Tag Archive for: Ventrac

Ventrac at BTME

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Ventrac at BTME: Price Turfcare, the UK and Ireland distributor of the Ventrac multi-implement, all-terrain compact tractor, returns to BTME with the Ventrac 4520 compact tractor unit and a selection of attachments. Since its launch in 2017, this combination of highly manoeuvrable compact tractor and multiple attachments has quickly established a recognised place in UK turfcare industry.

With the capability of working on 30-degree slopes, low ground pressure and over 30 attachments, it’s the most versatile equipment combination for the busy course manager. This is a machine that can mow in multiple formats, blow leaves, move snow, reinvigorate pathways, aerate, cut turf, dig trenches, grind stumps and prepare seedbeds … everything a golf course of any size, can utilise all-year round.

Ventrac at BTME

Ventrac at BTME

Peter Pattenden, Golf & Estate Manager at Carden Park says, “I can honestly say this is one of the best machines I have ever bought! Summed up in three words, it’s exceptional, versatile and robust.”

To understand why Peter and the industry have embraced the Ventrac product, come along and visit stand 122 in Hall 1.

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Stover Golf Club love their Ventrac

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Stover Golf Club love their Ventrac: Purchased as an ex-demonstrator in January 2022 from Ventrac’s local dealer, Devon Garden Machinery (DGM), Stover Golf Club’s 4500 compact tractor with Contour deck attachment is a hit with course manager Jason Brooks and his team.

“They just love it,” he said, “it’s simple to operate and suits our course as it makes light work of undulations and the bunker and tee banks that are a feature here. It’s certified to operate on 30-degree slopes, so from a health and safety point of view, it ticks all the boxes. We have numerous slopes that we used to strim, but we now use the Ventrac and save multiple work hours, they get cut more regularly and the definition is much better.

Stover Golf Club love their Ventrac

Stover Golf Club love their Ventrac

“We are situated mainly on clay, in fact there’s a Kaolin (china clay) and Silica (fine sand) quarry less than a mile away, so the light footprint of the machine is ideal. We also have a stream, Liverton Brook, running through the course and even in wet weather we can still mow the banks.”

Stover Golf Club is located on the outskirts of Newton Abbot and opened in two phases in 1931. It was designed by James Braid and constructed by his favoured course builder, J.R. Stutt. In 1942 during WW2 half the course was compulsory purchased to accommodate an American military hospital and after purchasing two nearby fields, returned to its 18-hole format in 1949. Today, four of Braid’s original holes remain.

Commenting on the latest developments to the course, Jason Brooks said,

“Devon County Council are widening the nearby A382 and in doing so they needed some of our land, not a lot but enough to mean that a redesign of the front 9 was necessary as it impacted holes 1, 2, 3 and 9 as well as the practice putting green. The council purchased an additional 30 acres of neighbouring land and architect Simon Gidman along with Profusion have constructed phase 1 which consists of 4 brand new holes. These open this June then phase 2 construction begins to renovate 4 existing holes to complete the changes.

“The grow in started last July and towards the end of the summer the fairways and roughs were seeded, we had a good start to the grow in but then as I’m sure a lot of greenkeepers experienced, we had an incredibly wet winter. The Ventrac was at times the only machine we could get out on the new part due to the low ground pressure of it.”

“On the existing course we did a lot of tree removal during the winter and had a lot of stumps to grind; normally we would get a contractor in to do this at quite an expense, instead, we hired the stump grinder attachment from DGM and were very impressed. We managed to remove 150 stumps in just a week! With DGM only 8 miles away, it’s good to know they have a range of Ventrac attachments for hire.

Brooks began his career as a seasonal at Dartmouth Golf Club in 1995, before starting his HND in turf management and on completion worked in Germany for a couple of years. On his return to the UK, he spent three years at Torquay Golf Club, before returning once again to Germany.

A return to Torquay as deputy head greenkeeper for 9 years was next before taking a 6 month position at TPC Scottsdale in Phoenix, Arizona. In 2012, whilst there he helped prepare the course for the 2013 Phoenix Open, won by Phil Mickelson, as well as spending time in Texas working at both the Houston and Texas Opens. He then came back to England and was appointed course manager at Torquay, before taking up his current role at Stover in 2021.

