Tag Archive for: Royal

Royal Portrush Prepare With Toro

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Royal Portrush Prepare With Toro: On 18-21 July 2019, The Open makes an historic return to Northern Ireland for the first time in 68 years and bringing golf’s oldest international Championship back again is Royal Portrush in County Antrim. As the club prepares to host the 148th event Toro is honoured to play a role in helping prepare the course.

As expected, preparations for The Open are years in the making and Toro has not only been there every step of the way since the news broke in 2015 that Royal Portrush would be the 2019 host, but for the last 25 years.

Royal Portrush Prepare With Toro

Course manager, Graeme Beatt, who joined the club in 2014, comments: “The relationship between Royal Portrush and Toro is a quarter of century old and for us there is no better machinery partner to ensure the optimum conditions for the players as well as the eyes of the sporting world.”

Preparing the all-important course, crews are using Toro’s Flex 2120 pedestrian mowers for the greens, Reelmaster 3550-D and 3555-D mowers on the fairways, approaches and surrounds, Greensmaster 1000 and TriFlex 3400 on the tees, Reelmaster 3100-D with Sidewinder system on semi-roughs and Groundsmaster 4500-D on the roughs. In addition, the team uses the Greensmaster 3250-D and GR1000 on the practice area and the ProCore 648 for aerating the courses. 25 additional Toro machines from Reesink Turfcare, the sole Toro distributor in the UK for golf and sports fields equipment and irrigation products, have joined the 50-strong Toro fleet already at the club in the run-up to and during the Championship.

But it’s not just a successful partnership with Toro machinery, Reesink and Lairds Grass Machinery that ensures the course will be tournament ready, but Toro irrigation too. In 2017, the irrigation system was upgraded to a Lynx central control system and Toro Infinity, Flex and B-Series sprinklers irrigate the rugged links course situated on the Atlantic coast.

“The location of the club is generally something of a challenge for an irrigation system, especially for the sprinklers,” says Graeme. “It’s quite a feat to deliver accurate spray in our unpredictable, windy and exposed conditions, but this has been no problem for Toro. We’ve been really impressed with the overall performance of the control system and sprinklers, but worthy of note are the B-Series sprinkler heads on the tees. They’ve really been put to the test and withstand all sorts.”

Of course, it’s not just an irrigation system that’s new for The Open. The world-famous Dunluce course has been extended from 6,867 yards to just over 7,300 yards and every hole has had some work in varying degrees, none so much as the 17th and 18th holes which have become the tented village areas and two new holes created at seventh and eighth.

22 miles of fibre optic cable has been installed with 12 miles of fibre ducts, 2,200 artic lorries-worth of equipment will have been used for the build and de-rig, 24 greenkeeping volunteers have been selected and a record-breaking number of tickets have been sold.

In fact, it’s this last fact that’s caused the only hiccup in the journey to being tournament-ready Graeme explains: “No Open Championship has ever sold out and when this one did, and in record time, the decision was made to release a further 15,000 tickets – that means we could have up to 230,000 spectators come through our gates! At that point we knew we needed to revisit the already established catering areas and extend them to accommodate this, which involved a lot of extra work. Let’s just say the Toro Workman MDX-D and HDX utility vehicles were really put to the test over this time moving kit around the course and aiding the team in construction work!”

Doug Reid from Reesink, who has worked with Royal Portrush for almost half of its 25-year relationship, says: “Royal Portrush has been nothing but consistent in its machinery purchasing over the years, but as expected in the last five years things ramped up and some fundamental replacements and changes to the fleet took place. The biggest change was the switch from the four-wheel Reelmaster 6700-D to the three-wheel Reelmaster 3550-D for a lighter tread on the fairways. The RM3550-D also happens to be ideal for a links course.

“The way we work with Graeme and the team is a definite partnership, and we’re glad that Toro remains the brand Royal Portrush has relied on for the last 25 years, and for its second Open Championship. Having the right equipment is vital in the preparation and performance for an event such as this, and we have worked closely with Royal Portrush to ensure all the tournament support needed from us is in place.”

It takes a tremendous amount of teamwork and coordination to prepare for an international event but as Graeme says: “I feel lucky to have been chosen for the job; it’s been such an honour to be involved. Probably the biggest achievement is that we’ve managed to do all the preparations we have with minimal disruption to our members. We’ve had their unwaivering support, and I’m sure that it will all be worth it to see their course presented on the world stage, challenging the world’s best golfers for golf’s greatest Championship!”

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Royal Cinque Invest In Otterbine

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Royal Cinque Invest In Otterbine: Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club has recently invested in two Otterbine High Volume aerators to improve the water quality of its reservoir and help prevent stagnant smelling water and the build up of weeds.

The club in Deal, Kent has a 13,000m3 reservoir, the water from which is used to irrigate the 18-hole Championship Links course, but with no aeration to keep the water clean and clear James Bledge, course manager, was noticing a significant deterioration in water quality.

