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Wessex Joins Forces With RFU

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Wessex Joins Forces With RFU: Wessex International, one of Britain’s leaders in groundcare equipment, has become a partner in Rugby Groundsmen Connected.

The rugby club pitch maintenance equipment package, devised by the Rugby Football Union’s head groundsman, Keith Kent, is the RFU’s easy access, two-way communication network between the RFU and rugby union groundsmen. Working with trusted industry partners, Keith’s package is designed to meet the needs of rugby union clubs aiming to deliver a high quality pitch maintenance programme. Part of this includes the Wessex ProLine CRX-180 combination mower, with castoring wheels at the front and a full width roller on the rear for a precision stripe. The award winning CRX is very easy to maintain and is suited to compact tractors from 20hp such as the Iseki TM3265, which is also offered as part of the package.

“We’re delighted to be partners and have our CRX MultiCut chosen to be part of the programme,” says Pete Farndell, Wessex International’s Marketing Manager, “being part of Rugby Groundsmen Connected is a wonderful opportunity to get close to grass roots and the rugby groundsmen. The CRX has proved itself worthy at many RFU clubs and grounds across the UK. This is an excellent opportunity to let people know of its capabilities.”

Wessex Joins Forces With RFU

What’s different about the Wessex CRX MultiCut is that it is effectively three mowers in one: roller mower, finishing mower and combination mower. As a finishing mower, with its high blade tip speed it’s in a different league for cut quality, while maintaining increased manoeuvrability in awkward areas. In its role as a combination mower it is ideally suited to front mounting on a compact tractor, with the castoring wheels reducing scuffing and the rear roller leaving the prestigious striped effect on the turf.

Everything the RFU does related to pitch maintenance now comes under the banner of Rugby Groundsmen Connected and Wessex International are proud to be a part of the RFU initiative to provide information and advice to groundsmen, with special offers, a 3 year warranty and exclusive benefits to members.

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Swansea Happy With Johnsons

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Swansea Happy With Johnsons: Liberty Stadium Swansea, the premier sports venue in south west Wales, is home to Swansea City Football Club and the Ospreys regional rugby team. Although being sceptical, head groundsman Dan Kirton, made the switch to Johnsons Sports Seed in 2015 and now admits that it would take “something seriously special” to make them use anything else! Between Johnsons Premier Pitch and J 4Turf mixtures, the team have achieved fantastic year-round results year on year.

“We had heard and read so many good things about the range that for our renovations in 2015 we gave it a go,” explained Dan. As a multi-sport venue, Dan, and his team of three, face a variety of challenges when it comes to managing the pitch. “We have on average 30 football and 20 rugby games a season, with sometimes just a single day turnaround between matches. Renovation can also be hectic – the concert schedule will determine how long we have to get the pitch match fit. To stand any chance of good results we need mixtures that germinate quickly.”

Swansea Happy With Johnsons

Because of their unique requirements, DLF’s Ian Barnett suggested using a combination of Johnsons J Premier Pitch during summer, and for the colder months, Johnsons J 4Turf. “If we have a rugby game on the Friday night, we’ll clean the pitch up and put J Premier Pitch down and by the following week we’re getting germination – you can’t ask for better than that!”. J Premier Pitch is the UK’s No.1 sports turf renovation mixture, containing Europe’s highest rated cultivars to deliver a sward with exceptional wear tolerance, density and rapid recovery under heavy wear. J 4Turf tetraploid rye ensures rapid establishment even under low soil temperatures making it ideal for autumn and winter overseeding.

“This year we have a concert on the 7th July giving us just three weeks for renovation before the first game of the new season. If we have any chance of getting the seed through in time we’ll definitely be continuing with our Johnsons Seed programme; it’s easily the best seed we’ve ever used and, backed up with support and advice from Ian, means we haven’t looked back since.”

For more information, visit: www.johnsonssportsseed.co.uk

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Surbiton Fast Forward With Toro

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Surbiton Fast Forward With Toro: When it comes to course machinery, Surbiton Golf Club has done things in the same manner for many years. But times are now changing, beginning with the delivery of its first full fleet. The lease deal with Toro and Reesink Turfcare is a statement of the club’s desire to deliver a golfing experience to members that will be the envy of other clubs in the Surrey area.

When Andrew Kerr joined the club in Chessington as head greenkeeper, he went straight to work with the Greens Committee to deliver a complete overhaul of the way the club acquired and replaced its machinery.

Surbiton Fast Forward With Toro

Clint Whittaker, club secretary, explains: “We used to purchase machines outright when required, as part of our capital investment plan. This meant we had machines of varying ages, some of which couldn’t provide Andrew with the performance he needed to deliver the course results we expect. So rather than just replace a few machines, we decided to acquire a whole new fleet that is optimised to meet the very high expectations of our members.”

Andrew, who is currently finalising his qualification as a master greenkeeper, says: “There’s a great deal of choice for players, so it’s imperative to be the best you can be on the budget you have. We’re not one of the biggest clubs, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have the best presented course around. I was determined to bring the best machinery to support our course maintenance regime. I wanted to show the membership what’s possible when you have the right equipment.”

As a club owned by its members, this change in policy had to not only win over the committee, but 700 members too. Andrew continues: “It only took one viewing of the latest Toros, brought in by Reesink, to convince everyone that Toro was the brand to go with to raise the bar. I’ve found the management and the members to be entirely supportive, and when it came to the benefits of a lease agreement they were in absolute agreement. Our Toro fleet is delivering what I believe it should. The new technology we have at our fingertips means the greenkeeping team is making a real difference to the playability and quality of the course.”

Clint agrees: “All in all, we could see this was an investment in the future of the club we had to go with.”

