Tag Archive for: Season

It’s ‘Sandfiller Season’ says GKB Machines

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It’s ‘Sandfiller Season’ says GKB Machines: Careful management of organic matter levels is critical to optimising both the health and play characteristics of golf greens.

When it comes to managing these thatch layers, there is no universal tool or technique that will suit every course, however methods and machines are now at our disposal that are far less disruptive and can incorporate additional operations such as simultaneous sand injection which helps to bring surfaces back into play even quicker. One such machine is the Sandfiller from GKB.

It’s ‘Sandfiller Season’ says GKB Machines

It’s ‘Sandfiller Season’ says GKB Machines

The GKB Sandfiller scarifies the surface down to depths of up to 40mm, removing organic matter and creating channels which are simultaneously filled with sand or a combination of sand and seed – maximising efficiency and improving drainage and ground firmness in one pass. The unit features a 400L hopper to collect the removed material, leaving a clean and tidy finish and allowing the surface to be back in play almost instantly.

One venue who employed the services of a contractor last September to conduct the Sandfiller operation is Wenvoe Castle Golf Club. Head Greenkeeper Lucy Sellick explains, “The wetter winters, combined with a smaller than normal greenkeeping team, meant we were looking for a fast and effective solution to removing organic matter and firming up the greens. The contractor began on a Thursday morning, and by Friday lunchtime all 19 greens were back in play – with organic matter removed, backfilled with 22 tons of kiln-dried sand and just one team member brushing in the remaining surface sand. Any concerns we had about how the Sandfiller would handle our Mackenzie style slopes and undulations were also unfounded.”

“Now in February, our organic matter readings have reduced, and the greens are definitely firmer. Despite all the rainfall, we’ve managed to get a triple on the greens which just wouldn’t have been possible before.” She concludes, “We had the Sandfiller in during spring renovations back in 2023 to carry out scarification work only, and have it booked in again this September where it’ll play an important role in our pre-winter renovations and organic matter management once again.”

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SIS sets the stage for Riyadh’s Season Cup

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SIS sets the stage for Riyadh’s Season Cup: Season Cup, Riyadh’s showpiece football tournament featuring Messi and Ronaldo, was made possible thanks to the world’s first fully indoor hybrid pitch built in 21 days by global sports surfaces specialist, SIS Pitches.

The competition forms part of the Riyadh Season, a festival featuring both live sport and entertainment in the capital, funded by the Saudi government’s Public Investment Fund. All Season Cup games take place at the Kingdom Arena in front of 24,000 fans. During the competition, the stadium received two Guinness World Records. The first for being the largest covered football stadium; the second for having the largest seating capacity for an indoor covered stadium.

SIS sets the stage for Riyadh's Season Cup

SIS sets the stage for Riyadh’s Season Cup

Setting the stage for the cup’s major fixtures, including Al Nassr vs. Inter Miami, was a major challenge for SIS Pitches. Construction and development of the elite indoor sports venue started in late 2023, giving the business a much shorter window to install and prepare a playing surface fit for top-level competition.

However, this short window was only one part of the challenge. SIS also had to ensure the natural turf grew strong enough to properly secure the small percentage of synthetic fibres stitched into the arena’s surface, as is standard for hybrid pitches of this type. This process was made harder by the arena’s fully indoor design, which has no windows or roof for sunlight to enter. The SIS team worked around this by using ultraviolet growing lights to prepare the pitch in time.

Sela, the developer responsible for the arena, requested a game-ready playing surface in just three weeks, much shorter than the typical window for a major development of this type. This aligned with the pace of construction for the wider stadium, which was completed in just 60 days.

Speed and resilience were key. SISGrass, the solution specified by SIS, merges natural turf with a small percentage of polymer yarn. Already used by many of the most recognisable names in sports, this mixture is injected by the company’s patented electric stitching machine, providing a more consistent and resilient playing surface. SIS’s machine is capable of covering 1300m2 metres per day with a 90mm shallow stitch, making it ideal for quick installs like that requested by Sela.

SISGrass is much harder-wearing than an all-natural pitch, and is proven to accommodate more playing hours while also being less susceptible to wear or damage. This was particularly important for the Kingdom Arena, given the small window groundspeople have to prepare between entertainment and sports events.

The stadium is home to Saudi Professional League team Al Hilal. It will also host several other major sporting events in the coming months, including two heavyweight championship boxing fights. The Kingdom Arena is similar to New Zealand’s Forsyth Barr Stadium, which is also indoors, though the latter is fitted with a transparent roof allowing sunlight to enter. Riyadh’s stadium is therefore the first fully indoor facility to be completed.

David Ball, Managing Director at SIS Saudi said “This project had an incredibly challenging timeline but our team was able to mobilise quickly, delivering a high-quality playing surface fit for what arguably football’s two greatest ever players. We knew the arena was going to be used for other sports and entertainment, so the pitch had to be capable of accommodating short turnarounds between events. SISGrass was a natural choice in this respect, having already proven itself the best option for groundspeople across the world.”

Based in Riadyh’s Boulevard City development, the Kingdom Arena boasts all the facilities expected from a modern stadium, fitted with a state-of-the-art air monitoring system and 20 skyboxes.