Royal Cinque Invest In Otterbine

“The water was starting to turn stagnant and was giving off a strong smell, and there was a considerable amount of weed and algae forming on the bottom of the reservoir,” he explains.

To solve the worrying problems the club opted to have two Otterbine aerators installed at the same time as a new Toro irrigation system and a renewal of its Toro fleet, all delivered by distributor Reesink Turfcare.

The club is a Toro Total Solutions club meaning it has a 100 percent Toro fleet as well as a Toro irrigation system, but that didn’t mean an automatic order for Otterbine, which is also distributed by Reesink Turfcare.

In fact, the Otterbine aerators were suggested by Robin Hume Associates when designing the new irrigation system. With success at similar clubs in the same application, the irrigation design consultancy was confident Otterbine would help to solve the issues at Royal Cinque Ports, and it seems that judgement was right.

“We’re seeing a substantial difference since the installation of the new Otterbine aerators,” says James. “The water doesn’t smell anymore and we’re already seeing an improvement in the water quality.”

The Otterbine High Volume aerator adds an impressive 3.3lbs or 1.5kg of oxygen per horse power, every hour and is constructed from marine-grade, 316 stainless steel, thermoplastics and a rugged, energy efficient, low speed motor to withstand even the toughest of aquatic environments.

But it’s not just that which has impressed James, the ease of use of the control system has too: “It’s been set on a timer, so that way it doesn’t disturb any nearby residents and helps us to save on energy.”

The importance the club places on its water quality, sustainability and the technology that it manages, is evident in James’ decision to assign greenkeeper Nick Machin the role of supervising all the irrigation and aeration technology. Coincidentally, Nick happens to be the 2017 winner of the Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year Award and James feels confident the day-to-day management of the new additions will be in safe hands.

“With the technology we now have at our fingertips and the supervision from Nick, I am confident about the improvements we’ll see in the long term. It will be interesting to see, for example, how the turf benefits from the better-quality water irrigating it.”

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Toro Key At Royal Cinque Ports

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Toro Key At Royal Cinque Ports: Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club course manager James Bledge is on a mission to make the club a “bucket list destination”, choosing to invest in the complete Toro Total Solutions package to help it get there.

Regarded as one of the finest links courses in England, Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club in Kent has been impressing members and tournament players for 126 years and key to that longevity is the club’s determination for continuous improvement and investment. Most recently that has involved the club signing its second five-year machinery agreement plan with Toro, as well as installing a new Toro irrigation system.

Toro Key At Royal Cinque Ports

James explains: “Royal Cinque Ports has a lot of history and has been at the top of its game for over a century. Next we want to make this course a bucket list destination for golfers and to do that investing in our course maintenance is vital.”

This is the second Toro machinery package the club has invested in says James and when it came to investing again Toro easily came out on top in a series of demonstrations.

“With our first Toro fleet we saw a real improvement and you wonder if that could happen again. But it has,” says James. “Toro is an innovator and that never changes, the product just keeps getting better.”

Once the decision to go with Toro again had been made, the greenkeeping team and James put together their ‘dream package’ which includes four Greensmaster Flex 2120 pedestrian mowers, a Reelmaster 3100-D Sidewinder and three Greensmaster TriFlex 3420 mowers to name just a few, in addition to three Greensmaster 1000 pedestrian mowers and a Groundsmaster 4500-D purchased from the club’s previous fleet.

“In particular the new Greensmaster Flex 2120s have been great. The course seems flat from afar but is incredibly undulating, especially the greens, which can be tricky to work with. But that’s not a problem for the Flex 2120 – the head of the mower follows the green closely and contours seamlessly, so we don’t get any scalping which is pretty special. We have seen instant improvements in appearance and so have the golfers which is even more important”

With the decision made on machinery next up was who to trust with irrigating the course. “The quality of the machines is fantastic, and we saw the same with the irrigation system,” says James. “It became clear that the Total Solutions package was the best way to get our course to where we want it to be. Plus, we’ve got a great relationship with Toro distributor Reesink and sales rep Richard Wood, which made the decision a lot easier. Whatever we need they’re always there, whether that’s backup service or general advice – Reesink really feel like a part of the team.

“There are some incredible courses nearby doing amazing work and we want to be at that level. Places like Royal St Georges and further afield at St Andrews Links who also use Toro, they invest a lot in their maintenance, and it shows.”

With Toro on board, the future is looking bright for the club, but when asked which machine is James’ favourite, the answer is unexpected: “To be honest, I like to take out the Multi Pro 5800-D sprayer, not only is it highly accurate in its application and easy to use, but best of all, it has room for my dog Stevie to come out for a ride!”

With the new Toro machines and the new Toro Irrigation system just installed, James is confident they’re on track to turn the club into a top golfing destination.

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New Home For Toro At Royal Norwich

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New Home For Toro At Royal Norwich: The state-of-the-art greenkeeping facilities and workshop at Royal Norwich are complete, meaning Toro now has a home at the new site to work and live.

