Tag Archive for: Two

Toro at the fore for two clubs

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Toro at the fore for two clubs: Green Circle Leisure is bringing in more Toro to keep standards high as it embarks on the next stage of development across two of its clubs in the North West.  

For five years, Toro machinery has been at the forefront of Green Circle Leisures’ investment in Allerton Manor Golf Club in South Liverpool and Sherdley Park Golf Club in St Helens, Merseyside. Now with both clubs having made great progress, two new Toro Greensmaster 1000 walk behind cylinder mowers have been bought in to provide the best possible maintenance for the new turf across the new greens and tees of Sherdley Park.

Toro at the fore for two clubs

Toro at the fore for two clubs

In 2015, Green Circle Leisure, the official golf operating partner with Liverpool City Council, purchased a fleet of Toro machinery from Cheshire Turf Machinery in Stockport, as part of the reinvention of Allerton Manor Golf Club. The company’s excellent relationship with Cheshire Turf Machinery, and the reliability and quality of Toro machinery, led to Green Circle Leisure purchasing additional Toro machinery for Sherdley Park Golf Club in 2018, after becoming the operating partner of St Helens Council.

Steve Halley, managing director at Cheshire Turf Machinery said: “It has been a pleasure to work with Michael Hanlon, chief executive at Green Circle Leisure, and his team and witness the transformation of the golf courses and facilities in their care. Since 2015, as well as investing in new equipment, Green Circle Leisure has moved to protect that investment by confirming maintenance programmes with us on all their machines, helping to ensure the continued improvement of the golf courses.”

Director of golf, Bryan Joelson-Mulhall explains: “Over the past few years we’ve invested in both Allerton Manor and Sherdley Park, with our goal from the start to provide facilities as good as or better than private members clubs, while staying affordable and accessible to the whole community. In order to continue making improvements to the courses in line with our goals, we need the best machinery. And having the best machinery means Toro.”

A number of improvements have already been made to both clubs, with more on the way as the redevelopment continues, and this led to Green Circle Leisure to add to its Toro fleet with the purchase of two Greensmaster 1000 walk behind cylinder mowers for Sherdley Park.

The Greensmaster 1000 is ideal for greenkeepers needing an efficient and easy to operate walk-behind mower that delivers an excellent quality of cut. The front weight bias offsets the operator’s natural tendency to place weight on the handle, allowing the reel to better follow ground contours for a consistent cutting height, plus it is uniquely weighted, front to rear, providing greater turf penetration.

“We’re working to make Sherdley Park an all weather course, suitable to play year-round,” says Bryan. “So that means new greens, new tees and new bunker systems. We needed high-quality walk behind mowers for the maintenance of new turf as it grows in, and the Greensmaster 1000 is perfect for that.”

And with planning permission approved for the next phase of work at Allerton Manor, it certainly seems like its fleet of Toro machinery, which includes two Greensmaster 1600s, two Greensmaster 1000 pedestrian mowers, a Greensmaster TriFlex 3400, a Reelmaster 5510-D, and two Groundsmaster 4000-D machines among others, will be put to work over the next couple of years.

“We’re going to be turning the course at Allerton Manor from a par 67, to a par 72,” says Bryan. “That’s alongside a brand new golfers pavilion, adventure golf course for families, a driving range, hotel and spa and a new greenkeeper compound.”

Richard Shields, Allerton Manor head greenkeeper said: “We are always looking at how to improve the courses, and Toro does a fantastic job keeping standards high and improving the quality of the course. We don’t hesitate to bring in more Toro when needed as we know the importance of having reliable, quality kit.

“Since 2015, Toro machinery, the after-service care from Cheshire Turf Machinery and Reesink Turfcare and the feedback from the team have all been good, so we’ve no plans to change a winning formula.”

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Early SCAG mower located – two miles away!

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Early SCAG mower located –  two miles away!: A recent chance conversation revealed a homeowner only two miles away from the STM head office in Warwickshire who has a 1992-build STZ ride-on mower.

The STZ was the first Zero-Turn Ride-On SCAG produced, and one is still retained at the plant in Wisconsin.

Early SCAG mower located - two miles away!

Early SCAG mower located – two miles away!

But Alan Griffith, here in leafy Warwickshire, has one too.

