Tag Archive for: Ventrac

‘Fantastic’ Ventrac for Essendon

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‘Fantastic’ Ventrac for Essendon: Essendon Country Club, located deep in the heart of the Hertfordshire countryside, has purchased a Ventrac 4500 compact tractor and a trencher attachment to help maintain its two 18-hole parkland courses.

Course Manager Craig Gibson, an industry veteran of 31 years, is delighted with the new addition to his fleet and says,

'Fantastic' Ventrac for Essendon

‘Fantastic’ Ventrac for Essendon

“It’s fantastic; I’m hugely impressed. It’s not often a piece of kit excites us, but this is very different as we can use it all year round. The lads love it, it’s easy to use as you can just jump on and go. It’s really popular with the team.

“I first saw it at another club and was impressed with its tidy finish, then by chance Rupert Price cold-called me to see if we wanted a demo, so I invited him along. We have a clay-based courses and can be very wet in winter, but this machine is brilliant in the wet. Following the demo, it was like a ‘light bulb’ moment, so I made the made the business case to the club management and we agreed the purchase.

“At the moment we have the Trencher attachment as we’re putting in additional drainage, but Rupert kindly loaned me a Tough Cut deck as well, which is an awesome attachment and makes light work of brush and scrub in the woodland margins.

“My next purchase will definitely be the Contour deck attachment. This is an articulating deck which we will use for our bunkers and green surrounds. That’s the unique selling point of Ventrac; it’s so versatile and it can get to areas on the course that other machines simply can’t access.”

After leaving school in 1990, Craig Gibson completed a Level 2 NVQ in Sports Turf Management before taking up his first job at Welwyn Garden City Golf Club. From here he moved to the Forest of Dean, then onto Forest Hills as deputy course manager, where he spent 10 years. He then returned to Hertfordshire as head groundsman at St Christopher’s School in Letchworth before joining Essendon as course manager in 2007.

Essendon Country Club (formerly Hatfield London Country Club) consists of two 18-hole parkland courses, known as The Old course and The New course. The Old course is an undulating 6,800-yard mature parkland course designed by Fred Hawtree and opened in 1976. The New course, opened in 1992, is somewhat flatter but at 7,100 yard offers a challenge to any golfer. The club has a modern approach to golf welcoming all levels of golfer and the clubhouse, built around a 16th century barn, offers excellent facilities.

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Ventrac unveils new flail mowers

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Ventrac unveils new flail mowers: Continuing their commitment to produce the highest quality accessories, Ventrac has added two Flail mowers to its growing list of dedicated attachments.

Flail mowers are a perfect choice for any overgrown area, so the new patent-pending Fine Cut and Fast Cut mowing decks are in a class of their own. With out-front mounted couplings unique to Ventrac, these attachments provide a quality finish on tall or dense areas of vegetation for fast and efficient turf management.

Ventrac unveils new flail mowers

Ventrac unveils new flail mowers

Add Ventrac’s capability to mow difficult areas such as slopes, wet areas, or retention pond, and these new decks will ensure an enhanced appearance for any property. Ideal for landscaping applications on slopes, wet areas and retention basins, these mowers make previously impossible turf management situations, possible.

The two available models, Fine Cut (MW series) and Fast Cut (MY series), feature unique knife choices and offer two width options for more versatility of cut, speed, and application. Cutting widths for the decks are 1.42m (56”) and 1.83m (72”) and offer the most versatility for specific property needs.

The Fine Cut Flails (MW560/MW720) are equipped with scoop knives, and will achieve a quality cut with a more finished look on grassed areas mowed between three and eight times per year.

The Fast Cut Flails (MY560/MY720) feature Y-shaped knives, for taming dense and brush-type material. The Fast Cut is an excellent choice for areas of overgrown brush and woodland margins that do not require regular mowing, while providing a superior finish to that of a typical rotary rough-cut mower.

“The introduction of these two new flail options complements our existing Tough Cut rotary mowing deck”, said Rupert Price, of Price Turfcare, the distributor of Ventrac products for the UK and Ireland. “All decks have a flip-up option for easy maintenance, enabling access to the knives for sharpening or replacement.

“Although powered by a sub-25hp Kubota diesel engine, we have enough residual power to provide a rotor speed of 3,000 rpm. This is vitally important as it’s the speed of rotor that dictates the speed and efficiency of the cutting knives and, ultimately, the quality of cut and finish.