“I’ve inherited a great team here at Stover and they’ve worked hard to produce superb facilities for the members,” he added. “The management have been really supportive, especially during the construction of the new holes and, with the addition of new machinery such as the Ventrac, we are confident that we can keep club moving forward during the next phase of its evolution.”

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Ventrac for Burnham Beeches

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Ventrac for Burnham Beeches: Burnham Beeches Golf Club, located in the Thames Valley in south Buckinghamshire, 25 miles west of London, is the latest club to take a package of Ventrac equipment.

Delivered by local dealer, RT Machinery Ltd, the package includes a Ventrac 4520 all-terrain compact tractor unit together with a selection of attachments including an articulating Contour deck, a Tough Cut deck, a Triple Cylinder unit and a Trencher.

Ventrac for Burnham Beeches

Ventrac for Burnham Beeches

Lee Bishop is the Course Manager and is now in his 24th year at the club. He began his career at the nearby Harry Colt-designed Stoke Park Golf Club in 1992, before moving to Burnham Beeches as an assistant greenkeeper back in 1999 and then making the amazing leap straight into his current position in 2006.  He leads a team of seven greenkeeping staff, which will be expanding later this year with the addition of a further experienced greenkeeper, an apprentice and two summer staff.

“We are an established parkland course, now over 130-years old, and situated mainly on clay,” he said. “Therefore, we have a requirement to manage the trees and woodland margins that line the fairways and frame the greens. We can be wet after heavy rainfall.

“I first saw the Ventrac on social media and then I was invited by a very good friend of mine, Stuart Langhorn, the Course Director at Beaconsfield Golf Club to see the machine that he had bought. I was extremely impressed and contacted our local dealer, RT Machinery to arrange a demonstration. The management team were so impressed and we purchased the package within a couple of weeks of the demonstration!

“The Tough Cut deck is superb for managing our woodland margins; it takes down brambles and young saplings with ease and this helps to keep up the pace of play, making it easier for our golfers to find their balls after a wayward shot.

“The Contour deck is articulated at both ends and that makes it ideal for bunker surrounds and tee banks but it has been a godsend during the winter months as we have been using it on our fairways when it is too wet to cut with our fairway mowers. We can get out when it’s wet and put some definition down; the members have noticed and we’ve had many favourable comments. The Triple Cylinder unit will be used for the perimeter fairway cut and this has enabled us to remove a dedicated machine from our fleet.

“The Trencher has been outstanding this winter. As I said earlier we can be wet after heavy rain, but the trencher enables us to get out and drain the wetter areas when we want. We are not reliant on contractors, we can do it in-house and in a timely fashion. I would recommend not severing power cables, though; National Grid are not too happy when that happens!

“Finally, a shout-out for Price Turfcare, RT Machinery and Tom Stidder. Price Turfcare, the importer, have been so reactive and professional to work with; RT Machinery are renowned for the way they treat customers and we can certainly support that and Tom Stidder, who did the installation training, was extremely thorough and knowledgeable. That’s formidable support, all round.”

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Ventrac – Three years on at Honiton Golf Club

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Ventrac – Three years on at Honiton Golf Club: Honiton Golf Club in Devon purchased their Ventrac compact tractor and Contour mowing deck in March 2020, just days before the first Covid lockdown and in that time it has been performing consistently well, according to Stuart Broom, the club’s head greenkeeper.

“We sit some 850 feet above sea level and are an 18-hole parkland course with a practice facility, situated on clay, so we can be wet at times, but our elevation and exposure to the wind helps the course dry reasonably quickly,” he said. “I came here in 2015 as deputy and was appointed head greenkeeper in 2019.

Ventrac – Three years on at Honiton Golf Club

Ventrac – Three years on at Honiton Golf Club

“There’s six of us in the greenkeeping team with experience ranging from 38 years to the newest member at just 8 months. Like many other clubs, we had an influx of members as a result of Covid; for us it was significant at around 200, bringing the total membership to 670. We have a great committee, who are fully supportive of us and actively encourage our professional development, which is good for the younger lads.”