He explained:

“In 2000 we brought the property ‘The Wharf’ in Wilmcote, though the process was unusual.

We made a good offer that was increased twice but still did not secure the property. Eventually we received a tender form because of the high level of interest.

It was not a basic form, though. We had to price everything that was up for sale. Apart from offering a sum for the house, we also had to price separately: the dining table, study desk, hens, geese, peacocks, pot belly pigs and 2 on-site mowers.

The Scag was one of those mowers and it was obvious that it was several years old even then by the knocks it had had to the deck.

We have 4.95 acres of which we cut about 2.5 to 3 acres regularly.  The Scag we use on the heavy areas so over the years it has had to put up with a fair amount of hard work, hitting pot holes, tree roots etc. Over the years the Scag has been used about 2.5 hours per week .

The great thing is it has been very reliable, once battery is charged up at the start of the season.  I have usually serviced the machine every year and no major problems have occurred except that 3 small plates have had to be welded to the top of the deck.   The first bearing on the deck needs to be changed this winter so I will change all 3. Also an oil seal has started to leak on the Briggs and Stratton engine; this is the  first major issue with the engine.

We plan to keep it going as long as we stay at The Wharf.  Can’t think of a better lawn mower particularly as we have so many trees to cut around.”

On the one hand it’s good to know that a SCAG mower has so much life in it.

On the other hand, if everybody kept their mowers that long, we’d never sell any new ones!

We’re grateful to Alan for his story, and to Jake Segrin at SCAG’s Wisconsin headquarters for tracing the manufacturing date.

SCAG machines are available through the STM dealership network. To find your nearest dealer ring 01789 488450, email info@st-mach.com or look at our website www.st-mach.com

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Two New Campey Launches

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Two New Campey Launches: Campey Turf Care Systems is set to introduce the Fleischmann Electric Five Deck Mower and Uni-Scratch to the American market at the Turfgrass Producers International (TPI) 2019 Summer Convention and Field Day.

The three-day convention is being held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and attendees will have the chance to visit some of the states’ best facilities including the National Sports Centre (NSC) in Blaine, Minnesota, which has the largest outdoor soccer complex in the world with natural grass facilities that include a 50 multi-use athletic field and an 18-hole PGA-Tour designed golf course.

Two New Campey Launches

Campey will be introducing the Fleishmann mower during the exhibition, with the ma-chines performance and environmentally friendly features designed specifically for turf growers and sod farmers.

The mower has five 2.20 metre cutting decks with six spindles per deck, giving a 10-metre overall cutting width. The mower features a braked steering rear axle, and the two-point pivoting front mount hitch provides high manoeuvrability, enabling cutting speeds up to 20kph.

Each blade on the five cutting decks is powered by a low maintenance electric motor, leaving behind traditional gearboxes and PTO shafts and eliminating the risk of oil leaks. The six high tip speed blades in each deck give more cuts per metre and offer excellent clipping dispersal.

An efficient modern generator is used to power the mower and lower all the factors you’d want less of. That’s low PTO requirements, low engine revs and lower noise output for quiet operation, resulting in less fuel used

The mechanics of the operation are enhanced further by the five low ground pressure castor wheels. Each deck has five wheels which are expertly designed to follow contours and iron out bumps in the surface without leaving any marks. The wheels are also used to easily set the height of cut with all other operations controlled from the in-cab control box.

The second new product being launched is the Uni-Scratch. This machine is the ideal solution for professional and effective maintenance of natural grass and can also be used for the final organic matter removal on natural grass hybrid carpet pitches when carrying out annual renovations.

For maintenance during the season, Campey offers the UNIRAKE. Users can adjust the severity of grooming to remove organic matter or simply stand the sward up to encourage growth, with altering the intensity taking no less than 30 seconds.

The Campey sales team, joined by chairman Richard Campey, will be at the convention to answer any questions on the new machines and the existing Campey product range.

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Pellenc Welcome Two New Dealers

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Pellenc Welcome Two New Dealers: Pellenc UK has welcomed Terra Firma and Greenlay to its ever-growing dealership network; both of which will be distributing the full range of Pellenc professional battery powered equipment.

Terra Firma, part of Agrovista UK, is quickly developing into one of Scotland’s largest specialist suppliers to the amenity and local authority markets. After going from strength to strength over recent years and significantly expanding its machinery portfolio, the company prides itself on providing only the finest equipment and products and this means that they have to be very selective according to sales advisor Allan Wright.

