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Reesink and Toro working with 59club

Reesink and Toro working with 59club: In their continuous drive to maintain and improve standards within the golf community, Toro and Reesink Turfcare are working with leading customer service management specialist and training provider; 59club.

The relationship with 59club focuses on the continuous efforts required to produce the best playing surfaces possible.

Reesink and Toro working with 59club

Reesink and Toro working with 59club

59club provides mystery shopping audits and satisfaction surveys at participating golf clubs to help measure standards. Their insights and expertise are utilised to upskill and train employees, all with a focus on improving customer satisfaction.

Jon Cole, business divisional manager for Turfcare at Reesink Turfcare, explains: “59club supports continuous improvement in the industry, placing the importance on the customer’s experience.

“A big part of the process is looking at the consistency of the tees, greens, fairways and bunkers. An unbiased look at course performance is always a good thing and the results provide valuable feedback on the processes, procedures, methods and equipment used to keep the course inline with expectations.”

While Reesink is one of the best placed suppliers to help with course maintenance and improvements, its involvement with 59club doesn’t stop there.

Will Hewitt, general manager 59club UK, explains: “Our latest brand alignment with Toro and Reesink Turfcare is really exciting, they’re a great match for our values and ethos to provide a measurement of quality across the industry. We’re delighted to announce that they will also sponsor the Greenkeeper of the Year at our annual awards.”

Jon continues: “We’re always looking to shine a light on those working across the UK to create the best fine turf they can. The future of the industry relies on those professionals, and we consider it an honour to create opportunities and be approached to support initiatives to recognise the skill it takes, promote progression and ensure the future of turf management is bright.”

59club have nine territorial divisions serving the UK, Ireland, Europe, USA, Canada, Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. They are endorsed and supported by governing bodies such as the PGA, The Asian Industry Golf Federation and the French Golf Federation, 59club are also a chosen partner of the CMAE, European Tour Destinations and PGA Branded Properties.

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Rustington Golf Centre tees off with Toro

Rustington Golf Centre tees off with Toro: Rustington Golf Centre charges forward with a commitment to an electric future with two new Toro Greensmaster eTriFlex 3370 greensmowers and is rewarded with increased efficiency on all fronts.

The multi-purpose venue in Angmering includes a family activity centre alongside a nine-hole parkland golf course, earning it the reputation as one of the most versatile golf centres in Sussex. And with a new housing development being built next door, a versatile mower that is as quiet as it is efficient was needed.

Rustington Golf Centre tees off with Toro

Rustington Golf Centre tees off with Toro

Rob Hill, manager at Rustington Golf Centre, who has a team of eight says: “There’s a new housing development going up nearby, so having electric machinery gets us around the noise pollution issue and means we can work earlier without worrying about complaints – especially on parts of the course that are near the houses.”

With a golf course designed for all abilities, from established golfers to complete beginners, having machines that don’t disturb members is also a plus. “Our course is a two-loop nine-hole golf course which means you play it twice, so it’s nearly always busy and we usually have to work among the golfers,” continues Rob. “With the machines being so quiet we can go out and do work in the afternoon without being a distraction – they’re a perfect fit for us and our customers.”

It’s not just sound – or lack thereof – that Rob and his team have noticed with the eTriFlex 3370. Efficiency in daily operations across the venue has also been noted since using the industry’s first lithium-ion battery powered ride-on greensmower.

“Having these machines has made us even more efficient than usual. Being electric means we’ve reduced costs by no longer spending on diesel, and not having grease points on the machines means we’re focusing less on maintenance too. That, and the DPA cutting units, it just makes everything quicker and easier. Using the new Toro greensmowers beside some of our older machines has been eye-opening with how well they work.”

The electric greensmowers aren’t the only new Toro machinery that Rob plans for the centre. Also on order are two Toro Workman UTX utility vehicles designed to tackle all terrains.

And as far as taking the centre into the future, “I’ll be keeping an eye out for any new electric machinery that Toro comes out with,” says Rob. “We really want to go down the electric route where we can from now on, and ordering with Reesink means we can always be confident in the backup and communication it provides.”

To find out more about how your centre can benefit from using electric machinery,  call 01480 226800, email info@reesinkturfcare.co.uk or visit reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Fall into autumn with Mountfield

Fall into autumn with Mountfield: With winter just around the corner, the Mountfield team’s aim is clear, to offer everything needed to their customers to make all mowing jobs as easy as possible for the colder months and beyond!

Mountfield offers a range of accessories to help you get the most from their products. Fuel stabiliser, oil, combi carts, ballast rollers and fertiliser spreaders are just a few of the accessories available to purchase online on the Mountfield website.

Fall into autumn with Mountfield

Fall into autumn with Mountfield

With the weather so unpredictable these days, and many a named storm sure to head to the UK in the coming months, it is a good idea to keep tractors covered when not in use.  The Mountfield Protective Cover is a must for those who want to keep their tractor debris-free.  This cover is made of sturdy waterproof nylon which allows the lawn mower to be protected from atmospheric agents, dust and dirt when standing dormant.

– Dimensions 180 x 60 x 115 cm
– Grey colour
– Made of waterproof nylon
– 1 year of warranty from purchase date

Not only is our protective cover getting the full five-star review treatment from customers who reviewed it on Trustpilot, it now has the added bonus of FREE DELIVERY!

Mountfield has you and your tractor covered…whatever the weather!

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Q&A with Sophie Allen

Q&A with Sophie Allen: Sophie Allen started her apprenticeship with Agrovista Amenity as a Trainee Business Support Administrator 17 months ago.  As a keen cricketer and a volunteer groundsperson at her local cricket club, Sophie was already aware of Agrovista before applying for the position.  

