Tag Archive for: Verti-Drain

Verti-Drain® Helps Sidcup Sports Club Stay Match-Ready

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Verti-Drain® Helps Sidcup Sports Club Stay Match-Ready: With over two decades of experience in groundsmanship, Jay Berkhauer, Head Groundsperson at Sidcup Sports Club, has seen his fair share of challenging pitches. But since introducing the Redexim Verti-Drain® 7212, Jay says things are looking brighter than ever for the busy multi-sport site.

Sidcup Sports Club is home to thriving rugby, cricket, and tennis sections, with a packed calendar that leaves little downtime for renovations. “It’s constant,” explains Jay. “Rugby runs from September through to the end of April, and then cricket starts the following week. I’ve got a week between the last rugby game and the first cricket match to turn things around.”

Verti-Drain® Helps Sidcup Sports Club Stay Match-Ready

Verti-Drain® Helps Sidcup Sports Club Stay Match-Ready

That intense schedule, combined with high footfall and limited budgets, makes every decision crucial. “Every penny counts,” says Jay. “It’s members’ money, so I’ve got to make sure I’m spending it on the right things – the right kit, the right products, the right tools for the job.”

Compaction had become a major issue at Sidcup Sports Club, particularly on the rugby pitches, where play takes place almost every day of the week. “The first team pitch has drainage, but the compaction was so bad that water just sat on the surface,” Jay explains. “The second team pitch also gets a lot of usage as it’s used Monday to Sunday for training and matches – so the compaction rates were through the roof.”

With the old setup, Jay relied on monthly slitting and twice-yearly contractor visits for aeration, but it simply wasn’t enough. “Slitting once a month and bringing in contractors twice a year just wasn’t touching the sides,” he says. “So, when my boss asked what we needed next, I said straight away – I need a Verti-Drain.”

Jay opted for the Redexim Verti-Drain 7212, a compact yet powerful model ideal for lower horsepower tractors and sensitive turf areas. With a working width of 1.6 metres and a maximum depth of 10 inches (25cm), it was the perfect fit for Sidcup’s needs.

“I’ve used Redexim Verti-Drains everywhere I’ve worked,” says Jay. “They’re the best on the market, and they do what they say on the tin. The 7212 fits my tractor perfectly – it’s a quality bit of kit and works really well with what we’ve got here.”

One of the standout features for Jay is the heave action, which sets the Verti-Drain apart from other machines available. “With the Verti-Drain, the tines don’t just go straight in and out – they kick and lift slightly as they move through the soil,” he explains. “That heave action breaks up the compaction beneath the surface. It’s not just punching holes – it’s cracking the ground and waking the subsoil up.”

Owning the Verti-Drain has also given Sidcup Sports Club greater control and cost-efficiency. “Before, we were paying a lot of money twice a year just to aerate the two rugby pitches,” says Jay. “Now, we can do it whenever we want. If I’ve got time in a  morning or the conditions are right, I can get out and do it. We’re saving money, getting more flexibility, and improving the pitches at the same time.”

Even after just a few months of use, Jay says the difference is clear. “Before the Verti-Drain, every time it rained, the pitches flooded. It was a constant cycle – it just got worse and worse. Now, the water’s getting down into the drains instead of sitting on the surface, and that’s also helping us keep grass coverage through the entire season.”

And the players have noticed, too. “Some of them have come up to me saying how much better the pitches are – there’s grass on the surface rather than just mud,” says Jay. “The better the pitches are, the more people want to play here. It all feeds back into the club – if the pitches are good, games stay on, the bar stays busy, and the club keeps making money.”

For a one-person grounds team maintaining over 2.5 hectares, time is everything. “The Verti-Drain is so quick over the ground,” says Jay. “I can do the first team pitch in two and a half hours, the whole site comfortably in two days. My old kit would’ve taken all week. It’s optimising my time – I’ve got a lot to do beyond the pitches, so it’s been a game-changer.”

Looking ahead, Jay says the investment in the Redexim Verti-Drain 7212 is already paying off. “It’s helping us become more self-sufficient, save money, and keep the pitches in the best condition possible,” he concludes.

For more information, visit https://www.redexim.com/uk/

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Redexim Verti-Drain® Powers Performance

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Redexim Verti-Drain® Powers Performance: With a demanding sports schedule and a heavy clay soil profile, aeration at Bedford School is not a luxury – it’s a necessity. That’s why Head Groundsman George Mills wasted no time in bringing in a Redexim Verti-Drain® 2519 when he joined the team just over a year ago.

“The pitches hadn’t been aerated a great deal over recent years,” George explains. “There was an old machine on site, but it was out of action. On this type of ground, with the usage our pitches get, that just wasn’t sustainable.”

