Tag Archive for: Support

UK greenkeepers selected to support The R&A

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UK greenkeepers selected to support The R&A: The 150th Open at St Andrews is set to be a historic event with record crowds witnessing the world’s greatest players contest the Claret Jug and a team of almost 50 greenkeepers from golf clubs all over the United Kingdom and further afield will be supporting the home greenkeeping team as they prepare the Old Course’s famous fairways.

Each year The R&A requests the assistance of British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) members in the staging of the event. Every full BIGGA member who has been with the association for at least two years is eligible to apply for a place on the Volunteer Open Support Team and those who are selected are given incredible access to golf’s greatest championship, supporting every match with bunker raking duties.

UK greenkeepers selected to support The R&A

UK greenkeepers selected to support The R&A

The history of the Volunteer Open Support Team began at St Andrews in 1984 following years of complaints from golfers and the governing body that bunker raking at The Open was inconsistent. Walter Woods BEM, links superintendent at St Andrews at the time, proposed that members of the Scottish & International Golf Greenkeepers Association (SIGGA), which existed prior to the formation of BIGGA in 1987, could be enlisted on a volunteer basis. Having a deputised band of trained greenkeepers on site would also provide the home greenkeeping team with additional support, should the need arise. The Volunteer Open Support Team was formed and has attended every Open since, providing hundreds of BIGGA members with incredible memories and inspiring them to achieve greater things both in their careers and at their home facilities.

Joining the BIGGA volunteers will be Gordon Moir, BIGGA President 2022, himself a former links superintendent at St Andrews and an industry veteran who supervised the hosting of five Opens. Gordon will begin his presidency at the BIGGA Turf Management Exhibition (BTME) 2022, taking place from 22 to 24 March at the Harrogate Convention Centre.

BIGGA CEO Jim Croxton said: “The 150th Open will be a spectacular celebration of the sport of golf and in some ways the Volunteer Open Support Team recognises the vital role greenkeepers have played over the centuries in the development and prospering of this wonderful game, so we are thankful to The R&A for providing this opportunity for BIGGA members each year. The Open is the world’s greatest golf tournament and this is set to be the biggest and best instalment ever, so everyone at BIGGA – including those members who form the home St Andrews greenkeeping team – is looking forward to playing our part in the hosting of the championship.”

This year’s BIGGA Volunteer Open Support Team features a record number of first-time team members and each year is provided with accommodation, subsistence and uniform for the event. Restrictions may be in place as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and any necessary adjustments to working practices will be made clear to BIGGA members ahead of the championship.

The 150th Open takes place from 10 to 17 July 2022. Applications for the BIGGA Volunteer Open Support Team for The 151st Open at Royal Liverpool will open later this year.

Here are the BIGGA members who will be assisting the home greenkeepers for the duration of The 150th Open:

Robert Acheson, Thonock Park; Daniel Ashelby, Reddish Vale; George Barr, Worthing; Robert Bemment, Elsham; Simon Bone, Royal Wimbledon; James Bonfield, The Hertfordshire; Adam Brackley, Heworth; Tim Brown, Hockley; Michael Budd, Richmond Park; Steven Carmichael, Dumfries & Galloway; Stuart Christon, Middlesbrough (Brass Castle); Paul Clarkson, Sherborne; Mark Cleverley, Ludlow; David Davies, St Annes Old Links; Jack Fairbairn, Shipton; David Forbes, Faughan Valley; Dean Franks, West Sussex; Michael Gibbons, Dunham Forest; James Gilchrist, Harborne; Andrew Harding, Boyce Hill; Darren Hexley, Muir of Ord; Stevie-Jon Hood, Ljunghusens, Sweden; Jamie Hughes, Lyme Regis; Paul Law, South Staffordshire; Craig Littlejohn, Douglas Park; David McCormick, Royal Porthcawl; Matthew Milligan, Rudding Park; Tiffany Mills, Ryston Park; David McCormick, Royal Porthcawl; William Morton, Llanishen; Ronnie Myles, Buchanan Castle; Ian Nichols, Orsett; George Nock, Enville; Joshua Raper, Hosel EV, Germany; Scott Rigby, Gathurst; Scott Robertson, Strathmore; Harry Roe, Alwoodley; Andrew Sellars, The Grove; Chris Sheehan, Chorlton-cum-Hardy; Niels Sorensen, Randers, Denmark; Craig Surgeon, Kirkcaldy; Rick Tegtmeier CGCS MG, Des Moines, USA; Mark Thompson, Galgorm Castle; Ross Traill, Kilmarnock (Barassie); Sean Tully, Meadow Club, USA; Jeremy Ward, Bradford Moor; George Watton, Ludlow; Aidan Wright, Camberley Heath.