Only the second all air-conditioned facility in the country, the building was reclaimed from an old refrigeration warehouse and now houses a team room with pool table, stylish meeting rooms for business meetings, state-of-the-art workshop and parts storage, a ‘boot room’ with washing machine and dehumidifier, showers, every convenience has been thought of, confirms Peter Todd, director and estates manager, including its green credentials:

New Home For Toro At Royal Norwich

“It’s completely insulated, so will be highly efficient. 100 percent of its daytime power is generated from the solar panels on the roof as well as supplying 40 percent of the clubhouse electricity needs.”

The facility has been home to a loan fleet of used Toro equipment, compiled to accommodate the growing-in phase of the courses, but now it welcomes the beginning of Peter’s Toro fleet.

Reesink’s Trevor Chard who has worked with Peter for more than 18 years, first at The London Club where they introduced of a new Toro fleet of machinery and now at Royal Norwich, says: “There are so many different requirements when tending new and growing-in turf. For example, it’s pedestrian mowing to start with to prevent bruising the grass and only once the grass is more established that ride-ons will be required. It’s tough, unforgiving work for the fleet, there’s a lot of dust and stones to contend with as the earth moves and settles into its new formation.”

Here, Peter takes over again: “If my time in construction at Gleneagles taught me anything, it’s that you can never predict what a new course will throw at you. One thing I didn’t envisage was using rotary mowers on the tees for example! But dwarf perennial rye grass in a blend with fescue took hold and grew so quickly in those early days, we needed to get on top of it fast and only a rotary would do.”

It’s clear to see then, why a loan fleet of used equipment made economic sense! Now joining that loan fleet which has worked so hard in the early stages are four Flex 2120 pedestrian mowers for hand cutting the greens, the Greensmaster 1600 is Peter’s top choice for the tees and the Groundsmaster 4500-D and Groundsmaster 3500-D are taking on the initial mowing of the fairways and semi-roughs.

It’s a partnership for the long-term and Peter concludes by saying: “With things on a new course moving so fast and so many different requirements at each stage, I knew I needed a machinery partner that would be flexible and accommodating. I respect the Toro brand and have enjoyed working with Trevor for all these years, but I needed to know I had flexible and immediate support, Reesink’s East Anglia service division gave me that.”

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Royal Reesink’s New Partnership

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Royal Reesink’s New Partnership: Royal Reesink has joined forces with Vincent Achten to create TurfTroniq, a company that will develop and deliver the technology for automated steering of Toro mowers to the UK and Ireland.

The collaboration with Vincent, who has more than a decade of experience in robotising mowers, is in response to customer interest for automated steering for Toro. TurfTroniq has developed two types of system, both have been supplied to customers in Europe and ongoing  trials continue: the Assisted Mowing System (AMS) is an advanced mowing aid and the Robotic Mowing System (RMS) is a fully automatic system which enables the machine to mow independently.

Royal Reesink's New Partnership

David Cole, managing director of Reesink Turfcare UK, says: “We’ve watched with interest the progress of this technology so far and it’s ever-evolving. TurfTroniq has developed a real understanding for where GPS control technology is, how it works and what needs to happen to deliver a reliable, safe and quality product to our customers.”

AMS automatically lowers the mower units and follows the pre-programmed mowing lines. All the operator has to do is turn the machine in front of the cutting line and the system takes over. There are several potential benefits to this approach, says David, predominantly that it can be used for training operators and eliminating ‘fairway creep’, raising the standard of the operator, their productivity and enhancing course presentation.

“AMS can be set-up by an experienced operator for a junior member of the team to complete the mowing to an extremely high standard,” David explains. “It gives the operator mowing experience, allows for machine familiarisation and helps with training. The skills of the more experienced operator can then be redeployed to more challenging and technical work rather than time consuming wide area mowing. And because the machine can follow exactly the same route each time, it eliminates ‘fairway creep’ and ensures the definition of the fairway remains the same cut after cut.”

The RMS meanwhile is a fully automatic system to enable the machine to mow independently using 3D camera technology to quickly detect obstacles in its path. David says: “This is a technology some of our customers tell us they are interested in and want to understand more about in terms of its potential place within their own particular maintenance regimes. With a focus on increased productivity through minimal overlap and repetitive mowing results, there’s no doubt a role for it in the turfcare maintenance of tomorrow. We look forward to engaging with customer opinion to understand further what place this emerging technology has for them in a practical sense and that’s where TurfTroniq is right now.”

Over the past several years, the systems have been installed on Toro fairway mowers and have been extensively tested and, according to TurfTroniq, proved to be very reliable. Systems are working in the field and continue to undergo rigorous testing in daily maintenance operations. Both systems are easy to use, and the progress of the machines can be monitored live with any smartphone.

This collaboration to develop GPS mowing technology for Toro mowers with Vincent’s experience supported by Reesink’s distribution network for the UK and Ireland, will ensure that Toro customers will soon be able to benefit from assisted and automated steering. Roon Hylkema, director of Royal Reesink B.V, concludes:” The market is ready for this innovative technology and we are delighted to be able to make it available in the UK and Ireland.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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