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Royal St George’s, John Deere & Tuckwells strike major partnership

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Royal St George’s, John Deere & Tuckwells strike major partnership: The Royal St George’s Golf Club has confirmed a groundbreaking long-term partnership with John Deere and Tuckwells designed to take the course and its greenkeepers to new highs. 

The agreement will see 70 new pieces of machinery installed at the prestigious Kent venue by dealer Tuckwells, including a full cutting fleet, tractors and utility vehicles from John Deere alongside other essential groundscare equipment.

Royal St George’s, John Deere & Tuckwells strike major partnership

Royal St George’s, John Deere & Tuckwells strike major partnership

Greenkeepers will be given support from John Deere to complete a wide range of professional training and offered opportunities to travel to other world-renowned courses to grow their expertise.

The latest technology will be deployed across Royal St George’s with machinery connected by satellite and John Deere Operations Center PRO Golf course management software to assign and track the progress of every daily task.

Tuckwells will provide The Open venue with all equipment and deliver a full package of operator training as well as rapid parts back-up for essential maintenance for the duration of the initial five-year agreement.

John Deere Division Sales Manager for Golf and Turf, Chris Meacock, said: “The Royal St George’s Club has earned an incredible reputation worldwide and needs the best equipment and service to maintain that hard-earned recognition.

“We wanted to form a partnership that showed belief in our machinery and technology while also demonstrating a strong commitment to the operators who will use it daily.”

Colin Sinclair, Secretary at The Royal St George’s Club, said: “We have enormous pride in our course, not just the fairways and greens but our people and the facilities on offer.

“This is a partnership that will benefit the people who work here as well as golfers.

“We were extremely impressed with the whole package on offer from John Deere which will keep us at the cutting edge of greenkeeping technology, give our team the best tools for the job, and ensure that anyone who maintains our grounds has the opportunity to progress their career.”

As part of the agreement Tuckwells will provide extra machines and labour to support tournaments held at Royal St George’s.

The Club’s greenkeepers will also be offered the chance to travel to TPC Deere Run to help prepare the course for the John Deere Classic, or see first-hand how the TPC Sawgrass is set up for The Players Championship.

James Tuckwell, Dealer Principal at Tuckwells, said: “We are extremely proud and excited to be partnering with Royal St George’s and thank Colin, Head Greenkeeper Greig Easton, and the whole team for putting its trust in us and John Deere. It is an honour to be working with not only one of the region’s best clubs but one of The Open’s most iconic venues.

“We are looking forward to helping unlock the potential of the machinery and its technology to the benefit of the course and its members.”

Delivery of the new equipment will begin in 2025 for completion in Spring 2026. It includes the latest in John Deere’s innovation turf machinery including the recently released battery powered 225E walk-behind and 2775E riding greens mowers.

The course has also ordered two 2030A GPS sprayers which use satellite guidance for precision application of chemicals and fertilisers, reducing overlap and input costs.

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St Andrews Links continues to choose Club Car

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St Andrews Links continues to choose Club Car: Club Car®, global industry-leading manufacturer of small-wheel, zero-emissions electric vehicles, has extended its long-term relationship with the world’s most iconic golf venue after delivering a new fleet to St Andrews Links.

The prestigious Scottish venue, where golf has been played for more than 600 years, has received 32 new golf and utility vehicles to complement the 52-strong fleet for the operation of its seven public courses, the most famous of which is the Old Course, a 30-time host venue of The Open.

St Andrews Links continues to choose Club Car

St Andrews Links continues to choose Club Car

WATCH: Club Car at St Andrews Links

John Grant, Director of Golf at St Andrews Links Trust, said: “We pride ourselves on working with the very best, and since Club Car became an official supplier in 2016 they have provided the highest quality of vehicles and service support.

“The cars are a crucial part of our operation, allowing our teams to do their jobs efficiently and giving golfers an enjoyable and memorable experience.”

Club Car’s innovative capabilities provide a range of benefits to the St Andrews Links team. While the award-winning golf vehicles transport golfers safely and comfortably around the links, the versatile utility vehicles are used by the course ranger team as well as media staff, who regularly ferry VIPs and equipment around the site.

A combination of 6- and 8-seater transporter models are also vital for transporting golfers between the Links Clubhouse and the first tee of the Old Course.

The cars are fitted with Club Car’s Connected technology, which enables the teams to monitor the condition of the fleet, maintain course boundaries and communicate directly with the vehicles.

