Tag Archive for: Park

Thonock Park chooses Ventrac

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Thonock Park chooses Ventrac: Thonock Park, situated in the heart of the Lincolnshire countryside, is the home of two stunning 18-hole courses and the PING Academy, a multi-purpose coaching studio. They are the latest club to appreciate the benefits of Ventrac, purchasing a 4500 all-terrain compact tractor with a Contour deck and Turbine blower from Rotherham-based dealer, Russells.

Rob Acheson is the Course Manager and has been in the post for the past two years. He began his career at Hillsborough Golf Club, then spent 10 years at Wortley Golf Club followed by five years at Worksop before being appointed to his current role. He manages a team of 10 greenkeeping staff.

Thonock Park chooses Ventrac

Thonock Park chooses Ventrac

Commenting on the purchase of the Ventrac package he said,

“We wanted a machine that was versatile and value-for-money; a machine that could be used for multiple tasks and, if possible, operate in wet conditions.

“We contacted Russells and they suggested we have a look at the Ventrac. They came over for the demo on a very wet day, when even our fairway mower was struggling; in fact, it was stuck out on one of the courses! It was unbelievable, it worked brilliantly without causing any damage to the turf, and everyone was impressed. We placed the order shortly after the demo and it arrived a few weeks later.

“The Contour deck has a dual use; we maintain the semi-rough and around the bunker edges. It leaves a fantastic finish and the float of the outer cutting sections of the deck means we can get close to bunker edges without damaging the turf.

“The Turbine blower is a great piece of kit for clearing the autumnal fall on the Park course and for a small blower it easily rivals our tractor-mounted blower. It’s manoeuvrability and light weight allows it to get closer to the treeline providing more effective clearance.

“We recently hired in the Trencher attachment from Russells to create drainage bands on the fairway of the 4th hole on the Parks and it proved to be a really great asset. So much so, that we have now placed an order to buy one.”

General Manager Ben Hatch added,

“From a management perspective the Ventrac’s ability to operate on steep slopes up to 30 degrees and in seriously wet conditions, ensures that we can continue to maintain areas of the course in adverse weather and, most importantly, it allows the team to operate safely; a serious consideration when working on steep undulating terrain. Sometimes it’s the only machine we can get out of the shed during very wet weather.

“Overall, it ticks all of the boxes from a health and safety perspective and its versatility makes it excellent value for money. Rather than buying a dedicated mower to perform a single task, we have effectively purchased three machines for the price of one competitor machine. Financially, the numbers really stack up. It’s a great addition to our fleet.”

About the courses

After being played on for over 90 years, the Thonock Park course was revamped in 1985 by former Ryder cup player, Brian Waites. At 6223 yards (par 70), it is not the longest of courses but, with its tree-lined fairways, true greens and stunning views of the Lincolnshire countryside, it offers a great day’s golf for members and visitors alike.

Aptly named after Karsten Solheim, the founder of PING, the Karsten Lakes course was opened in 1997, after being crafted by legendary English golfer, Neil Coles. At 6900 yards (par 72) from the back tees, it offers a very different challenge to the Thonock Park course, with strategically placed bunkers and prominent lakes and water features on many holes providing a great test for all abilities.

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Mansfield Sand relied on at Wollaton Park

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Mansfield Sand relied on at Wollaton Park: From bunkers to greens, Martin Scothern – Head Greenkeeper at Wollaton Park Golf Club has long relied on a range of products from Mansfield Sand.

Wollaton Park Golf Club in Nottingham is widely regarded as one of the finest parkland courses in the East Midlands. A traditional members’ club, the course is set in 140 acres of the 516-acre Wollaton Park and is overlooked by the magnificent 16th century Wollaton Hall.

Mansfield Sand relied on at Wollaton Park

Mansfield Sand relied on at Wollaton Park

Designed by Tom Williamson and opened in 1927, it has been sensibly upgraded over the years to provide a challenging and enjoyable test for golfers at all levels.

The course has a reputation for play on full greens year-round and this is testament to the work of Head Greenkeeper Martin Scothern, who has been working at Wollaton Park since 1989. After leaving school he went straight into greenkeeping which was no surprise considering he used to work on his local golf course during the school holidays.

Martin’s use of Mansfield Sand stretches back to long before he started working at Wollaton Park, as he explains.

“Mansfield Sand has been used at every club I’ve ever worked at, so I was always aware of the company,” he said.

For the past 32 years Martin has been using Mansfield’s MM35 Golf pure silica sand for top dressing his greens which brings a number of benefits such as improved recovery, firmness, smoothness and an improved rootzone.

“We normally like to topdress every 4-6 weeks just to give the greens a light dusting,” he said. “I like my sand delivered at 6.30am in the morning when we are topdressing and without fail the Mansfield Sand delivery drivers are always on time. They will tip it off, we will apply it to the 20 greens, and it is job done. However, we will always make sure that we have a bit left over for any bunkers that need topping up throughout the season.”

