Tag Archive for: That

We Care, That You Care

We Care, That You Care: As we approach STIGA‘s 90th anniversary, the gardening mower and tool company stands at a unique intersection of rich heritage and exciting possibilities.

The ‘We Care, That You Care’ campaign embodies the STIGA passion for nature and the pledge towards a more sustainable future.  The goal? To support 90 community garden groups throughout the UK, honouring each year of the 90th anniversary, by empowering others with innovative, eco-friendly garden products.

We Care, That You Care

We Care, That You Care

Become one of the Stiga 90!

STIGA believes that everyone deserves the chance to cultivate beautiful spaces responsibly, and during 2024 the team are giving away their eco-friendly garden products to community garden groups, up and down the UK, for free! ‘We care that you care’, and this is our way of showing you we care.

Cultivating Connections

The campaign is aimed at a diverse array of community groups, from schools and hospital gardens to urban gardens, food bank gardens, community gardens and guerrilla gardeners. Each one of these groups represents a unique opportunity for STIGA to engage, help and empower local communities.

Growing together

Communities and individuals associated with the community group can engage with STIGA through a dedicated web page, where information about their project will be collected and products selected that will benefit their project. This process ensures every aspiring group has an equal opportunity to bloom with STIGA.

How to get involved

If you are responsible for any non-profit, community group or charity that looks after a green space and would like to receive products from STIGA’s innovative, eco-friendly garden product range…for free, then simply register on the wecare.stigauk.com website.

The STIGA judging panel will assess your application along with your social engagement tokens. You will be notified if you are successful, stating the free products that will be donated to your community group.

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Performance that will blow you away

Performance that will blow you away: A new EGO cordless backpack blower with improved power, performance and productivity is now available for both domestic and professional use.

EGO Power Plus, a technology leader in high-performance battery-powered equipment, is introducing the LBP8000E Backpack Blower. Featuring EGO’s PeakPower™ technology and a more powerful motor, it offers extra runtime and better performance.

Performance that will blow you away

Performance that will blow you away

Vince Brauns, Group Product Manager at EGO, said: “The new LBP8000E ensures that clearing work is quicker and more efficient than ever before, without any of the noise or fumes of petrol tools. Our PeakPower™ system fully harnesses the potential of using two EGO batteries at once, making it possible to provide extra runtime and power.

“Designed with an improved user interface, control system and newer, more powerful motor, the LBP8000E represents a step change in comfortable, efficient working.”

PeakPower™ combines the power of two EGO batteries for maximum output and up to two and a half hours of runtime. The new motor enhances air speed and delivers class-leading cordless equipment air volume of 1360m³/h. Upgraded PCBA cooling further improves durability, while the integrated tool stand helps keep the harness and batteries clean and dry.

The LBP8000E is part of EGO’s Professional range, designed for larger gardens and for everyday use by contractors. For domestic use it has a five-year warranty on the tool and three years on the batteries, while professional users benefit from a two-year warranty on both the tool and the batteries.

EGO is a true pioneer in battery powered outdoor power equipment. Like all EGO products, the new backpack blower uses EGO’s 56V ARC Lithium™ battery, that works across the entire EGO range. EGO’s batteries deliver the industry’s highest energy capacity. Their performance surpasses the competition mechanically, chemically, and electrically. Each battery features EGO’s unique KeepCool™ technology, intelligent power management, fast recharge and a host of other innovations designed to deliver convenience, quality, and reliability.

For the user, battery slots on either side of the backpack ensure that the tool is centrally balanced on their back, while an improved harness provides greater comfort. Other productivity-boosting features include tool-free handle adjustment and an ergonomic handle with variable speed trigger and trigger lock. Furthermore, an LCD display ensures the operator has quick access to real-time battery and tool status.

The LBP8000E retails at £429 including VAT and further details can be found at https://egopowerplus.co.uk/products/blowers/lbp8000e-backpack-blower.

Discover the full range at www.egopowerplus.co.uk

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MM – a grass seed that rocks!