For more information on SISGrass, visit: https://www.sispitches.com/pitches/hybrid-pitch-sisgrass/

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Headland C-Complex® all season long

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Headland C-Complex® all season long: The C-Complex® range from Headland Amenity is helping the team at Gog Magog Golf Club ward off lush, leafy growth in favour of firm and fast surfaces – in keeping with the course’s downland surroundings.

Estate Manager Andrew Howarth uses various analysis of C-Complex® organic mineral fertiliser for feeding and recovery throughout the year, including C-Complex® Sport which was trialled on some of the sites high traffic areas last year with great success.

Headland C-Complex® all season long

Headland C-Complex® all season long

Gog Magog is a 36-hole complex and, together with boasting one of the largest practice facilities in the UK, is listed as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) due to its calcareous grassland. This means that for Andrew and his team of 14, there’s certain dos and don’ts when it comes to chemical usage and maintenance. “While we’re not as restricted on the closer mown areas, we do manage the course in a sustainable way, with a focus on organics” explains Andrew.

“Because of the high usage, we found we were struggling with recovery on some of the high traffic areas, in particular, the greens surrounds. In the hunt for a product that would give use good recovery, without triggering excessive growth, we spoke with our Regional Technical Manager at Headland, Peter Blackaby, who suggested we apply C-Complex® Sport.” C-Complex® Sport 14-2-5+MgO is designed for use on all coarse turf areas and has delivered exceptional results on golf tees and surrounds where lasting strength is needed. The homogenous, regular granule features a high concentration of humic acids and other organic material and so breaks down easily on contact with moisture.

“The humic acid is excellent for root development and gives us the recovery and growth we want, where with other products you’d only get one or the other! We applied C-Complex® Sport just once last year in late spring and had fantastic field longevity with it.” Alongside C-Complex® Sport, Andrew is also using C-Complex® 5-2-10 on the greens, applied once a year as a ‘spring starter’. “The combination of different nitrogen sources respond well at cooler temperatures – doing a good job of getting growth going.”

“After summer renovations we then change to the C-Complex® 4-3-4 analysis which, thanks to the soft granular make-up, breaks down fast to encourage healthy root development and quick recovery to bring the surfaces back into play ASAP.” He adds, “Peter is a fantastic sounding board, and backed up with the Headland soil sampling and a thorough understanding of our objectives has given us a programme that is ticking all the boxes.”

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Ransomes Sponsor Suffolk FA For Seventh Season

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Ransomes Sponsor Suffolk FA For Seventh Season: The Ipswich-based turf maintenance company are to once again sponsor the Groundsman of the Year competition and also the Suffolk FA Awards Ceremony.

The Groundsman of the Year competition is held annually in the county and is open to clubs at Step 7 and below.

Ransomes Sponsor Suffolk FA For Seventh Season

The Suffolk FA Awards Ceremony is also held annually and as well as the Groundsman of the Year winners, presentations will be made to county winners of The FA and McDonald’s Grassroots Football Awards plus there will also be Long Service Awards.

The Awards Ceremony is taking place next month at Portman Road before Ipswich Town’s SkyBet League One fixture with Rotherham United.

Ransomes Jacobsen Sales Director, William Carr, is proud the company continues to recognise the invaluable contribution of Grassroots groundsmen and other volunteers.

“Local football wouldn’t function without pitches, and often Suffolk’s groundsmen work far above the level required of them,” he said.

“We’re very lucky to have some fantastic volunteer groundsmen in the county and the Groundsman of the Year competition is a brilliant way of recognising the work they do and awarding them for their dedication.”

Suffolk FA Chief Executive Richard Neal said: “Ransomes Jacobsen’s continued support for the Groundman of the Year Award demonstrates the essential role this largely volunteer workforce plays in providing a quality playing experience.

“I’m delighted such a significant local company is again joining us in celebrating the expertise and dedication of Suffolk grounds staff.”

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Dennis & SISIS Kick-Start Bowls Season

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Dennis & SISIS Kick-Start Bowls Season: In preparation for the new season, an overwhelming number of greenkeepers made their way to the recent Dennis and SISIS Bowling Green Maintenance Seminar, in order to gain advice and tips on best practice.

The popular seminars, which are designed to educate greenkeepers on how to maintain and look after bowling greens, have been credited for improving the greens at numerous bowls clubs throughout the country. Combining insightful seminars and practical tips, a number of industry experts take to the stage to discuss a wide range of key topics.

Dennis & SISIS Kick-Start Bowls Season

Held at the Herts Bowling Club in Watford, this most recent seminar attracted a phenomenal 80 greenkeepers.

After an introduction from Dennis and SISIS’ Robert Jack, the seminar welcomed the extremely knowledgeable sports turf consultant Alan Lewis, who drew upon his wealth of experience to deliver a presentation entitled ‘Spring Maintenance on a Bowling Green.’

Grass seed was the next topic of the day when Luke Hunt from Barenbrug UK advised delegates on how to choose the correct seed for their greens.