As Martin says, MM35 Golf also makes for a great bunker sand as it has fantastic playing characteristics as well as being aesthetically attractive. In fact, Martin and the team are currently working on a long-term project to reconstruct all the bunkers and MM35 will be used in combination with rubber crumb and astro-turf.  “We have always used Mansfield Sand for the bunkers and will continue to do,” he said.

Bunkers and topdressing aside, Martin used a Fibre Reinforced Rootzone from Mansfield Sand to build a new short game academy green back in 2019. This natural sports turf sand dominated rootzone product is reinforced with polypropylene fibres. This is achieved by mixing the Mansil 40 silica sand, a screened topsoil and polypropylene fibres to create a completely homogeneous blend to be used as the upper rootzone. Consolidated to a typical 100mm depth the fibre reinforced rootzone can then be fertilised and seeded to produce the final grass surface.

With Mansil 40 in mind, Martin revealed that he will be trialling this product on his fairways in the not-too-distant future.

“We are going to start some work on three fairways that get a little bit wet in certain areas,” he said. “We’ve got some old pits underneath the golf course and the subsidence has caused some issues over the years. Therefore, we are looking for a coarser sand such as the Mansil 40 to brush in with some hollow coring and vertidraining. My hope is that by doing this regularly, it will help them to be more playable through winter.”

Martin will be joined by Sharon Morris, Golf and Football Sales Manager for Mansfield Sand, for the fairway trials, and he admitted that he would not be without her.

“I can call her up at 9:30pm and say Sharon, I forgot to call you today, I need some sand in the morning! I know that the sand will be there the very next morning. It is first-class customer service,” he said.

For more information visit www.mansfield-sand.co.uk

You can also follow the company on Twitter – @MansfieldSand and Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/MansfieldSandSportSurfaces/

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Verti-Drain helps Rudding Park

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Verti-Drain helps Rudding Park: The recent delivery of a Verti-Drain 7416 from Redexim is proving key in the pre-winter preparations at Harrogate’s Rudding Park Golf Course.

According to Head Greenkeeper Richard Hollingworth there has barely been a day since the Verti-Drain arrived in August that it hasn’t been out – the versatility of 1.6m machine making it ideal for work on all areas of the course including greens, fairways and surrounds.

Verti-Drain helps Rudding Park

Verti-Drain helps Rudding Park

As a corporate golf course and part of the Rudding Park resort, not only does the club have a very active membership, the surfaces have to be fit to sustain play 364 days of the year… which equates to somewhere in the region of 40,000 rounds annually! “Because of the volume of rounds, when it comes to aeration it is critical that we’ve got equipment that is not just fit-for-purpose on the greens. We need to be getting some holes into the clay-based fairways to deliver the perfect course on any given day” explains Richard, who heads-up a maintenance team of nine.

“We had the 7416 on demo last year from our local dealer F. G. Adamson & Son and used it on all 18 greens, and throughout that extensive trial period we could tell it was going to suit us and the various requirements of our course. It was light enough to aerate the greens with minimal surface disruption, yet strong enough to be effective on fairways and surrounds.”  The superior build quality of the Verti-Drain 7416 makes it ideal for the full-range of aeration tasks; a range of tine options delivering flexible and accurate aeration down to depths of 350mm.

“To date, we’ve aerated all of the greens surrounds and multiple weak fairways with ¾” tines, as we tackle compaction and dry patches ahead of the arrival of winter. We’ve also purchased ½” tines for the deep, pre-winter work on the greens and needle tines for the summer.” Richard adds, “Spanning double the acreage of most regular courses, getting the job done well and quickly is so important. In my view, the Verti-Drain still leads the market in terms of ease-of use and performance, all backed-up with excellent support and service from Redexim and their dealer network.”

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S500 Plus performs at Victoria Park

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S500 Plus performs at Victoria Park: Mike Finch of idverde has praised the performance of the Dennis S500 Plus seeder which he uses on the five greens at Victoria Park in Royal Leamington Spa.

idverde was appointed by Warwick District Council in 2012 to undertake grounds maintenance and horticultural services within the district and has been doing so ever since.

S500 Plus performs at Victoria Park

S500 Plus performs at Victoria Park

Under their remit, idverde maintains a staggering 43 football pitches, 20 tennis courts, various hard surfaces and running tracks. All these sports facilities are overseen by the vastly experienced Mike Finch, who spent 24 years as head groundsman at Coventry City FC.

Whatever the nature of the sports surface Mike has the knowledge to maintain it, but he admits that the bowling greens at Leamington Spa’s Victoria Park are particularly precious to him.

“My main interest is the bowling club,” he said. “Bowling greens are very precise animals – they need a lot of attention. Greenkeeping isn’t about time – it is about dedication and precision. I take it seriously every single day and I don’t allow myself to play second best. My drive is passion and excellence and I always try and exceed expectations.”