MM – a grass seed that rocks!: From the very first day that legendary guitarist KK Downing decided to establish a golf course, Astbury Hall Golf Club in Shropshire has only ever used MM grass seed.

Course Manager Sean Jarvis has long relied on the market leading MM grass seed, ever since working at Bournemouth’s Iford Golf Club and then to the Open Golf Centre in Leicester where he managed the establishment of a new 9-hole golf course. In 2004, Sean again turned to MM seed when he took on the role of Course Manager at Astbury Hall and oversaw the complete construction of the championship course.

MM – a grass seed that rocks!

MM – a grass seed that rocks!

“I’ve been using MM seed for 22 years and counting. It is still as good now as it was when I first started using it all those years ago,” he said.

Astbury Hall Estate was formerly owned by KK Downing, the lead guitarist for heavy metal band Judas Priest, who purchased the estate, just outside Bridgnorth in Shropshire in 1985. A keen golfer, KK bought the estate to establish a top-quality elite golf course. His design was largely influenced by his experiences of playing golf around the world.

For the construction of the Astbury course Sean used MM22 for all fairways, tees and roughs with the greens being sown with a mix of Creeping Bent, Browntop Bent and Fescue.

KK may not own the stately home anymore, but the course continues to go from strength to strength under the watchful eye of Sean – who persists to use products from the MM range.

“We now use MM50 100% Ryegrass for tees and fairways as we need more wear tolerance,” he said. “This is because the tees are quite small compared with the amount of golf we have, plus the Ryegrass varieties in the mix are very fine leaved so it gives a nice fine sward.

“The greens are oversown with MM9 – a 100% Browntop Bent plus Cobra Nova Creeping Bent. We tend to overseed the greens towards the end of the summer while there is still a reasonable soil temperature to get a good germination rate.

“Given that it can be quite cool here in Bridgnorth in the early spring, oversowing the greens in late summer gives me a window of opportunity when carrying out general greens renovation. Plus cutting heights are not at the lowest during this time which gives the seedling grass a better chance of surviving. Fairways and tees are divoted over the course of the summer as part of the general course maintenance.”

MM is one of the most respected brands in the UK sportsturf and amenity industries. With a proven track record of producing the best possible swards, the MM range of grass seed offers an unrivalled performance and appearance. There is a reason why Sean has been using the mixtures for so long – as he explains.

“The different MM mixtures and varieties have always worked for me at the three different courses I have managed,” he said. “All three had different challenges with the climate and growing conditions from the dry south coast through to the wet Shropshire countryside.

Germination speed, establishment and seed quality are just three strengths of the products I have come to rely on. Furthermore, the seaweed based Headstart Gold seed treatment helps with seedling establishment.

“I have experimented with other blends in the past but never found them to deliver in the way that MM mixtures do.”

Aside from the performance of MM mixtures, Sean was quick to praise the support he receives from Matt Gresty, MM & Designer Sales and Brand Manager for DLF UK.

“I have known Matt since the year 2000 when he got involved with the project at Iford Park and I started using the MM mixtures. Since then, I have used Matt’s advice and seed knowledge on the courses I have managed. A strong relationship with my suppliers who can give good technical advice that I can trust, has always been important to me.”

For further information, please contact MM Sports Seed on 01386 791102 or visit the company’s website www.mm-seeds.co.uk.

You can also follow the company on Twitter: @MM_Seed.

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Video game that mirrors real-life

Video game that mirrors real-life: We’re sure many Turf Managers relax by coming home from work, having dinner and then settling down in front of the computer to play games. No doubt there are some experts in Minecraft, or Grand Theft Auto but most will be no more than casual players.

However, a new game is guaranteed to uncover some of the top players in the country from the ranks our turf professionals.

Video game that mirrors real-life

Video game that mirrors real-life

Lawn Mower Simulator is a video game developed by a Liverpool-based company, Skyhook which allows you to delve into the serene British countryside on real world licenced mowers. These include manufacturers such as Toro, Sitga and Stag. LMS enables you to experience the day-to-day running of your lawn mowing business while exploring the charming scenery on display.

