only one hour, meaning that greenkeepers can use the product without fear that it will immediately be rained off the plant.

An active ingredient within Insignia®, Pyraclastrobin, serves as a weather-resistant reservoir, meaning that the health-giving formula is released across the surface of the grass over several weeks. Not only that but translaminar movement through the leaf builds a concentration of the active substance on both sides of the leaf – meaning continued protection for the whole plant.

With unpredictable weather in the UK becoming the norm, it’s also vital to be able to rely on the weather-resistant properties of any products used. Insignia® helps turf withstand drought and heat, while also helping grass to regulate responses during stressful events. It’s no wonder that Insignia® is proving so popular with greenkeepers interested in keeping turf green and healthy this year!

To find out more about Insignia®, visit Insignia – BASF Pest Control Solutions UK or to explore BASF’s wider turf products, visit https://www.pestcontrol.basf.co.uk/en/Products/Product-innovation/Turf/

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Kinsey Premiere Services mark out their journey

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Kinsey Premiere Services mark out their journey: Based in Wiltshire, Kinsey Premiere Services Ltd is a family-run grounds maintenance company serving educational facilities, commercial properties, and private residencies in Wiltshire and beyond.

Gary Kinsey established the family business in 2010 and expanded to grounds maintenance just two years later in 2012.

Kinsey Premiere Services mark out their journey

Kinsey Premiere Services mark out their journey

The company provides line-marking services to schools, councils, and amateur football and rugby clubs. They initially relied on a Transfer Wheel marker but quickly upgraded to a Fleet Beam Rider for precise line marking. However, they found that the time-consuming nature of initial markings prompted the exploration of alternative solutions. Operations Manager, Elliot Kinsey explains, “I was impressed by Origin Amenity Solutions Simon Hughes’ demonstration of the TinyMobileRobot line marker and was drawn to the device due to its manageable size, lightweight construction, and remarkable versatility. Its ability to seamlessly adapt to various marking tasks, from precise line markings to intricate designs, made it an attractive and invaluable addition to our equipment arsenal.”

TinyMobileRobots is marketed and distributed exclusively in the UK by Origin Amenity Solutions who have one of largest dedicated line marking teams in the UK.

Kinsey Premiere Services currently has a TinyLineMarker (TLM) Sport and a TinyLineMarker (TLM) Pro in their fleet. Elliot continues, “Primarily, we purchased the robots to mark sports pitches quickly and efficiently to free up our employees and allow them to focus on other grounds maintenance obligations.

The TinyLineMarker’s exceptional efficiency in paint utilisation significantly reduced our overall paint consumption which also led to substantial cost savings. This, coupled with the robot’s ability to automate the marking process, dramatically minimised our labour costs and streamlined our operations, saving us valuable time and resources. The robots proved to be a game-changer for our business; enhancing our efficiency, reducing expenses, and enabling us to deliver exceptional line-marking services for our clients.”

Packed with a range of innovative features, the GPS-guided robots are designed to make line-marking projects as reliable, streamlined, and effortless as possible. Their low weight enables them to be lifted easily by one person and the small size means they can fit into a regular-sized car and be transported from one location to another easily.

The TLM Sport is ideal for sports teams, clubs, and schools. It is robust, with front and side bumper strips and integral ultrasonic, intelligent sensors to avoid obstacles and protect from damage. Powered by a brushless electric motor, with low energy consumption and zero emissions, the TLM Sport is an eco-friendly choice, especially when used with IMPACT ready-to-use paint. Over and above this, the TLM Pro offers advanced robotic technologies for precision line marking and is ideal for councils, contractors, and larger universities. With its powerful performance, robust design, and large, high-traction wheels, the TLM Pro can tackle any size pitch, or multiple pitches, with ease.

“The intuitive user interface is effortless to use and easy to manage”, adds Elliot, “the ease of use, accuracy, and full autonomy, coupled with an extensive library of over 200 sports markings, make them an indispensable tool for our clients. The robots’ ability to create custom logos, shapes, words, and numbers further expands their versatility and caters to the diverse needs of our clientele.”

“With over a decade of experience, we pride ourselves on providing exceptional, personalised service; utilising the latest compliant equipment to transform wild outdoor areas into beautiful and manageable spaces. Health, safety, environmental compliance, and client satisfaction are always our top priorities. Our clients’ needs differ so having two different robots to cater to these works well for us. The TLM Sport is well placed to manage our amateur sports clubs and schools whilst the TLM Pro is more suited to the larger-scale council projects. We often combine the versatility of our robots to expedite line marking, especially on large fields like American Football pitches, Rugby fields, and athletic tracks. This synergy proves invaluable when time is of the essence—and allows us to playfully showcase our robotic prowess!”

The Origin Amenity Solutions team provides onsite training, maintenance, and general advice. Elliot has found the “technical support package very helpful; we’ve received excellent support whenever we’ve needed it, ensuring we deliver our clients’ requirements on time and within budget.”

Origin Amenity Solutions has recently launched a new and improved model – the TLM Pro X, which boasts even more improvements, including general upgrades to the hardware and software, enhanced electronics, and the addition of buttons to activate the pump and nozzle, enabling users to manually prime, clean and test. Elliot concludes, “As and when necessary, we will look to expand our TinyMobileRobot fleet accordingly.

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