This is certainly evident at the prestigious Victoria Park – the home of English Bowls. Always striving for perfection, Mike was pleased when he was recently offered the chance to purchase some new equipment and it is a process which he does not take lightly.

“Using the wrong equipment or using it at the wrong time can do a lot of damage and that is why I do a lot of research,” said Mike. “I make a point of listening to what other users have said and see what their experiences are; I will never rush into a decision. I’ve been doing this for 37 years and I like to think I know which equipment works best for the sites I am looking after.”

Mike chose the Dennis S500 Plus seeder. Ideal for bowls, cricket, golf and other fine turf and ornamental lawn areas, this dual-purpose machine has a 510mm (20″) operating width complete with interchangeable spiker and slotter reels. The spiker reel punches through the ‘surface pan’ allowing air, water and fertiliser to penetrate the root zone, while the slotter reel creates ideal seed germination pockets thus reducing seed wastage. Using the optional seed box attachment will ensure grass seed is dropped onto the ground at the prescribed rate and brushed into the pockets.

“I was on the lookout for a good pedestrian seeder and I came across the S500 Plus. We looked at various machines, which included second-hand ones and hiring them, but it was the S500 which stood out.

“Jason Briggs (area sales manager for Dennis and SISIS) brought it to us for a demonstration and it imprinted really well – we purchased it straight away.

“I like the way the seed is dragged in with the brush which is also attached to the S500. It drops the seed into all the slots, which makes the perfect seedbed, therefore allowing the seed to get top dressed and filled in.

“For general overseeding on established greens, it works very well and I’m incredibly pleased with how it performs.”

For further information or a no-obligation demonstration, please contact Dennis 01332 824 777 or visit www.dennisuk.com.

For more news, reviews and insightful views, you can follow Dennis on Twitter or Instagram @DennisMowers and like the company’s Facebook page – www.facebook.com/DennisMowersUK You can also view the latest Dennis videos by visiting www.youtube.com/DennisMowers

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SISIS Autoslit victorious at Victoria Park

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SISIS Autoslit victorious at Victoria Park: A SISIS Autoslit is currently playing its part in helping to prepare ‘world class’ greens at Victoria Park.

Victoria Park is the home of English Bowls and hosts the annual Bowls England National Championships held in August. The five greens at Victoria Park are also used for County competitions, National events and for International matches and competitions.

SISIS Autoslit victorious at Victoria Park

SISIS Autoslit victorious at Victoria Park

The widely respected greens are thanks to an expert greenkeeping regime led by head greenkeeper Mike Finch of idverde – one of the UK & Europe’s leading provider of grounds maintenance.

“The greens at Victoria Park have always been of a very high standard, but we are now working towards making them world-class,” said Mike. “With this in mind, I was asked what new equipment I needed which could help me make them world-class. The first thing I said was that I needed a pedestrian slitter.

“I chose the SISIS Autoslit purely through the research I have been doing on different golf courses and other fine turf surfaces – I felt that it would be the best product for this particular site.”

The SISIS Autoslit is a purpose-built pedestrian deep slitter which is suitable for use on fine or outfield turf helping to reduce compaction and assist the percolation of surface water. The deep clean slitting action cuts through the turf and the root zone leaving a thin slit on the surface and minimal surface disturbance.

These slits encourage strong, healthy root growth of the grass plants, improving tolerance to drought conditions and promoting more rapid recovery after damage in play. Easy to use, the SISIS Autoslit incorporates a rear smoothing roller and uses a cantilever system to lift the machine out of operation.

“It is very easy to use and I’m very impressed with what it can do,” said Mike. “We’ll use it monthly from December through to the end of March before the surface starts to dry again.

“It is like a knife with a serrated edge, and it basically slices into the turf, but it doesn’t do any damage because there is a rear roller on it as well. You get a nice linear, aeration cut through your greens.

“Not only does it help to keep the surface going, allowing the moisture to drain, but it is also good for root extension,” he continued. “In the colder months when the roots aren’t active, the SISIS Autoslit allows oxygen to reach those roots, and all the time you are doing this it will benefit the green when it comes to spring. What you find is that when the weather starts to warm, the roots will start pushing down into all the nice linear folds you have been creating with the Autoslit.

“Ultimately, it helps you to keep the surface firm and dry but slightly moist lower down where the moisture is needed. It is a great piece of equipment.”

For further information or a no-obligation demonstration, please contact SISIS on 01332 824 777 or visit www.sisis.com.

For more news, reviews and insightful views, you can follow SISIS on Twitter or Instagram @SISISMachinery and like the company’s Facebook page – www.facebook.com/SISISMachinery You can also view the latest SISIS videos by visiting www.youtube.com/SISISMachinery

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