Tag Archive for: Technology

Potters Point keeps pace with new technology

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Potters Point keeps pace with new technology: Having been loyal to John Deere for the past 25 years, it was perhaps no surprise which brand would be chosen to upgrade the existing golf and turf maintenance fleet at Potters Point holiday and golf resort in County Wicklow.

Overlooking the idyllic Brittas Bay on Ireland’s east coast, south of Dublin, Potters Point is an exclusive luxury mobile home park owned by the Stone family and was established in 1957. Guests that are lucky enough to stay there have free access to the nine-hole parkland golf course extending to 40 acres that was developed in 1987.

Potters Point keeps pace with new technology

Potters Point keeps pace with new technology

When the existing John Deere equipment fleet was due to be updated, Potters Point manager Irene Lacey called on dealer Dublin Grass Machinery to supply the range of new machines. These include an 8700A PrecisionCut fairway mower, 2653B PrecisionCut utility triplex mower, 2550E hybrid electric triplex greens mower, 220SL walk-behind greens mower, two 3039R compact tractors and three HPX 815E Gator utility vehicles.

“We bought our first John Deere machines in 1997 and have used the brand ever since,” says Irene. “These new models have replaced older equipment, as we want to keep the fleet as fresh and new as possible and equipped with the latest technology, and we are very pleased with them.

“There is great security in having new equipment and therefore no worries about breakdowns. The machines are now all working very efficiently both on the course and in the holiday park.”

The local John Deere golf and turf dealer, Dublin Grass Machinery (DGM), was established in 1981 and is now led by managing director Robert Mitchell. Having enjoyed such a long-term relationship with the dealership, Potters Point relies on DGM for its essential backup service.

“Our equipment has always been fully serviced by Dublin Grass Machinery, and we have found the team there over the years to be very efficient and reliable,” says Irene. “Their backup service is second to none – getting anything repaired or replaced is always done in a very timely manner. DGM has proved to be a very good partner to have in this business.”

Potters Point has plans to invest in additional John Deere equipment, particularly to replace a larger tractor that has been working faithfully at the resort since the very first machines were ordered in 1997.

“Having enjoyed such a long relationship with Potters Point, we were naturally very pleased to be asked to supply them with this new machinery package,” adds Robert Mitchell. “We appreciate their business and will continue to provide Irene and head greenkeeper Eamonn Delaney and his team with first class after-sales support.”

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Technology pays off for Gleneagles

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Technology pays off for Gleneagles: As Gleneagles enters the fifth year of its partnership agreement with John Deere, its adoption of the latest precision spraying and mowing technology is paying off across the estate’s world-famous championship courses, The King’s, Queen’s and PGA Centenary, plus the 9-hole Wee Course.

The award-winning luxury destination in Perthshire holds a unique position in golf as the first European venue to have hosted both The Ryder Cup (in 2014) and Solheim Cup (in 2019). John Deere was the official golf course and turf maintenance equipment supplier to Gleneagles for the latter event, with tournament support provided by local supplying dealer Double A at Cupar.

Technology pays off for Gleneagles

Technology pays off for Gleneagles

The next professional tournament scheduled at Gleneagles takes place in July 2022, when The King’s Course will host The Senior Open Presented by Rolex for the first time. This will be Europe’s only Senior Major Championship next year.

Gleneagles Director of Agronomy and Estates Scott Fenwick says: “We’re anticipating a great tournament next summer, particularly as The King’s Course also hosted what was then the Bells Scottish Open from 1987 to 1994. Hopefully a lot of the big-name golfers from that era will be able to play the course again, and we look forward to welcoming them back to Gleneagles.”

Scott Fenwick recently took delivery of the latest additions to Gleneagles’ extensive John Deere course maintenance equipment fleet, including the ProGator-based GPS PrecisionSprayer, WAM 1600T and 9009A TerrainCut rotary rough and finishing mowers, plus nine TS & TX Series Gator utility vehicles.

“We were the first UK golf course to receive a prototype of the GPS PrecisionSprayer for assessment, from the start of the John Deere contract,” says Scott.  “We were able to do a lot of testing with it over three seasons, to help John Deere evaluate the machine in true commercial conditions.

“Accuracy is key for everything we do at Gleneagles. We were also one of the first golf venues in the UK to achieve GEO Certified status, and the environmental credentials of our business are very important to us. To be able to spray only target areas is obviously much better from an environmental point of view. We are now able to apply around 12 to 14 per cent less chemical at lower total volumes of water, which also means lower costs, so it’s a big win all round.