In addition, the Visage GPS system provides many enhancements to the golfer experience including exact yardages and action zones which enable the safe negotiation of many of the features on these links courses.

Andy Bourke, Club Car Regional Manager for UK, Ireland and Scandinavia, said: “We have developed a strong relationship with St Andrews Links over the last eight years and it has been a pleasure to provide a first-class service.

“It is the largest public golf complex in Europe, and we are proud that our unmatched products and technology help the team deliver a unique and memorable experience to thousands of golfers each year.”

Established in 1974, St Andrews Links Trust oversees the management and maintenance of the Links courses at St Andrews – the Old Course, New Course, Jubilee Course, Eden Course, Strathtyrum Course, Balgove Course and The Castle Course – with more than 250,000 rounds played over them every year.

For more information on Club Car visit: www.clubcar.com

For more information on St Andrews Links visit: http://www.standrews.com

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St Andrews Links Trust recognised for Best Sustainability Project

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St Andrews Links Trust recognised for Best Sustainability Project: St Andrews Links Trust won the prestigious Best Sustainability Project at the Scottish Golf Tourism Awards in association with Luxe Scot in recognition of its outstanding work in driving sustainability and climate action. 

Sustainable golf featured prominently at the 11th awards ceremony, held last night (Thursday 21st March) at the five-star National Trust for Scotland’s Culloden Battlefield Visitor Centre.

St Andrews Links

St Andrews Links

 

Supported by the GEO Sustainable Golf Foundation, the international not-for-profit dedicated to helping accelerate sustainability and climate action in and through golf, the Awards judging panel shortlisted five outstanding projects from across Scotland.

The finalists of Askernish Golf Club, Carnoustie Golf Links, Machrihanish Dunes Golf Club, Royal Dornoch Golf Club and St Andrews Links Trust demonstrated outstanding commitment and impacts across the sustainable golf framework of fostering nature, conserving resources, taking climate action and strengthening communities.

However, it was the work that St. Andrews Links Trust do on renewable energy, dune restoration and wildlife conservation, especially the scale and extent of their collaboration with universities and various external agencies, which caught the eye of the judging panel.

Alan Grant, Director, Partnerships and Engagement, GEO Sustainable Golf Foundation, said: “Congratulations to St Andrews Links Trust on an inspiring project, and indeed to all the finalists for the collective drive and ambition from so many across golf in Scotland to protect and promote nature, contribute to the circular economy and increase the social value. Their actions are a shining example to clubs across Scotland and beyond.”

VisitScotland, the national body for the development and promotion of tourism in Scotland, has significantly boosted golf’s efforts in sustainability and climate action through its partnership with GEO Sustainable Golf Foundation. The ongoing partnership continues to establish connections and alignment between VisitScotland’s responsible tourism goals, and the sustainability activities being carried out through the leading golf tournaments in Scotland as well as club engagement.

Paul Bush OBE, VisitScotland Director of Events, said: “We all recognise the importance of protecting our magnificent courses and landscapes, which make Scotland such a unique destination. Congratulations to St Andrews Links Trust on winning Best Sustainability Project at the Scottish Golf Tourism Awards for their working on bringing sustainability and green tourism to the home of golf.”

Scottish Golf shares the same vision, offering ongoing encouragement and support to clubs. Through their partnership with GEO Foundation, all clubs in Scotland can freely get involved, adopting the new Sustainable Golf Pledge, utilising the free OnCourse support programme, and accessing annual reports of key data and practices, and carbon footprints, and attaining certification for sustainable golf.

Andrew Baptie, Head of Club Services at Scottish Golf said: “Sustainability in golf has long been on the agenda for Scottish Golf, and with the support of GEO Foundation we’ve been able to provide tangible assistance to golf clubs who are looking to progress their ambitions in this area. We all appreciate the scale of the golf estate across Scotland, and how it can be harnessed for positive change. It’s wonderful to see sustainability work in golf clubs recognised and celebrated as it becomes key to ensuring our clubs continue to thrive in the future.”

The Scottish Golf Tourism Awards play a pivotal role in promoting sustainable practices within the golf tourism industry, inspiring clubs worldwide to embrace environmental and social impact. By acknowledging and celebrating these achievements, the awards aim to encourage continuous innovation and progress towards a more sustainable future for golf tourism in Scotland and beyond.