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Support for “Ultimate Golf Internship”

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Support for “Ultimate Golf Internship”: Origin Amenity Solutions with their group member Rigby Taylor have agreed to support the Machrie Golf Internship programme launched by the club this month.

This exciting initiative is a, once-in-a-lifetime, paid internship programme that will provides hands-on insight into the golf and leisure industry and a unique learning experience for young talent considering this career path.

Support for "Ultimate Golf Internship”

Support for “Ultimate Golf Internship”

Working across various departments the successful interns will cover the Golf and Hotel Operations and Championship Links Maintenance. But it is not all work. The internship programme students will spend days playing casual and competitive golf on the renowned golf course ranked in the Top 100 courses by Golf World Magazine.

Applicants are encouraged to sign up via: www.campbellgrayhotels.com/machrie-islay-scotland/offers/the-ultimate-golf-internship.

The deadline for submissions is 12pm on 9 January 2022, with internships running from April 2022 to October 2022.

As part of their support for this Internship programme, Rigby Taylor will make available through theory and practice many of the group resources to help ensure the success of this exciting Internship programme. Internees will be invited to visit the OAS Turf Science and Technology Centre in Essex, England where they will view and be informed upon the trials programmes being conducted and given insights into the technologies that may be available for golf course maintenance in the future.

Commenting on behalf of Machrie Golf Club Dean Muir, Golf Manager stated:

“We are delighted to have Origin Amenity Solutions and Rigby Taylor’s support for The Machrie’s Golf Internship Programme. Their involvement will be invaluable to our interns learning experience and we look forward to working with their expert team.”

Responding, Richard Fry Marketing Director for OAS stated, “This is a truly exciting and innovative industry initiative and a perfect ‘fit’ for the company in that it encompasses many of its own values and ethics. The future of the industry relies on new entrants; ones that can combine practical skills with advancing technology and the understanding of the need for a dual track, mutually inclusive approach to individual career and personal development.

OAS is a group of businesses that comprises of some highly regarded commercial entities including, Rigby Taylor, Headland Amenity, Symbio and TurfKeeper. These businesses are supported by a Turf Science and Technology Centre that has the overriding aim of achieving through research, development, education and training, advances for the benefit of the turf care industry.

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Toro & Reesink provide support for Royal St George’s

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Toro & Reesink provide support for Royal St George’s: Royal St George’s has undergone months of preparations to welcome players, spectators and members of the media for The 149th Open and ably assisting the talented greenkeeping team create optimal course conditions are Toro machinery and irrigation.

Back on the course in Kent from 11–18 July 2021 for the 15th time, the rescheduled Championship was originally planned for July 2020 and cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but as Reesink Turfcare managing director David Cole says, ‘good things come to those who wait’.

Toro & Reesink provide support for Royal St George’s

Toro & Reesink provide support for Royal St George’s

“They say that good things come to those who wait and that certainly characterises the journey Paul and his team have been on through the preparation for The 149th Open Championship that was postponed,” says David. “The highs and lows must have been challenging during their protracted journey to showcase the golf course at last. The results of their presentation is testament to their focus and resilience, and we and Toro are pleased to have supported Paul and his team along the way with both their irrigation systems and machinery.”