A refreshment break allowed attendees to soak up and discuss the advice they had just received before John Noyce from Collier Turfcare took to the stage to offer an insightful look into ‘Chemical & Fertiliser options.’

The ever popular Turf Clinic followed and enabled all of the greenkeepers to ask their own questions to the panel of expert speakers.

After a complimentary lunch, an on-green demonstration took place in which delegates got the opportunity to see a number of turf maintenance techniques in action.

Kev Brazier, a contract greenkeeper working in partnership with Harpenden Bowls Club, felt that the seminar was a great opportunity to enhance his greenkeeping knowledge.

“It was a really informative seminar. The speakers had great knowledge and they presented it in a way in which everyone could understand. I was particularly interested in hearing that there is actually a place for Dwarf Ryes on bowling greens in certain situations.

Dennis & SISIS Kick-Start Bowls Season

“It was brilliant for networking and there was a broad range of subjects discussed. They were all incredibly relevant and I took a lot away from the spring maintenance tips.”

John Hay, Hertfordshire bowls greens co-ordinator, worked alongside Dennis & SISIS in arranging the seminar and felt that the day was a huge success.

“The seminar had a fantastic response and it was very timely because it has helped greenkeepers prepare for the season ahead. It was invaluable to all of the clubs that attended; the speakers were amazing, there were a few myths put to bed about what should and shouldn’t be done and there was a nice turf clinic which gave the greenkeepers the chance to speak their minds.

“Most of the people who attend these seminars are people who work voluntarily to support their clubs and therefore seminars like this can really make a big difference.”

Forthcoming seminars can be found below:

Tuesday 9 April – Hykeham Bowls Club, North Hykeham, Lincolnshire.

Wednesday 10 April – Ashbourne Bowls Club, Ashbourne, Derbyshire.

Thursday 11 April – Hewell Bowls Club, Redditch, Worcestershire.

To register for the FREE and highly informative seminars, please contact Roger Moore on 01332 824777 or email roger.moore@dennisuk.com.

Further information about the range of bowls maintenance products available can be found by visiting www.dennisuk.com / www.sisis.com.

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

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Busy Show Season For EcoBunker

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Busy Show Season For EcoBunker: Leading synthetic bunker edging solutions provider EcoBunker is getting ready for a busy few weeks as the winter trade show season approaches.

EcoBunker will be exhibiting at the BTME show in Harrogate, England, next week, and then, two weeks later, at the Golf Industry Show in San Diego, California. Chief executive Richard Allen and global construction specialist (and former Walker Cup golfer) Llewelyn Matthews will attend both events, along with a selection of EcoBunker’s global distribution network, and several high-profile clients.

Busy Show Season For EcoBunker

At BTME, EcoBunker was instrumental in creating a new feature for the show –an eighteen-exhibitor ‘scorecard challenge’. All attendees who interact with the eighteen participating exhibitors – and get a stamp on their ‘scorecard’ to illustrate the fact – will be entered into a draw to win £1,000. Find the EcoBunker team on stand 210. Two weeks later, at GIS in San Diego, EcoBunker can be found at booth 2762.

Richard Allen said: “Because of the proximity of the two big trade shows, this is always a busy, but exhilarating part of the year. It’s an opportunity to catch up with old friends and make new ones. Llew and I are especially looking forward to talking to prospective clients about our increasing capacity on the contracting side of the business – he spent much of last year on site at Dumbarnie Links in Scotland, our largest contracting project to date, with Llew and his team building seventy bunkers on the course.”

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2018 Mowing Season Starts Later

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2018 Mowing Season Starts Later: A survey by lawnmower manufacturer Cub Cadet has found that the 2018 lawnmowing season started over three weeks later than it did in 2017.

The results found that the most popular day for the first mow of the lawn in 2017 was the 26th March, whereas this year it was the 19th April – 24 days later.

2018 Mowing Season Starts Later

This year, England had the wettest March since 1981 with an average rainfall of 102.2mm, and the UK as a whole had its wettest March in a decade with 104.44mm on average. This was followed by a mini-heatwave in mid-April which saw some of the highest temperatures in April since 1949 – a combination which inevitably caused lawns to have a growth spurt and spark the starting of lawnmowers across the country.

The lawnmowing season survey campaign was launched last year as part of Cub Cadet’s ongoing project into assessing the impact of changing weather patterns on lawns, and this is the first set of comparable year-on-year data that has come from the project. The survey is an annual project that will assess the long-term impact of the weather on UK lawns, as well as looking at the short-term effects it can have in delaying the start of the season.

Discussing the results, Phil Noble, Sales and Technical Manager for Cub Cadet UK, said: “Sales  discussions within the industry suggested that the season had started later this year so it’s interesting to see this reiterated by our survey data. There have been many contributing factors and it’s not entirely surprising that people started mowing later when you consider the extreme and varied weather we had earlier in the year with the Beast from the East followed by an unusually warm April combined with lots of rainfall.”

“The weather was really varied – if we didn’t know what the weather was doing, it’s not surprising that the grass didn’t! We now wait for the data from the close of the survey later in the year to see if the whole season has shifted.”

The earliest first mow was as early as the 3rd January, with the latest being reported on 13th May.

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