Other award winners on the evening included Royal Dornoch, Gleneagles and Durness among others.

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Consistency key for the open at St Andrews

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Consistency key for the open at St Andrews: St Andrews trusted Toro maintenance equipment to maintain ‘the home of golf’ for the 150th Open. And ahead of and throughout the week-long tournament in July 2022 distributor Reesink Turfcare was called upon to provide set-up procedure training to ensure consistency in after-cut appearance.  

Reesink provided five days of Cutting Technology training before the tournament as well as specialist technical staff on site throughout the tournament to support the team using a fleet of battery-powered mowers and riding greens mowers.

Consistency key for the open at St Andrews

Consistency key for the open at St Andrews

After-cut appearance training was vital to ensuring the perfect finish across the different courses as Stephen Terreblanche, technical trainer at Reesink Turfcare, explains: “The training was to prepare the team for the Open competition. But more than that, it was to achieve consistency in set-up procedures across all the different courses at St Andrews.

“To get the course ready and keep up with maintenance while the tournament was taking place multiple machines were being operated by different members of the turf professional team at the same time on a single green, and the cut delivered by each machine had to be perfect and consistent across all the machines in the fleet.

“To achieve this the machines had to be set up the same way to avoid different after-cut appearance issues, which would be easily visible if machines with different set-up adjustments were operated side-by-side.”

It was by all accounts a successful investment as the machines proved on the world stage how a golf course can use battery power and riding greens mowers to sustainably achieve ideal playing conditions to test the best golfers in the sport.

Reesink’s range of training courses are designed to be delivered on the customers’ premises and give the team the training it needs to ensure they can operate the chosen machinery safely and efficiently in an environment they are familiar with for the best possible results. (Disclaimer: This isn’t specific to world tournaments!)

For further information on the courses available and to book, visit https://www.reesinkturfcare.co.uk/resources/training-courses

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Foley combination at St Andrews

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Foley combination at St Andrews: One hundred and sixty-two years after the first Open at Prestwick, St Andrews hosted the historic 150th edition of golf’s most famous championship.

In early July 2022, the anticipated record-breaking crowds lined the Old Course to witness golf’s best players compete for the Claret Jug. Every blade of grass from the pristine greens, immaculate fairways and challenging roughs which have been cut with blades sharpened by a Foley grinder, and that is how Director of Greenkeeping Sandy Reid wanted it.

Foley combination at St Andrews

Foley combination at St Andrews

Sandy is no stranger to hosting an Open, with three under his belt during his time at Carnoustie. But, this historic milestone in the championship’s history may have been the best yet for the Open veteran.

“It’s the highlight of your career because it doesn’t get any bigger than hosting The Open, and you try to absorb all of that and cherish it,” Sandy explains. “It’s the 150th Open, so it’s a big celebration. There are big crowds, and that means the infrastructure requirements are bigger, and there is a more significant impact on the rest of the estate.

“We never stop planning for it, but from 18 months out, that’s when you’re doing more winter preparations. The infrastructure build starts at the beginning of April, so away from the playing surface, there is a lot of attention required.

“As for the turf, you work back from the day The Open starts and build up to it, so at this point in June, we’re fine-tuning things.”

Preparation is everything at the home of golf, and for three years, the 653 Accu-Master Reel Grinder and 673 Automatic Bedknife Grinder have aided preparation. Recently joined by the 622 Accu-Spin Reel grinder, these machines’ ease of use and quality output have impressed Sandy and his team of five technicians.

Presentation and playing consistency take centre stage during The Open, and with the three Foley’s in place, the Old Course team have achieved that in the build-up to the main event.

“We really couldn’t ask for a better combination of grinders to keep our cutting units sharp for this year’s Open and beyond,” Sandy begins.

“It’s critical that all of our mowers are as sharp as they can be. What we’re able to get from the Foley’s is extreme accuracy and the ease of use for the technicians. The speed at which they can grind means we’re saving on person-hours and are never without machines for long, so it makes life a lot easier.

“The quality of the grind gives us longevity in terms of performance from the mowers, and because they are staying on cut for so long, we can be more productive.”

At St Andrews, four greenkeeping teams maintain seven courses. Each team has its own machinery fleet but relies on a central workshop. In the build-up to The Open, it was business as usual on the other courses, making the efficiency and reliability of the Foley grinders paramount.

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