In this Q&A Sophie reveals her love of the sport and how she’s developing into her role within the company.

Q&A with Sophie Allen

Q&A with Sophie Allen

Before you started your apprenticeship you worked as a volunteer groundsperson at your local cricket club – are you still doing this?

Yes, I’m still currently at my local Cricket Club, Allscott, where I am captain and organiser of our ladies’ team. There’s a lot of development going on over at the club, with a new clubhouse being built to improve our facilities. This year we are having a big push on bringing new players into all our teams and building the foundations of the club with our junior teams. With this new development, I am also due to become treasurer of our cricket section starting the 2024 season.

With regards to the maintenance of the ground, I work alongside my dad Jason who is the Head Groundsperson and has recently become a county pitch advisor for Shropshire.

Working alongside him is really eye opening due to the knowledge he has, and I am always learning something new. I tend to help him out as and when I can, whether it be after work for a couple of hours in the week or possibly a Saturday morning before the match. I would say that my favourite maintenance task is either marking out the wicket or using the roller to roll the wickets out.

What are your main responsibilities as a Business Support Administrator?

I work within the customer support team, so my main responsibilities are confirming orders from our Ecommerce platforms and our account managed customers, telephone communication with customers through our customer support call centre, dealing with customer support tickets, assisting the sales team, and answering the door to customers.

What does a typical day at work look like?

My average day can be very different but usually consists of opening everything up in the morning and checking if there is anything urgent that requires my attention. If there is, then I will deal with it straight away. If not, then I will get all the orders allocated to me confirmed.

After this, I will check my tickets and emails and deal with enquiries on these. We will usually have a few calls whilst doing these jobs, so if I’m free, I will take as many calls as I can. Then for the rest of the day, I will flick between confirming any new orders that are placed on the system and new enquiries, along with dealing with any issues that I may be chasing with a supplier or courier.

Did you enjoy completing your NVQ and how did you manage to fit your studies in alongside working?

I have recently completed an NVQ Level 3 in Business Administration. Within this, I learned about a variety of things, such as IT packages, personal development, project management, organisation, stakeholders, building a project, communication, personal skills, teamwork and many more topics. We were given a certain number of hours that they call ‘off the job hours’ to complete the relevant tasks and coursework. So, I found it manageable to balance this work along with my day-to-day work within the customer support team to complete my apprenticeship.

Learning new skills through my apprenticeship programme has really helped in the development of my skills within my role in the customer support team. One key skill I feel I have developed through my apprenticeship is confidence.

The support from Agrovista Amenity has been really good. If there has ever been an issue, then it has been sorted instantly and I couldn’t ask for a better company to work for.

What are your goals now you have completed the apprenticeship?

Now that I have completed my NVQ I am hoping to progress my responsibilities within the customer support team. I would really like to carry on developing new skills and hopefully gain new qualifications.

For more information about Agrovista UK, visit www.agrovista.co.uk/amenity

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West Lancashire Council brighten up town roadside with Euroflor

West Lancashire Council brighten up town roadside with Euroflor: West Lancashire Council wanted to brighten up the area for their residents with some instant colour and provide pollinators with natural habitat, they decided to trial Euroflor flower seed from Origin Amenity Solutions (OAS) on one of their major routes into the town of Skelmersdale.

Heading up this project was Stephen Bissette, Clean and Green Operations Manager at West Lancashire Borough Council. He explains, “Windmill Island in Skelmersdale is a roundabout on a major route into Skelmersdale. It is just off J5 of the M58. The council wanted to trial a wildflower area and following a meeting on flower seed in general with Gary Brindle from OAS, we sought Gary’s advice on the best way to do this and what seeds to use”.

West Lancashire Council brighten up town roadside with Euroflor

West Lancashire Council brighten up town roadside with Euroflor

West Lancashire Borough Council commissioned OAS to complete the trial project on their behalf which they did working alongside one of their trusted contractor partners.

For speed, ease and fast results Flora Fleece was used – a weed suppressant made from recycled fabric composed of 50% jute, 25% cotton, 25% brown wool, with a hessian scrim. The matting is made of natural fibres, which will break down through the growing season in 5-8 months.

On 10th May 2023 the team laid the fleece on both sides of the roundabout. Stephen comments, “A 100m2 of the Flora Fleece was used. It was quicker than weedkilling and rotavating the soil and gave the best chance of inhibiting weed ingression; it also supports seed establishment. It was easy to use. It is delivered in a roll which you unroll where you want your wildflower patch to be. And that’s it, ready for the soil. Could not be easier”.

Four tonnes of Green-tree topsoil were delivered by OAS and spread evenly on top of the Flora Fleece, in preparation for seeding. This is a an environmentally friendly sustainable soil that is manufactured using organic compost and overburdened sand from quarries; products that would otherwise end up in landfill.

400gram of Euroflor Rainbow Annuals were sown onto the topsoil and then raked over. A firm favourite because of its rapid establishment and long flowering period starting 50-60 days after sowing right through to the first frosts. Euroflor Rainbow displays a wide range of colours from early season – Eschscholtzias and Iberis, to mid-season Poppies, Cornflowers and Flax, giving way to Marigolds and Cosmos at the end of the season. The striking mix of bright colours red, orange, yellow, blue, and white successfully combines native flora with garden favourites.

Stephen concludes, “We had flowers in bloom on the 3rd of August, a beautiful showing which really did brighten up the approach to the roundabout. It was incredibly simple to install, required no maintenance and looked nice. I am delighted with the results and will look at other areas for 2024”

Sow Euroflor flower seed until the end of October for a Spring showing. Contact OAS on 0800 138 7222 for more information or to place an order.

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