“We needed to improve the visual appearance on the banking around our greens and tees and also the semi-rough. I looked at several competitor machines across the major brands, but the Ventrac stood out because of its versatility; there’s a wide selection of implements you can get for it. The second reason was that it’s certified to operate on 30-degree slopes, so from a health and safety point of view, it’s a no-brainer. We have numerous slopes out there that we used to strim, but we now use the Ventrac and save multiple work hours, they get cut more regularly and they look better.

“During the original demo, the demonstrator noticed that we had a SISIS slitter in the shed and asked if he could attach it to the rear linkage and take it across the greens. I was bit sceptical because we usually tow it with our worktruck and I wouldn’t put that on the greens as they were wet. Undeterred, he put it on the back, went across the green and you just wouldn’t have noticed; it was impressive. So, the light footprint was another significant selling point and we use it for that purpose as well during the winter.

“We recently purchased a small link box for the rear of the machine, which can carry a selection of tools and again we use it winter for changing holes. We also have it on the back when cutting banks, so we can carry a strimmer and blower to complete the job in a single operation.

“We hired the Tough Cut deck from our local dealer, Devon Garden Machinery (DGM), to clear gorse and bracken from around our 9th and 13th greens and it performed brilliantly; it’s a fantastic piece of kit. I did break a couple of belts, but the servicing information on this machine is superb. You open a cover and all the information you need is there. It includes the part number, so you can order it and it’s with us the following day. From initial demonstration, through delivery, to after-sales support, Price Turfcare and DGM have been excellent.”

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Versatile Ventrac at The Mere

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Versatile Ventrac at The Mere: The Mere Golf Resort & Spa in Knutsford, Cheshire, has joined an ever-burgeoning list of sports and leisure organisations that have purchased a Ventrac all-terrain compact tractor and selection of attachments. Supplied by local dealer, Cheshire Turf Machinery, the attachments include a Contour deck, a Stump grinder and Turbine blower.

The 18-hole, 6,882 -yard, par-71 course at The Mere was designed by James Braid, and created out of 150 acres of Cheshire parkland in 1934. Today, the Championship course holds the reputation as one of the best maintained and highest quality golf courses in the North of England.

Versatile Ventrac at The Mere

Versatile Ventrac at The Mere

John Quinn, a native of Donegal in Ireland, has been the Course Manager for the past 4 years, after joining the prestigious resort’s greenkeeping team seven years ago. He leads a team of 10 comprising of 8 greenkeepers and two full-time gardeners.

Commenting on the Ventrac he said,

“We are a destination resort and we pride ourselves with the visual appearance of the property and the immaculate presentation of the golf course. This Ventrac is probably the best innovation in course maintenance in the past 20 years. It will go almost anywhere and its versatility is unparalleled. It’s great in wet areas and ticks all the boxes from a health and safety point of view.

“What other machine allows you to switch out a mowing deck and attach a stump grinder, then switch again to blowing leaves? It’s an adaptable piece of equipment with an ingenious coupling system that lets you change implements in just about a minute. The eight wheels gives it a low centre of gravity, which makes it very safe on slopes, especially around tee banks and bunker surrounds.

“It’s up there with the best machines I used. It’s just a case of getting to know its capability and getting the confidence to go where no other ride-on can go. It helps us to maintain difficult areas on a regular basis and has certainly enhanced the presentation of the course.”

John Quinn began his career at his local course in Portnoo, Donegal, with an initial six-week placement that lasted four years. To further his career, he spent two years in full-time education at Elmwood college achieving an HNC and HND in golf course management as well as work placements in Sweden. He then joined Linden Hall Hotel, Golf & Spa in Northumberland and three years later migrated south to take up the position of deputy head greenkeeper at Caversham Heath near Reading. Five years on, he then moved to Davenport Golf Club in Cheshire, before taking up his latest position in 2015.

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