“Ventrac has made a conscious decision to keep the power unit of their 4500 tractor unit below the 25hp emissions threshold of Tier 4 legislation. It continues to surprise end-users with the power generated by a relatively small engine and its ability to effortlessly drive each and every attachment. Very rarely do you hear a change in the engine note or experience a loss of power. It is one of the major selling points of the machine.”

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Yorkshire Wildlife Park invest in Ventrac

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Yorkshire Wildlife Park invest in Ventrac: The Yorkshire Wildlife Park, situated in the village of Branton, close to the A1 near Doncaster, is the latest organisation to purchase a Ventrac 4500 compact tractor to help maintain its 150-acre walkthrough safari experience.

Delivered by the Rotherham depot of local dealer, Russells Groundscare, the package includes the tractor unit in its 8-wheel configuration and two mowing units: a Tough Cut deck and MU rotary deck.

Yorkshire Wildlife Park invest in Ventrac

Yorkshire Wildlife Park invest in Ventrac

Commenting on the purchase, Director Neville Williams said,
“Lockdown has been a torrid time for us; we’ve suffered a multi-million-pound loss, so we weren’t really contemplating any significant capital expenditure. However, we had issues with our mowing equipment and our mechanic suggested we contact Russells to see what was available.

“Glen Sawyer from Russells came over with a Ventrac demo machine and it performed extremely well, but we didn’t think we could justify the cost. However, Glen was able to organise a flexible lease-purchase arrangement together with a mutual partnership agreement, and that facilitated the purchase. They also loaned us a Power Rake, which was superb at reinstating the pathways and we will be looking to purchase the Trencher attachment in the future.

“As you would expect, we have huge areas of grass to maintain and much of it is on sloping ground around the car parks, picnic areas and in the animal enclosures. We previously had to employ a contractor for these sloped areas, but with the Ventrac we can now do this in-house. The cost effectiveness of this new machine was certainly a factor in our purchasing decision. For example, in the lion enclosure it used to take four men, three days to complete, but now with the Ventrac it is two men in half a day. That’s a very impressive saving in man-days; 12 days reduced down to a single day!

“This year we will be opening an expansion which will double the size of the park and this will include the creation of lakes, reserves and diverse habitats, so the Park can become home to more animals and springboard our efforts to help at-risk species. The Ventrac will play an important part in maintaining this extension to our facilities.”

About Yorkshire Wildlife Park

The Yorkshire Wildlife Park (YWP) was opened in 2009 and currently occupies about 150 acres (60 ha) of the site. The Park is home to number of endangered species including Amur tigers, Amur leopards, Red panda, Giant otters and England’s only Polar bears. The expansive reserves and space for visitors creates a walkthrough safari experience.

In 2021 a further 150-acre expansion will open with more ground-breaking animal reserves and new species for the Park, as well as enhanced visitor facilities. Lakes, reserves and diverse habitats will be introduced in the expansion, so the Park can become home to more animals and springboard efforts to help at-risk species. Landscaped walkways and dynamic viewing areas will provide visitors with an amazing experience.

YWP work with the studbook keepers of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria who coordinate the breeding programmes and animal moves throughout Europe. This will decide which new species will be introduced, allowing the Park to continue their conservation efforts and protect a range of endangered animals.

The park’s popularity has grown over the years, starting in 2009 with only 66,000 visitors; it now hosts in excess of 750,000 visitors a year.

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Aerate and overseed in one pass with Ventrac

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Aerate and overseed in one pass with Ventrac: Turf compaction and grass damage over the winter months caused by foot or vehicle traffic and other stresses can be an issue and needs to be alleviated to keep the turf healthy. Now with Ventrac’s Aera-vator and integrated Gandy seeder it’s possible to aerate and overseed in one pass.

The Aera-vator is designed to break and loosen the soil beneath the surface without destroying the turf. It creates a hole without bringing a core plug to the surface, leaving the turf ready for use immediately after treatment. The Aera-vator works best in drier ground leaving a core hole while fracturing the sub soil.

Aerate and overseed in one pass with Ventrac

Aerate and overseed in one pass with Ventrac

The National Trust’s Waddesdon Manor, managed by the Rothschild Foundation, purchased a Ventrac 4500 compact tractor and Tough Cut deck late last year and recently returned to local dealer RT Machinery to purchase additional attachments including a Turbo Blower, Landscape Rake and Aera-vator with seeder.