The idea came into the mind of Managing Director, David Harper, one afternoon as he observed landscapers at work in the park.

“It was that moment that led development on the project to commence in January 2020 and was released in August 2021 to Steam and Xbox Series S|X. Lawn Mowing Simulator is now available on Xbox One. We brought together our highly skilled team here at Skyhook with our publisher Curve Games to bring our vision to life,” explained David.

So now you can take your work home and keep your grass cutting skills as sharp as ever!

Ventrac – versatility that works

Ventrac – versatility that works: This is Price Turfcare’s first venture at SAGE and they will be demonstrating the new Ventrac 4520 all-terrain compact tractor which has over 30 dedicated attachments designed specifically for the turf manager.

On Stand 7 their demonstration vehicle, equipped with 20- and 30-degree ramps, will be there so the team can put the machine through its paces on slopes that no other ride-on machine in the UK can tackle. Rupert Price, the company’s managing director, invites you to come and view this remarkably versatile machine and see for yourself why Ventrac has become the ‘Swiss Army Knife’ for the turfcare industry. Versatility that works, every day.

Ventrac – versatility that works

Ventrac – versatility that works

www.priceturfcare.com

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The electric armchair that cuts grass

The electric armchair that cuts grass: We have the electric car, scooter, and bicycle – all of which are battery powered – now it’s the first drive-by-wire lawnmower for domestic gardens that offers the comfort of a favourite armchair while cutting the grass.

The STIGA Gyro sets the standards for battery powered mowing.  It employs STIGA’s eMotion Technology – a unique electronic system providing effortless steering and speed all delivered through a precise, armrest mounted joystick.

The electric armchair that cuts grass

The electric armchair that cuts grass

Powered by STIGA’s eMotion technology – a unique electronic system developed to effortlessly govern direction, steering and speed – Gyro offers an extremely precise joystick to control the vehicle, allowing it to turn on a sixpence, guaranteeing an enjoyable ride, and taking lawn mowing to a whole new level.

Each rear wheel is driven by a self-contained electric motor and this combination guarantees a powerful cutting performance, superior ergonomic design delivering unsurpassed driver comfort and mower manoeuvrability.

The Gyro is suitable for large and complex gardens up to 8,000 square meters.   The 360-degree turning radius enables close mowing up to lawn edges, even under bushes, while ensuring maximum driver visibility.

“This is what lawnmowers will be like in the future and are available later this month.  Gyro establishes a completely new category of battery-powered sit-on mowers for challenging areas, unbeatable productivity that are not just fun but comfortable to drive too” says Gary Whitney, managing director of STIGA UK.

STIGA Gyro is available from May with retail prices from £7,131.

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A Cordless Hover that is less bother

A Cordless Hover that is less bother: New to Mountfield for 2022, we introduce the Typhoon – a cordless hover mower which will allow you to mow with the flow!

The Typhoon is powered by 2 x 4Ah (20V) smart Stiga e-power batteries that provide ample power to cut lawns up to 100sqm from one charge.

A Cordless Hover that is less bother

A Cordless Hover that is less bother

Easy to use and Easy to manoeuvre the Typhoon will glide across the grass with ease, forwards, backwards and side to side…. And with no cord to get tangled in bushes, hedges, or garden furniture!

The unique patented cutting deck traps the air creating the right amount of energy to produce the cushioning effect that lifts the mower from the ground similar to a hovercraft.  The blade has been specially designed for maximum cutting efficiency without disturbing air flow.

This mower is extremely lightweight, just 7kg so very easy to transport to areas around the garden that require cutting.  It is also easy to store in any garden shed or garage, flat against the wall from a single hook.

The mower comes with 2 x 20V 4Ah batteries and a dual charger, the batteries are interchangeable within other products in the Freedom100 cordless range such as a grass trimmer, blower, vacuum shredder, hedge trimmer and multi-tool as well as a selection of 3 collecting mowers.