Redexim Verti-Drain® Powers Performance

Redexim Verti-Drain® Powers Performance

The Verti-Drain 2519 has quickly become one of the most relied-upon machines in the school’s fleet. It’s now in near-constant use throughout the winter season – from October through to March – helping to relieve compaction, encourage drainage, and support healthier root growth across the school’s extensive grounds.

“It’s an absolutely essential part of our maintenance programme,” George says. “The biggest difference is how much ground we can now cover in such a short space of time. With the 2519’s speed, in theory we could aerate the entire site in under a week. Of course, in practice we’ve got plenty of other work going on, but that capability makes a huge difference to us.”

Built for performance without compromising on manoeuvrability, the Verti-Drain 2519 is ideally suited to sensitive areas such as sports pitches, tees, and greens. Despite its compact design, it offers deep aeration down to 10 inches (25 cm) and can be run on lower horsepower tractors – an advantage George is keen to highlight.

“We’re using it on a 66hp tractor,” he says. “It’s 1.8m wide and it works so efficiently on that size of tractor. It doesn’t struggle – even when we’re going in 9 inches deep with ¾-inch tines. It flies through it.”

What also sets the Verti-Drain 2519 apart is its working speed. “With the larger tines, we run at around 3.2 km/h, and with the smaller ones around 2.8 km/h,” George explains. “That might not sound fast, but for us it’s huge. It means we can get onto pitches in the morning and have them fully aerated, marked and ready to play on in the afternoon – it’s even helped save fixtures.”

The build quality and user experience have also impressed. “It’s really solid and smooth to use,” George continues. “There’s no bouncing around like you’d expect with some machines. You drop it into the ground, and you barely feel it – it’s like going through butter.”

The machine also accepts a wide variety of tine options, giving George the flexibility to adapt throughout the season. “We mix up the size of the tines and the depth we’re going, to get different results each time. The adjustment side is simple and it’s all easy to manage, which helps when you’re trying to move quickly between jobs.”

At Bedford School, the demands on the grounds are intense. Rugby is played six days a week, with pitches often hosting both prep school and senior matches on the same day. On such a high-use site, aeration is not just part of the routine – it’s at the core of everything the grounds team does.

For George, turf care is more than a profession – it’s in his blood. “I grew up doing this with my dad and my brother,” he says. “It’s all we’ve ever known. I rolled my first cricket wicket when I was eight and I’ve been working in turf ever since.”

That experience means he knows quality when he sees it – and for George, the Redexim Verti-Drain 2519 delivers on every level. “It’s a seriously impressive bit of kit,” he concludes.

“We’re pushing it hard, and it just gets the job done. You want to be confident that you’re making the right investment – and with this, we absolutely have. The whole grounds team are seeing and enjoying the benefits of the machine as well.”

For more information, visit https://www.redexim.com/uk/

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Verti-Quake and Verti-Drain combo help Wrekin GC

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Verti-Quake and Verti-Drain combo help Wrekin GC: Like many, the team at Wrekin Golf Club have recorded extraordinary levels of rainfall over the winter of 2023/24. And yet, Course Manager Gary Turner explains that they’ve emerged with free-draining fairways, which he attributes to a single pass with their Redexim Verti-Quake. The timely purchase in the autumn has now been followed up by the delivery of a Redexim Verti-Drain 1517 to further improve aeration results and enhance drainage in other areas of the course.

Nestled at the base of the Wrekin and surrounded by both natural woodland and picturesque views, Gary is now into his 20th year at the Telford club. A lack of available resources has meant that no aeration has been conducted on the fairways for the last three or four years, which is why the delivery of the Verti-Quake 2516 by Charlies Ag & Turf in September 2023, has been hailed a ‘godsend!’

Verti-Quake and Verti-Drain combo help Wrekin GC

Verti-Quake and Verti-Drain combo help Wrekin GC

“They had begun to lay wet so we knew it would take something robust to break through those years of compaction. The budget we had at the time allowed us to purchase the 2516, which went out on the fairways almost as soon as it came through the gates and the results were astounding! We created channels at depths of 4” and transformed the fairways into the driest part of the course with just one pass.”

“The plan will be to utilise this during renovation weeks in March and September and complement the linear aeration with monthly passes of our new Verti-Drain 1517 on the fairways, as well as the greens and tees.”

The 1517 from the award-winning Redexim range offers a lightweight aeration solution with a 1.7m working width and 6” working depth – a combination that makes it a popular choice for sensitive turf areas. It’s larger size and faster operating speed compared to Gary’s previous aerator presents more effective results, in less time.

“Matt Lewis from Charlie’s delivered the Verti-Drain at the start of March and, as soon as it was dry enough, we passed over all 18 greens with 12mm solid tines, in three and a half hours less than the task previously took. A few weeks on and we can still see the holes.” Gary adds, “We plan to follow the monthly verti-draining with applications of dressing, which will bring multiple benefits to the profile and help us manage the challenges posed by mother nature!”