The 18-hole course is using Toro Reelmaster fairway mowers, Groundsmaster rough mowers, Greensmaster TriFlex Hybrid riding greensmowers and Greensmaster Flex walk-behind greensmowers to create a first-class finish for the event which is expected to draw crowds of up to 32,000 a day. Reesink will also be loaning the club additional machines to keep up with maintenance demands.

The world-famous golf course began its long relationship with Toro with a fleet deal in 2013, and that relationship has continued with the installation of new irrigation in 2018 and the lease of additional equipment in 2019.

After installing the Toro Lynx Central Control System and over a thousand sprinklers across the greens, tees and fairways in 2018, course manager Paul Larsen and his team have been able to target irrigation to the areas that needed it most — conserving water through a series of very dry and hot summers. According to Larsen, the system has been instrumental in helping to maintain the highest standards leading up to The Open.

Peter Moeller, vice president at The Toro Company, says: “Royal St George’s is considered one of the world’s best golf courses, and we are thrilled that they have chosen Toro equipment to create optimal playing conditions on their course. We’re proud to be a part of it by supporting the greenkeepers at Royal St George’s throughout the Championship as well as in the future.”

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Polaris support Sporting & Sportrap Championships

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Polaris support Sporting & Sportrap Championships: Polaris Off Road Vehicles continues its partnership with the prestigious UK shooting ground, E.J. Churchills, by supporting the 2021 CPSA World English Sporting and Sportrap Championships that took place last week.

Running from Monday 5th July to Sunday 11th July, this was the sixth time that E.J. Churchill had hosted the World Championships, which attracts competitors from all over the world. Polaris UK supported E.J. Churchill by supplying a number of vehicles to help with event logistics, including the Ranger XP 1000 Crew, General 4-seater model, Ranger 1000, Ranger Diesel and the electric Ranger EV, in addition to the existing fleet in operation across the grounds.

Polaris support Sporting & Sportrap Championships

Polaris support Sporting & Sportrap Championships

Known as the most prestigious clay pigeon shooting ground in England, and the largest, spanning over 35-acres, the award-winning E.J. Churchills Shooting Ground is built upon a century of heritage and excellence. The grounds are located just outside of London on the wider West Wycombe Estate; a 5,000-acre estate that is home to the Dashwood family and has been since 1698. With the grand English estate of West Wycombe as a backdrop for the event, competitors enjoyed the traditional British experience surrounded by the beautiful English countryside.

Polaris off-road vehicles have been in operation across the estate for over ten years, with a number of Polaris Ranger models being used for ground management, maintenance and VIP guest logistics. For E.J. Churchill, it comes down to reliability, and for the World Championships specifically, E.J. Churchill needed to ensure their vehicles did not let them down across such an important event.

Rob Fenwick, Managing Director of E.J. Churchill Shooting Ground, said: “The World Championships are always a huge deal for us at E.J. Churchills, and it’s really important that we have complete confidence in our kit to ensure everything runs smoothly – it’s vital to a successful event. In our opinion, the Polaris vehicles do just about every job with complete ease; it’s a seriously hard-working tool that’s never let us down since we started using them ten years ago.”

The 2021 CPSA World English Sporting and Sportrap Championships alternate between the Clay Pigeon Shooting Association (CPSA) in England and the National Sporting Clays Association (NCSA) in the USA each year. The World English Sporting Championships consisted of 200 targets, shot over two days. There was a 25-target Super Final, where the top six shooters competed for the title. The World Sportrap Championships is a 100-target competition shot across the course of the week. In addition to the two world championships, a preliminary English Sporting course and a FITASC Sporting course also took place during the event.

Watch the ninth episode of RANGER Stories to see how E.J. Churchills Shooting Ground uses their Polaris Ranger vehicles on the Polaris Off-Road International YouTube channel here.