“Although autonomous technology is well established in agriculture, it’s new to our side of the industry. Once you get used to not having to steer the machine and allowing it to do everything automatically, it’s very operator friendly. Testing the sprayer over an extended period meant we could be sure that it did what it was supposed to do and have full confidence in the results.”

Precision is a feature of the A model mowers that Gleneagles uses, with the machines set up using the TechControl system so that they mow and turn at exact speeds. This helps give a consistent finish across all courses.

“This is particularly important on a big site like ours, with a 50-plus strong greenkeeping and gardens team and a lot of equipment,” Scott adds. “Every operator has a slightly different approach and feel, but with so many mowers being used by different people every day, we need to achieve consistency.

“Since joining Gleneagles three years ago our Golf Courses Manager, Craig Haldane, has been instrumental in bringing the golf and gardens staff together to operate as one team across all the courses and grounds. This has meant we can manage and direct operations and the equipment fleet much more efficiently, and it has also improved communications and the use of resources.

“Overall the new John Deere fleet is now in a really good place. It’s also been great for morale that even though the hotel had to close during lockdown, the business has continued to invest in the new machinery we need to maintain the courses to the highest standards.”

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Technology for a cleaner cut

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Technology for a cleaner cut: In order to create the best quality lawn for your customers, turf health is paramount and one of the key things that can help ensure the best turf condition possible is technology in the form of an electronic fuel injection (EFI) engine from Kawasaki.

Mowing is one of the most important aspects of maintaining a good quality lawn and having the right technology can largely determine the success or failure of it, says Lee Skinner, head of sales, Kawasaki Motors Europe: “We’re so often asked what the main thing professional gardeners, landscapers and groundsmen can do to ensure the best possible condition of their turf and the simple answer is to invest in technology.”

Technology for a cleaner cut

Technology for a cleaner cut

Kawasaki now offer five EFI models in their line-up from the FS730V EFI, part of their mid-range commercial series, right up to the FX1000V EFI, the most powerful in Kawasaki’s line-up. These have earned unrivalled support from mowing professionals for their ability to maintain optimal blade tip speed regardless of lawn conditions.

An electronic fuel injection system is a key component to achieving clean-cut mowing. It works with the control system of the electronic throttle to inject fuel in a highly precise manner to maximise output and fuel efficiency. As a result, the engine’s rpm remains unchanged and good operational efficiency is maintained even if the load fluctuates.

Lee continues: “If an engine gets overloaded and blade tip rotation slows when trimming overgrown grass or working on a slope, the mower will fail to produce a sharp cut, no matter how sharp the actual blades are. If a mower’s speed and blade rotation are unaffected by changes in load ー that is, if the engine’s rpm remains stable ー the grass will be cut cleanly.

“The instant throttle response of a Kawasaki EFI engine eliminates engine speed ‘drop’ and allows constant machine operation for a more consistent cut over heavy turf, tall grass and up steep hills. Plus, blade speed holds steady giving a cleaner cut on the first pass.”

In practise how does the technology of the engine affect turf health? Lee says: “Keeping a smooth consistent pace when cutting is key, applicable to all mowing equipment, walk-behind mowers and ride-ons. Start-stop and faltering that lingers over areas is not desirable. This is where good engine governing benefits like the EFI engine, electronically governed for instant reaction to throttle input, drastically reduces engine speed slow-down and in extreme cases, stalling.”

It’s not just the EFI technology that brings a better cut from a Kawasaki engine though as Lee concludes: “The premium build quality of Kawasaki engines lends itself to a strong, robust performance in a wide range of environments. We have an engine range that covers almost every aspect of equipment needs for an operator to maintain turf to the highest level, whatever the landscape and wherever they are in Europe.”

To find out more about Kawasaki’s full engine range, including EFI visit https://www.kawasaki-engines.eu/en/

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Club continues to invest in technology from Toro

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Club continues to invest in technology from Toro: Royal Norwich continues to invest in the latest innovation from Toro. The club in Norfolk has taken advantage of the electric power revolution Toro spearheads with the delivery of an electric Workman GTX-e utility vehicle, alongside the latest pedestrian mower, Toro’s Greensmaster 1026 and is the first club in the country to order Toro’s new NozzAlert Flow Monitoring System with MultiPro 5800 sprayer.

It would have been hard to miss Toro’s meteoric rise in bringing electric and hybrid power to the turfcare market. Off the back of last years’ launch of the first all-electric riding greens mower, the Greensmaster eTriFlex 3370, it’s good to revisit the machine that in a way started it all; the Workman GTX-e utility vehicle, one of the brand’s first triumphs in the electric power arena.