The Typhoon is a must-have for those who have stepped gardens or sloped grassed banks and will be available from Amazon UK, selected B&Q stores and online at B&Q and Screwfix from March 2022.

Easy Mows it!

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The battery that knows what it’s doing

The battery that knows what it’s doing: Intelligent Lithium-Ion batteries are the heart of the new Mountfield cordless range. Batteries that recognise the mower or tool that they are fitted to and tune the power appropriately to maximise battery life and deliver the right amount of power to get the job done.

These new intelligent batteries – believed to be a world first – will help British gardeners roll out the Quiet Revolution of Mountfield battery powered equipment that focusses on ease of use.

The battery that knows what it's doing

The battery that knows what it’s doing

Battery power is rapidly replacing petrol and electric cables as a lifestyle trend in gardening. In the UK in 2020, 12.5% of lawn mower sales were battery and this trend is projected to increase to 23% by 2025. At Mountfield the focus is on delivering cleaner, safer and more reliable energy supply.

All the battery lawnmowers and hand-held tools in the Mountfield range, new for 2021, are built from lightweight, robust materials. Whether mowing, cutting, trimming or clearing, they are as powerful and long-lasting as their petrol equivalents but with none of the noise, fumes and hassle of engine maintenance.

This cut away of the STIGA 48V battery clearly shows how cooling air can freely circulate around the battery cells to help prolong operating and shorten recharge times.

E-Power works ‘smart’ in both the 20V and 48V battery systems. In the freedom100 Series of lawnmowers and hand-held tools, the 20V battery has a microchip. The Smart Tool Recognition System recognises the type of tool and tunes the power appropriately to maximise battery life and performance of the machine being used. This cost-effective, adaptive battery performance is unique to Mountfield and none of the main competitors in this price segment offer this. The 48V battery has an internal memory that registers all working parameters and communicates any issues between the battery, the tool and even the charger. The self-propelled mowers in this range are powered by two 48V batteries that work as a synchro pair – the powertrain balancing the energy load and synchronising the discharge for maximum efficiency and cutting performance.

Mountfield batteries are tested at a full, “real-life” usage current that goes far beyond the test widely used in the industry, that is less demanding. Industry Standard tests only 300 charges at 20% of the “real-life” usage current. The Mountfield E-Power batteries, developed, tested and produced at STIGA’s Italian plant, were still gong strong after 600 charges. That is the equivalent of an owner running down and recharging the battery twice a week for six years.

From the family-friendly simplicity of the Freedom100 series to the longer-lasting power of the Freedom500 series, E-Power can drive the smallest tool or the biggest lawnmower including Mountfield’s first ever battery-powered garden tractor range.

“Our new battery is a real game changer,” says Gary Tully, sales and marketing director of STIGA UK. “For the first time there is a battery powered lawnmower suited to small gardens with pocket handkerchief sizes lawns and significantly areas of grass in country houses. This is a first for British gardeners.”

Mountfield is owned by STIGA UK Limited and the lawnmowers and hand-held gardening tools being launched this year are all produced at the company’s Italian plant.

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Local Heroes For An Event That Produced A Local Hero…

Local Heroes For An Event That Produced A Local Hero…: Scott MacCallum catches up with Royal Portrush Course Manager, Graeme Beatt, following the magnificent return of the Open Championship to the island of Ireland.

Graeme Beatt arrived home from work and poured himself a gin and tonic before settling into a chair to reflect on the events of the previous, days, weeks and months. It’s not often that you have been charged with preparing a golf course for the biggest event on the planet, and, in the case of Royal Portrush Golf Club, it was the first time in 68 years that an Open Championship had come to call.

Local Heroes For An Event That Produced A Local Hero…

Graeme smiled as he thought about the great work of his own greenkeeping team, always going that little bit beyond; how the volunteers, who had given up their time, unpaid, to contribute towards a stupendous Open venue; and how the entire club, town and island of Ireland had embraced the occasion.