For more information on E.J. Churchills and the World Championships, please visit https://www.ejchurchill.com/

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Championship treble for dealer support

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Championship treble for dealer support: Scottish John Deere dealers Thomas Sherriff & Co and Double A will complete a unique treble this summer as they provide vital tournament support for the abrdn Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club in July, the Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open at Dumbarnie Links and the AIG Women’s Open at Carnoustie Golf Links, both in August.

This is The Renaissance Club’s third consecutive Scottish Open, with the course running an extensive John Deere equipment fleet including the new satellite guided GPS PrecisionSprayer and 2550E PrecisionCut hybrid electric greens mowers.

Championship treble for dealer support

Championship treble for dealer support

Sherriff Haddington turf sales manager Dougie Archibald arranged for the supply of additional 8000AE PrecisionCut hybrid electric fairway mowers, Gator utility vehicles and other support equipment to deputy head superintendent Jamie Aitken, who headed up the course maintenance team for the abrdn Scottish Open.

The dealership’s senior technician John Blair also spent two days before the tournament setting up the mower fleet to ensure all the machines achieved a consistently high quality finish.

Head superintendent Paul Seago says: “We are indebted to John Deere, local dealer Thomas Sherriff & Co and their respective staff for once again providing the tournament support fleet for the 2021 abrdn Scottish Open, without which we could not produce our course to the exacting standards required for hosting such a prestigious event.

“As an end user, particularly during these globally challenging times, it is reassuring to know that customer support remains a high priority at John Deere. As The Renaissance Club motto says, ‘Rare Indeed’.”

Dumbarnie Links is a new venue for the Women’s Scottish Open, and this will be the first major golf tournament hosted by Scotland’s newest golf course, which only opened for play officially at the end of May last year. The course also operates a number of E-Cut hybrid electric mowers as part of its equally extensive John Deere fleet, supplied by Double A from its main Cupar outlet in Fife.

The dealership was involved with the Dumbarnie Links project from the very beginning, and since the initial supply of John Deere equipment on loan Double A group sales manager Ross Kelly and golf key accounts manager John Bateson have been phasing in a full range of course maintenance equipment over the past three years.

“It’s simply not possible to achieve what we want to achieve without the extra machines and technical support we get from Double A and John Deere,” says Dumbarnie Links course manager Grahame Taylor. This will include additional hybrid greens, fairways and surrounds mowers plus HPX Gator utility vehicles, with John Bateson also cutting aprons throughout the tournament using a new 2750E PrecisionCut machine.

“Our team of 20 greenkeepers expands to 30 for the Open, and we need to carry out all the necessary tasks as quickly and efficiently as possible. The expanded fleet enables us to increase the mowing frequency, particularly during the tournament when there’s only a short time-frame to get the work done before the start of play. We’ll therefore have lights fitted to all the mowers, as we’ll be starting in the dark at 4.15am each day.”

Carnoustie Golf Links, known as ‘Golf’s Greatest Test’ and a flagship for innovation and sustainable golf course management, entered into a new partnership agreement with John Deere and Rain Bird in 2020. It is also taking advantage of the latest developments in precision technology, with a comprehensive equipment fleet that includes three of the first new GPS PrecisionSprayers to be sold in Europe.

The AIG Women’s Open returns after 10 years to Carnoustie for the 45th playing of the championship in 2021, with the famous Angus course becoming the fifth links venue in history to host the event multiple times.

Carnoustie Golf Links courses manager Kevin Stott says: “Reliable manufacturer and dealer support such as that provided by John Deere and Double A is very important. Hosting a major tournament such as the AIG Women’s Open requires the extra kit and manpower to help our team put that extra polish on the fairways and greens, and make maximum use of the available daylight hours.

“It comes down to the frequency and quality of cut that we need to apply across all three courses. Our primary focus is on giving golfers the very best conditions possible for them to play their best golf.

“This year, as we welcome some of the very best golfers in the world for the AIG Women’s Open, we are ensuring that Carnoustie will provide the great test that is expected from this iconic golf course and that we produce world class surfaces that will challenge every part of their game, resulting in the best all round golfer winning.”

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