Club continues to invest in technology from Toro

Club continues to invest in technology from Toro

The Workman GTX electric features a 48-volt brushless AC induction drive along with an easily accessible on-board charger, about which estate manager and director at Royal Norwich Peter Todd says: “Toro led the way with the inception of electric power and continues to do so; it’s hard to believe they are still the only brand with a lithium battery electric utility vehicle! By simply removing the lead acid diesel battery in the GTX-e Workman, Toro made this machine much lighter, it’s the equivalent I’d guess of removing a passenger! When running it over fine turf, that’s an important consideration. The battery is sealed for life, there’s less maintenance and performance is better.”

Royal Norwich is the first club in the country to benefit from even more precise spraying. The efficient flow of spray the new NozzAlert provides when installed on Toro’s Multi Pro sprayers is essential for reducing waste and ensuring application efficacy and ideal spraying conditions.

Peter says: “Royal Norwich has been a Toro customer for many years and the reason being is that it has constantly and consistently delivered the quality we need and the innovation we’re after to continually improve the course.”

“I saw the NozzAlert when it launched at the GIS show last year and talked through the new technology with the design engineers on stand. They explained how operators no longer have to judge spray flow based on visibility when using this new bit of kit; instead, NozzAlert delivers continuous monitoring of the entire spray boom and provides both visual and audible alerts if there are any flow disparities. To be told immediately when there’s a blocked nozzle rather than having to wait until your return trip down the fairway appealed then and there!

“Since using the NozzAlerts we’ve become aware of so many advantages that make the vital job of spraying that much easier. It eliminates the chance of spray misses for example and improves the quality of the application.”

The Greensmaster 1026 pedestrian mower is part of Toro’s redesigned classic Greensmaster 1000 series and is new from the tip of its handle to its driveline and chassis. All that remains the same are the patented DPA cutting units, but even that has a modular build to allow the driveline and chassis to be removable for eased servicing.

The reason for this choice was, says Peter for more efficient cutting of the rectangular tee boxes: “Previously we were using a ride-on for cutting the corners and it was a faff and taking too much time,” he says. “We already use the Flex 2120 on the greens and everyone finds it really easy to use and love the telescoping loop handle. The telescoping handle on both makes light work of adjusting for operator heights and handling more user friendly with the loop shape. It’s easy to see more engineering has been brought in with the redesign.”

This approach to having the latest and most innovative turfcare machinery technology is an attitude that spreads across the whole ethos at Royal Norwich as Pete explains: “We’ve always sought to use the most innovative methods. From our greenkeeping facilities which are mostly green – we used recycled materials to build it and PV solar panels to power it. The golf buggies have the latest GPS mapping so we can zone out areas and measure distance to the pin, which means we don’t need markers on the course, and we have Trackman in the practice range providing accuracy stats for players. We’re always on the look-out for the next big thing to make our jobs more efficient and effective and the game more enjoyable for our members.”

And it’s certainly an approach that’s working with membership up by 1,000 since relocating to the new site in 2019.

To talk to someone about Toro technology and how the Toro range would suit your course, call 01480 226800.

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Leicester City adopts precision spray technology

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Leicester City adopts precision spray technology: John Deere’s new advanced technology GPS PrecisionSprayer, available exclusively for use with the ProGator utility vehicle, allows sports turf professionals to work more accurately, safely and productively.

With features such as AutoTrac satellite guided automatic steering, a full-colour in-cab touchscreen display and individual nozzle control, this easy-to-use sprayer also lowers input costs through reduced overlaps and misses.

Leicester City adopts precision spray technology

Leicester City adopts precision spray technology

The GPS PrecisionSprayer uses satellite technology and mobile RTK (real-time kinematic) navigation down to accuracy levels of 2.5cm to allow users to create reliable spray coverage maps. It also captures all spray data and analyses the results, which streamlines documentation and provides robust analytics for recording and legislation purposes.

John Ledwidge, Head of Sports Turf & Grounds at Leicester City Football Club, bought the first of these new machines to be delivered to a non-golf customer in the UK, from John Deere dealer Farol.

“There were many reasons for choosing the sprayer, the chief one being accuracy,” says John. “We are creating a world-class facility at our new training ground and we aspire to be world-class in the way we operate.

“Adopting this new precision technology will help in our aim to be as efficient and environmentally sustainable as possible in everything we do. The John Deere GPS PrecisionSprayer means we can apply exactly what is required without overspraying or overspending.”

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