The fact that the event had produced a local hero winner – if not exactly the one who had been expected to lift the Claret Jug – made the whole occasion so much more of a fairy tale.

Like most well written stories, however, the week and the lead up, had produced so many twists and turns that by the time that drink was poured Graeme was worn out.

“I had been invited to a drinks’ reception with the winner by the Championship Committee but after the trophy presentation on the 18th green I’d gone back to thank our own staff and the volunteers. I then went to lock up the sheds, got into my pick-up and drove back through the course. It was a struggle as it was still full of spectators.

“When I got to the gate I spotte my wife, Katriona, and our kids, Charlotte and Emily, walking home in the pouring rain so I picked them up. By then the plan of returning for a formal reception wasn’t too appealing so I poured a drink before we went to friends for a little while and then bed.”

Local Heroes For An Event That Produced A Local Hero…

Who could blame him? The hours he and his team were clocking up by Championship week, never mind the months leading up to it, would have had anyone tasked with implementing the Working Hours Directive applying for overtime just to log all the infractions.

“I was arriving at the course at 3.30am for a 4am start and we weren’t getting back home until half ten or a quarter to eleven at night. It was an amazing experience but at the same time we were absolutely shattered,” revealed Graeme.

All the work paid off. The course looked incredible and played superbly with weather conditions testing the players in a manner that is always hoped. The fact that Shane Lowry is a links specialist play, and, if not one of Ireland’s Major winner club members before he arrived, was regarded as a top class player. The course did identify a true champion and a true local hero.

To the question “On a scale of one to ten how happy were you with the course on the Monday of the Championship?” Graeme pondered for a moment and then said: “I’d say eight and a half.”

Top Course Managers are never satisfied, hence the missing point and a half, but Graeme had a vision of how he had wanted his Open course.

“I had a picture in my head of how I wanted the course to look, and that was to be a little bit browned off. We would have needed a few weeks of dry weather to be able to do that. The course was stunning but quite green and that wasn’t down to fertiliser, it was purely the rainfall and the warm weather. Everything greened up and stayed like that for the entire Championship.

“I was pleased with the condition of the course. I was pleased with the turf. Pleased with everything had come up and how the course played. It was just the colour really. As the Championship went on it just continued to rain and we had to do more and more to get green speed, which was the opposite if what we thought we would be doing,” said Graeme, who had to deal with 35 mil of rain in an hour just the Wednesday before Championship week. That is excessive even by Portrush standards.

“It absolutely bucketed down and we were shovelling bunker sand back and pumping water out of bunkers at eight o’clock at night. We’d been working on the bunkers for weeks taking sand out of them and reshaping them. We’d got them just right so it was really frustrating. It’s unusual to have washouts in bunkers here, but hey…”

Graeme was working closely with Alistair Beggs, Richard Windows and Adam Newton throughout the Championship, as part of the testing programme which aids course consistency.

Local Heroes For An Event That Produced A Local Hero…

“I was out with Alistair every morning while the other guys, helped by two R&A Scholars, were doing the testing. They would radio green speeds to us after a single cut and we’d decide between ourselves and Grant Moir (the R&A’s Director of Rules) if we should do another cut. It worked really well as it gave us an idea of how much extra speed you’d get from another cut, how much the green speed would drop off in the evening and how much they would drop off again by the following morning.

“The weather being the way it was meant that we were doing quite a bit of cutting – the greens were being triple cut,” revealed Graeme, keeping his staff of 60 – 54 greenkeepers  plus six part-timers who filled divots – busy for the entire week.

The aforementioned bunkers also required more than their fair share of TLC.

“The bunkers were highlighted in the years leading up to the Open as a potential issue. Our bunker sand is our own and it tends to become a bit soft when dry. Even though we were getting rain we were out in the evenings to water them down with hoses just to ensure that they were firm enough and that the ball wouldn’t plug.

“The other thing was the shape of our bunkers. The fairways are designed so that the ball rolls into the bunkers and we didn’t want the ball to roll into the sand and not stop short, so we were fly mowing every day – some of them were being done morning and night. Bit of a difference to the normal once a week!”