He concludes, “The service we’ve had from Matt and the Charlie’s team has been excellent at every stage and the machines have already proven to be the best, and most timely, purchases we’ve ever made.”

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Grass Plant Ltd praise Redexim Verti-Drain®

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Grass Plant Ltd praise Redexim Verti-Drain: After 15 years of reliable service running a fleet of smaller Redexim Verti-Drain® models Martin Guy, owner of Grass Plant Ltd, comments that the addition of a high-speed Verti-Drain® 2519 has brought new-found efficiency to both internal contracting operations and external hire projects… so much so, that plans are already in the pipeline to add more!

Martin leads a team of 25, undertaking construction and ongoing maintenance of all types of natural turf sports surface, working with venues across the Southeast. “Across the board, agronomic expectations are on the rise but due to play demands and climatic conditions, the time available to deliver these standards is getting ever smaller” he explains. “This meant increasing demand was placed our high-speed aerator, but the competitor model we were running was not delivering what we needed it to. As soon as the 2519 was introduced we were straight onto our local Redexim Partner Tuckwells, and we were one of the first to try it.”

Grass Plant Ltd praise Redexim Verti-Drain®

Grass Plant Ltd praise Redexim Verti-Drain®

Offering a PTO speed of up to 540rpm, the Verti-Drain® 2519 can cover up to 8739sq.m per hour when spaced at 165mm making it the most productive aerator in its category. Its ability to accept a range of tine options and working to variable depths of up to 250mm mean the 2519 is well suited to an array of applications – something thoroughly tried and tested by the Grass Plant team.

“It’s adaptable, which is critical for us considering the broad spectrum of places we work at” Martin explains. ”On a golf course for example you can start on a tee, then use the same machine to aerate the fairways and the greens. There are very few machines that allow you to do that.”

He continues, “You tend to find that the higher speed these machines operate at, the more there is that can go wrong, but the build quality of the Verti-Drain® is as solid as ever and, since taking delivery of the 2519 close to three years ago, we’ve seen very little downtime.” This reliability has found favour both internally and with self-drive hire customers. “We get a lot of repeat business on our hire fleet and we wouldn’t get that if we were giving them machines that weren’t fit for purpose or were falling apart in front of their eyes! Trouble is, everyone is so impressed with just how much the 2519 can do that now we need more of them!”

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Verti-Drain® proves past, present and future

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Verti-Drain® proves past, present and future: While much has changed in the fine turf industry over the last 40 years, one thing that has remained a constant for greenkeeper Trevor Dennis is the presence of a Verti-Drain®.

As an early adopter of the technology in his position at Kings Lynn Golf Club in 1986, the original aerator has played a major role at all of Trevor’s clubs – including Heacham Manor Golf Club in Norfolk where, on his retirement, he hands over not only the Head Greenkeeper baton, but a pair of Redexim Verti-Drain’s.

Verti-Drain® proves past, present and future

Verti-Drain® proves past, present and future

Trevor was one of the first to see the Verti-Drain® used in a golf course environment during his apprenticeship training in 1986 and, impressed by the benefits, convinced his club at the time to invest. “I had to explain the technique and what this would do for course condition… Comparing it to an agricultural plough was the only way to get the committee of farmers to understand! I have only used a Redexim Verti-Drain® since and have complete faith in it” he explains.

Inheriting two Verti-Drain’s, including a 1513 and Redexim Carrier delivered just a few weeks ago by local dealer Ben Burgess, is Tom Brooks who became Heacham’s new Head Greenkeeper in October 2023. An American Links-style course, Heacham Manor features 18 USGA specification greens which was the reason for the club’s most recent purchase. “We have a Verti-Drain 7416 and wanted to complement this with something light enough for work on the greens throughout the winter months” explains Tom. “Our new Carrier and Verti-Drain® will give us enough depth and versatility to alleviate any compaction on the greens without applying any unnecessary weight, all while freeing the tractor up for other maintenance tasks.”

Tom continues, “Verti-draining is central to what we do and now we have two machines, the 7416 can focus on the fairways and walk-off areas while the Carrier and 1513 combination promises to deliver effective relief on the greens – particularly in this very wet start to the winter.” Lightweight and robust, the Redexim Carrier utilises a 31hp engine and hydrostatic transmission to power a range of high output implements while exerting minimal ground pressure.

Along with offering year-round versatility thanks to a range of tine options, the pair also work well alongside other maintenance machines – in particular, Tom notes their Rink DS800 topdresser. “We’ll be looking to use the Carrier and 1513 as part of spring and autumn green renovations, following with the Rink to effectively incorporate accurate amounts of sand dressing into the profile.” He concludes, “The results and reliability we get from Redexim has served us well in the past and will continue to do so long into the future.”

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