Peter Turski is the Horticultural Team Leader at the estate and says,

“The Aera-vator and overseeder attachment for the Ventrac is an excellent piece of equipment. We have some heavy footfall across the estate especially at our annual events such as the Christmas Fair, Colourscape in May, Summer Fest in July and Chilli Fest each September. We are one of the National Trust’s most visited properties with over 460,000 visitors, which means that the more formal grass areas around the ornamental core of the gardens can become very compacted.

“The main benefit of the Aera-vator is that it simplifies the whole operation in one pass significantly reducing the time taken to a fraction of what it used to. No soil plugs are generated, so no collection required, and the over seeding attachment works in synchronicity with the aerating implement by dropping seed directly into the fractured surface of the sward assisting good contact with the soil.”

With a working width of 1.52 metres and a depth of 70 mm, the vibrating heads create six holes every 300 mm (66 holes per square metre) with the hole size regulated by the drive speed. The slower the forward speed of the Ventrac tractor unit, the larger the hole.

With the optional Gandy Seeder, you can save time by reseeding while aerating, increasing the odds of germination for a thicker and healthier sward.

The tines can be replaced individually or by quickly changing the entire mounting heads, giving you the versatility required for efficient operation. The Aera-vator is built with the Ventrac Mount System, allowing for easy attachment changes, and comes with a standard jack stand for easy mounting.

The all-wheel-drive Ventrac 4500 is rated for slopes of up to 30 degrees and is capable of handling various turf conditions allowing aeration in areas previously inaccessible with other aeration tools.

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Ventrac at Saunton Golf Club

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Ventrac at Saunton Golf Club: Saunton Golf Club, situated south of Woolacombe on the coast of north Devon, is the latest golfing venue to purchase a Ventrac 4500 all-terrain compact tractor and a selection of attachments. Delivered by local dealer, Devon Garden Machinery, the package includes the 25 hp tractor unit in its 8-wheel configuration, a Contour deck, a Tough Cut deck and Power Rake.

Formed in 1897 as a 9-hole course, the 103-year old club now has two 18-hole championship-standard links courses, with reputations that stand comparison with the finest in the UK. The East Course is ranked No.12 in the Golf World ‘Top 100 Courses in England’ and the West Course is No. 98.

Ventrac at Saunton Golf Club

Ventrac at Saunton Golf Club

Murray Long, the former Courses Manager at Sunningdale, has recently been appointed Course Manager at Saunton. Commenting on the Ventrac he said,

“We need to control bramble and scrub around the courses and we have pathways made of seashell shingle, which can become rutted and uneven over time. The practice ranges are enclosed by steep banks, which we maintain by the labour-intensive job of strimming. To tackle these issues, we needed a versatile machine and thought that a Ventrac might provide the solution.

“I first saw it during visits to BTME and then became aware of the positive feedback from respected industry professionals in our trade magazines and on social media. Following our initial enquiry to local dealer, Devon Garden Machinery, they quickly provided quotes and a demonstration, which confirmed the premise that this was the machine for us. Their service has been excellent throughout.

“Until you experience it working, it’s had to appreciate how versatile it is. We purchased the Tough Cut deck, which will help combat the bramble and scrub issue; the Contour deck will be used on the banking around the practice area and some areas of rough. The Power Rake is great attachment as it agitates the shingle, smoothing out the ruts, leaving pristine pathways.

“It will certainly increase productivity and reduce the use of machinery linked to hand/arm vibration hazard, such as strimmers. It is unique in its multi-use applications giving it extreme versatility. I have seen many machinery demonstrations but none have been as impressive as the Ventrac. Every course would benefit from having one.”

Saunton’s General Manager, Jon Sutherland added,

“As Murray has indicated, it was a very impressive demonstration. I hadn’t seen the machine before, but it quickly became apparent that not only would it increase the productivity of the greenkeeping team, but also safeguard them as well. Paul Vickery, our Chairman of Greens, attended the demonstration and we quickly made the purchasing decision. It will certainly contribute to raising the already high presentation standards of our facility, for members and visitors alike.”

Saunton has hosted the R&A Boys Amateur Championship on two occasions. In August 2019, 252 of the world’s most talented boys battled it out over our East and West Courses. After 91 holes of play, the winner Tom Gueant of France beat Wilmer Ederö from Sweden in a sudden-death play-off on the first hole of the East course. Saunton also hosted the Championship back in 1997, when a young Sergio Garcia won the title, before amassing the highest points total for Europe in Ryder Cup history, and also winning the Masters Tournament back in 2017.

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