Graeme has been Course Manager at the club since 2014, taking over from the retiring Joe Findlay, having been Course Manager at County Sligo prior to that but he is actually from Fife. He was originally from Scotscraig, near St Andrews, and attended the rival school to your Editor, albeit Graeme was quite a number of years later!

He worked at Scotscraig Golf Club before going to the still under construction Kingsbarns. He then spent time at Royal Melbourne Golf Club, in Australia before returning to Kingbarns in 2005 before moving to Ireland the following year.

Local Heroes For An Event That Produced A Local Hero…

“I was a member at Scotscraig, which was an Open qualifier, and I had to take a young Justin Rose around the course when he was attempting to qualify in 1995. I had lunch with him and his family and I did think about saying to him here but felt that he would have so many people saying ‘Remember me?’ to him, that I decided not to in the end.”

While the Open hadn’t been confirmed during the interview process Graeme met with R&A officials as part of his selection, so was aware that the return of the Open was imminent and has been grateful to have had five years to get to grips with the course itself and the enormity of what an Open Championship brings.

The build up to this year’s Championship was more intense than any recent Open, partly due to that great gap between Northern Irish Opens and partly due to the wonderful “Dream Team” of Irish golfers produced over the last few years.

Three time Major winner, Padraig Harrington; Darren Clarke, 2011 Open Champion and Royal Portrush member (Darren struck the first shot of the Championship); Graeme McDowall, 2010 US Open Champion and another homer towner, whose brother is on the Royal Portrush greenkeeping staff, and four time Major winner and pre-Championship favourite, Rory McIlroy, who had broken the Royal Portrush course record as a 17-year-old.

So much expectation was riding on Rory’s slim shoulders that the pressure when he stood on the 1st tee was immense so perhaps it wasn’t too unexpected that his tee shot wasn’t his best. That coupled with the course’s ability to maximise any error, resulted in an opening quadruple bogey eight. That, added to a double bogey at the 16th and a triple bogey at the last, holed his chances below the waterline, and while he heroically shot a second round 65, a 14 shot improvement on his first, he missed the final two rounds by a solitary shot.

Was Graeme aware of what was happening to Rory on the first day?

Aware! He was very nearly part of the action.

“When Rory hit his first tee shot out of bounds it actually went over our heads. I’d nipped down to see him tee off and I was standing left of the fairway with my wife and kids.

Local Heroes For An Event That Produced A Local Hero…

We heard the thud of the ball as it hit the spectator and then his second tee shot landed right beside where we were. We watched him play his fourth into the rough beside the green and just groaned. You could see Rory’s nerves and if he’d played his first round the way he played his second he’d have been a factor.”

As for the other huge fans’ favourite, Tiger Woods? He too missed the cut, much to the dismay of the giant galleries.

The disappointment of losing the two biggest names, turned to elation on the Saturday, however, when Shane Lowry produced a spectacular third round 63 to give himself a handsome lead going into Sunday.

“Shane played north of Ireland golf for years and knows the course like the back of his hand. He can play in any conditions and is a links golfer with all the shots,” said Graeme.

With no-one able to mount a serious challenge on the final day Shane enjoyed a triumphant march around the links, cheered to the rafters from all corners, before holing out for a six shot victory.

One of Graeme’s most memorable moments was standing with the presentation party on the 18th green, but watching his team form a guard of honour for Shane as he marched out to collect the Claret Jug.

“I was so proud of our staff. They had done such an amazing job and pulled it out of the bag. A lot of them were local guys who had played and worked here all their lives and it was just great for everyone.”

While he was at home enjoying that celebratory gin and tonic, the team was at nearby Rathmore Golf Club, Graeme McDowall’s home club, where there was a full blown party underway and an opportunity for the everyone to let their hair down.

For Graeme, though, his work was done and he could think back with satisfaction about what had been achieved and how, after a wait of 62 years, Royal Portrush was very much back on the map and, more importantly, the Open rota.