Pellenc Welcome Two New Dealers

“We have no ambitions to become a normal grass machinery company,” he said. “It is for this reason that we are expanding the range of specialist equipment we offer and Pellenc is a perfect addition.”

The extensive Pellenc product range features an impressive portfolio – from chainsaws, pole saws and hedge cutters to grass strimmers, brushcutters, blowers and mowers and Allan claims that his mind was instantly made up as soon as he saw the products being demonstrated.

“We organised a few demonstrations and it was obvious that these were the kind of products that would be incredibly hard to not take on-board especially with the green credentials and the low vibration and noise levels.

“These features are a massive benefit, not just to the local authorities, but to everyone who operates them – they are so quiet you can actually have a conversation while using the machine. Performance wise, there is no difference from the Pellenc range to a normal two-stroke strimmer or hedge cutter. They will do exactly the same job, but when you look at the costs then there are massive savings when it comes to the Pellenc equipment. Users will save an incredible amount on fuel and it will also mean not having to worry about filling up or carrying lots of fuel in a van.”

Greenlay, based in Cramlington, Northumberland has been serving both the professional and domestic turf markets since 1971. Boasting a 2000sq ft showroom displaying a huge range of equipment, the company strives to ensure that the customer gets the best machine for the job at all times and sales administrator Harry Pattinson is delighted to have added Pellenc to the collection.

“We never thought the opportunity would come about so we were delighted when we were approached by Pellenc,” he said.

“Pellenc is a leading brand in the battery powered range and it is the only battery that can last as long as it does in the professional range. Plus, with a three-year warranty on the equipment I just know that it will sit well with our customers.

“It has so many benefits and I particularly like the fact that the battery can be transferred from different machines – so you can use it in a strimmer as well as a blower or a hedge cutter. The power on the equipment is instantaneous and the performance is very similar to two stroke. Yes, the price might be slightly higher but because you are not using fuel you will find that it does pay for itself very quickly.

“Pellenc is aimed at the professional market which we want to continue to grow in, so it absolutely suits the quality product range that we already offer here at Greenlay.”

With immediate effect the Pellenc range from Terra Firma is available in the areas of central Scotland, the Scottish borders and the west coast; while Greenlay is distributing the Pellenc equipment to Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, Co Durham and Teeside.

All Pellenc batteries and tools come with a three-year commercial warranty and are distributed in the UK and Ireland exclusively by Etesia UK.

To view the all-new dedicated Pellenc website please visit www.pellencuk.com

You can also follow Pellenc on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @PellencUK for much more news, reviews and insightful views.

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Two Ryder Cup Courses For EcoBunker

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Two Ryder Cup Courses For EcoBunker: Working on a course for a Ryder Cup is a great achievement for any golf construction professional. To work on two in the space of a week, though, is pretty remarkable. But that’s what EcoBunker site manager Louis Palser will have done by the end of next week.

Louis has spent the last two days at Le Golf National in Paris, supervising EcoBunker’s part of the construction of the 2018 Ryder Cup venue’s new state of the art practice facility, which is being managed by golf consultant Alejandro Reyes (the former superintendent of Le Golf National). Flying directly from Paris to Rome, Louis moves on to the Marco Simone club, currently under reconstruction at the hands of European Golf Design architect Dave Sampson, in advance of its starring role in the 2022 Ryder Cup. There, for ten days, he will be working alongside EcoBunker’s top construction specialist Llewellyn Matthews installing EcoBunker’s AquaEdge lake edging product on the sixteenth and eighteenth holes.

Two Ryder Cup Courses For EcoBunker

Quite some going for a young man who is new to the golf business. Louis joined EcoBunker last year after studying civil engineering at Salford University, because ‘he wanted to use his construction knowledge, work outdoors and gain plenty of travel opportunities’, and spent 18 weeks last year on the company’s job at the new Dumbarnie Links in Fife, where he rose to be deputy site manager under Llewelyn Matthews. Now, he’s comfortable leading jobs, and has worked on EcoBunker projects in the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and France.

EcoBunker CEO Richard Allen says: “With our contracting business growing rapidly we’ve had to invest in new construction management talent, and Louis has rapidly become an important part of our growth.”

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