Included in the fleet are four Greensmaster 1000 and three Greensmaster 1600 pedestrian mowers, two Reelmaster 5510-D ride-ons, two TriFlex 3420 hybrids, one with an 11-blade set-up and one with an eight, a Groundsmaster 4700-D, two Groundsmaster 3500-D mowers and a Multi Pro 5800-D.

Mike Taylor from Reesink Turfcare says: “Andrew came to us with a clear vision of what he wanted the machinery to achieve.  It was a joint effort between Reesink and Surbiton Golf Club to make sure he got everything on that list to realise his vision. It was a big step forward for the club and provides real certainty that the greens team can meet member expectations.”

So, where there is a will there is a way. You don’t need the biggest budget to get the equipment you want, or the finish you feel your members deserve. Look at the options with your management committee and where relevant the membership. Find the best people in the dealer and distributor network to talk to about what you want to achieve and consider that, just like a picture, a demo is worth more than a thousand words.

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Plant Up With WOLF-Garten

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Plant Up With WOLF-Garten: Not everyone is blessed with wide expanses of outside space to grow plants, fruit and vegetables. A lot of people have a smaller garden, some may rent and are unable to dig up the easy-care patio beloved by landlords, and for some, access to green space is limited to a balcony or window-box. This need not mean that they cannot enjoy the colour, scent and pleasure that plants can offer.

Container and balcony gardening means that the joy of cultivation is open to all, and with a collection of WOLF-Garten Hand Tools, specifically designed with the smaller garden in mind, the job couldn’t be easier. The range has been created for working in areas where space is limited or in densely planted pots and containers. The range includes forks, trowels, a hoe and bulb planter, all of which are lightweight and comfortable to use, as well as being compact and easy to store. A major benefit of the range comes from the handles. Each of the tools has a fixed handle that has been developed with three specific zones which ensure optimum control, comfort and power when needed. This is all fitted into a compact,  lightweight package, with comfort and control at the forefront of the design.

Plant Up With WOLF-Garten

The 7.5cm Flower Fork is perfect for planting and transplanting in pots and containers, with its strong steel tines providing stability and the comfortable handle preventing pain from pressure points.

The 7cm Wide Trowel provides manoeuvrability around areas with limited space and makes planting up versatile plants, such as the hardy begonia or the delicate summer snapdragon, a breeze.

For planting areas with even less space, such as a window-box, the 5cm Planting Trowel is perfect. Its narrow width means that plants can be interplanted without disturbing their neighbours. It is ideal for mini herb gardens that have been suspended out of the kitchen window!

Once planting is done and foliage begins to fall later in the season, the 11.5cm Small Sweep comes into its own, neatly sweeping up fallen leaves and petals from even the tightest of gaps.

7.5cm Flower Fork RRP £9.99
7cm Wide Trowel RRP £9.99
5cm Planting Trowel RRP £9.99
11.5cm Small Sweep RRP £9.99

For further information about all of these products, and other items in the WOLF-Garten range, visit www.wolfgarten-tools.co.uk.  You can also find WOLF-Garten on Twitter at @WOLFGartenUK and on Facebook by searching for WOLF-Garten UK.

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Coffee With Terra Spike

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Coffee With Terra Spike: A head greenkeeper based in Buckinghamshire has inspired a challenge among users of the Wiedenmann Terra Spike.

After taking delivery of a new GXi8 HD in December, Gerrards Cross GC’s Adam McColl reckoned the machine was smooth enough to balance a full cup of coffee without spilling while it spiked its way across a tee or green.

Coffee With Terra Spike

Within hours his observation was relayed to others prompting greenkeepers and groundsmen across the country to get involved, posting on twitter when they succeed.

Adam, who heads the team of seven at the south Buckinghamshire Club, said:

“The coffee challenge just seemed possible. Aerators have moved on, modern practices mean the machine stays calm even when going deep.   With the multi ribbed belt drive system and the way the crankshaft is balanced, the GXi 8 always remains stable. If you hit something there is no shock transfer to the tractor or the driver. It elongates the life of both the machine and the tractor. It’s all about smooth.”

Coffee With Terra Spike

Gerrards Cross Golf Club a parkland course with extensive woodland and views across the Misbourne Valley, had some fairly specific criteria for choosing a Wiedenmann aerator.

“We need to stay ahead of golf and not stop play,” continued Adam McColl.  “Previously that wasn’t happening.  At 1.8 m this is 60 cm wider than before so a combination of extra width and greater speed will mean an end to interruptions and lead to more frequent repetitions.  This machine has a specific feature – Advance Tine Control – that ensures we get very clean tine entry and exit even where there’s compaction.”

Another major reason for Adam McColl choosing a Terra Spike, was the improvement it would bring to getting sand into the profile to ultimately benefit drainage.

“At demo we gave the 18th green one pass using 20 mm tines.  In the weeks before our own machine arrived we could see a tangible difference just from that one occasion.  The green still puddled but the water residue shifted a lot quicker.

“The bigger picture however is to get between 180-200 tonnes of sand on the greens across the year.  Assuming it remains dry enough we’ll continue with the 20 mm tines and go for 40 tonnes between now and the end of March plus an additional 40 tonnes at spring renovations when we will probably hollow core.  During summer we switch to lighter 8 mm tines and hope to achieve between 20 – 40 tonnes. Then come autumn it will be back to the 20 mm tines and around 60-80 tonnes.

“Last year we didn’t even get to our target of 140 tonnes but we’re focussed on getting this additional sand to help create drainage channels.”

Eddie Jack, Field Sales Manager at Ernest Doe in North Walsham said: “Adam called it correctly with the smoothness of the machine. He really started something. Looks like I’ll be buying the coffees for the foreseeable future.”

For more information, visit: www.wiedenmann.co.uk

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