Tag Archive for: years

Bunkers still drain six years on

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Bunkers still drain six years on: Opened in 1924, Dubsdread in Orlando is the oldest public course in Central Florida. Formerly the site of the Orlando Golf Open, it played host to great names such as Hogan and Snead.

The course was rebuilt by architect Mike Dasher in 2007/8, and its bunkers were reconstructed at the same time, with new sub-surface drainage lines, but no liners.

Bunkers still drain six years on

Bunkers still drain six years on

Superintendent Alan Lichter says it became clear to him fairly quickly that those bunkers would not stand up to the amount of play the busy course receives, especially in Florida summers, where signficant rains are an everyday occurrence.

“The bunkers just kept washing out all the time,” he says. “So we started talking about bunker liners in about 2012, and did a demonstration project on our chipping green bunker using a liner from a company that later went bust. So we started looking at the alternatives, and that’s when I came across Capillary.”

Installing liners across the golf course was a significant investment for a municipal course, so Lichter began tracking the amount of time it took to fix the bunkers after rain events. “It wasn’t pretty, and that convinced the powers that be at the city that it was a good investment,” he explains. “The payback to the city was pretty obvious, and the improvements in playability that would follow were also a big issue. So we started the project in 2017, working with Benson Construction, a Georgia-based contractor. It took three months to install the liner in all the bunkers.

Six years on from the installation and Lichter is still extremely happy with the performance of his bunkers. “I love them,” he says. “They are still draining as they were the first day. We had seven tenths of an inch of rain last night, there’s no water in the bunkers.”

Given the extremes of the Florida climate, Lichter’s bunkers have had to face up to some pretty severe weather – and he says they have come through with colours still flying. Even after Hurricane Ian dumped eleven inches of rain on Dubsdread last year, the Capillary Bunkers still performed. “It took one person – me! – about twelve houtrs to fix the bunkers after Ian,” he says. “Before we installed the Capillary liner, it would have needed three guys working solidly for a week.”

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Trilo’s deliver twenty plus years of reliability

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Trilo’s deliver twenty plus years of reliability: Whether it’s for the collection of grass clippings or debris following scarification, or out on hire during autumn’s leaf fall season, Fineturf have got a Trilo machine for the job!

It’s more than 25 years since Owner Simon Hutton purchased his first refurbished Trilo and, more than two decades on, that SG700 continues to deliver reliable service alongside more than 20 other vacuum units from across the Trilo range.

Trilo’s deliver twenty plus years of reliability

Trilo’s deliver twenty plus years of reliability

An extensive fleet of equipment assists Simon and the teams across the group of companies which includes Tillers Turf and Fineturf Machinery – delivering maintenance and contracting services to leading venues across the sporting spectrum. Undertaking work on racecourses, football pitches, cricket, tennis and fine turf surfaces demands flexibility from their machinery, with a wide variety of Trilo machines used for a multitude of tasks.

Simon explains “Over the businesses we have an SG700, an SG1165, four SG1100’s, 11 SG400’s, an S3, two S4’s and an S12 – all purchased at different times when workload has demanded the investment. The higher capacity machines such as the S12 and SG1100’s are used primarily for grass collection and large scale clearance work such as post-concert clean-ups. The mid-sized and smaller units including the SG700 with its 7m3 capacity are used for contracting and contract hire – vacuuming after koroing, or after scarifying cricket outfields for example.”

“There are three things we really like about the Trilo brand; namely the simplicity of use, build quality and reliability we get from the brand. It’s equipment that stands the test of time!” An example of that is the SG700, which was refurbished by Trilo’s Jeremy Vincent more than 25 years ago and still out working today. “As we speak, that machine is up at the Manchester United Training Ground with a team there completing new season renovation works.”

The SG1165, equipped with six-metre wings is the only machine dedicated to work at the Tillers Turf site, while the rest are utilised year-round by the contracting division – switching from grass collection to leaf collection when autumn arrives. “We see a big spike in hire requests from sports venues, golf clubs and local authorities when the leaves start to drop. The Trilo range being so straight forward to set-up is ideal to go out in those instances, where multiple operators can get stuck in, clear large areas and achieve a great finish.”

“We work closely with both Jeremy and James Boyle who keep us up to speed on new developments and ensure everything keeps running like it should.” He concludes, “With such a large number of people depending on us and our equipment, we need machines we can rely on and with Trilo, that’s never in doubt.”

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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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15 years of DLF R&D delivers sustainability you can rely on

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15 years of DLF R&D delivers sustainability you can rely on: DLF’s continued focus on breeding environmentally responsible varieties has seen the introduction of a number of exceptional cultivars, helping facilities and turf managers achieve their own objectives for more sustainable management.

In trials for the Chewings Fescue category, DLF’s Orionette demonstrated a high-quality sward that is more drought tolerant and resistant to disease, reducing the reliance on inputs. It is therefore no surprise to see its inclusion in a number of top-performing DLF golf mixtures and find it ranked as number one in the 2023 BSPB Seed Guide!

15 years of DLF R&D delivers sustainability you can rely on

15 years of DLF R&D delivers sustainability you can rely on

Chewings Fescue grass (Festuca rubra commutata) is a popular cool-season grass, valued for its fine texture, early growth habit, attractive green colour and ability to thrive in a range of soil conditions. Its upright growth results in dense tufts without rhizomes, so it doesn’t spread like it’s Slender or Strong Creeping cousins. Over the years, Chewings Fescue has been extensively bred and developed to offer a hardier and even more adaptable turf, tolerant of close mowing and typically blended with other fescues to create a golf mixture with exceptional ball roll and playability.

In recent years, breeding efforts – including those by DLF – have focussed on developing Chewings Fescue cultivars that require less water and fertiliser and be naturally more resistant to pests and disease, reducing the need for chemical inputs and therefore improving environmental sustainability. Orionette is the result of more than 15 years of research and development, created by combining plants of the very best germplasm available in DLF breeding. Extensive screening across DLF’s European trials network followed, including for drought tolerance in France, winter tolerance in the Czech Republic as well as green trials conducted in Denmark.

The results showed superior performance in all aspects and thanks to its high tiller density, Orionette is more tolerant to winter diseases such as Red Thread and highly resilient to wear and tear.

It’s ability to perform under a lower Nitrogen-input programme is another reason why Orionette excels in a number of popular Johnsons Sports Seed mixtures for fine turf – both as a drought-tolerant fairway cultivar in J Premier Fairway or in a disease and weed resistant capacity in a greens mix such as J Fescue and J Green. J Premier Fairway is a high-performance blend of seven fescue cultivars for the sustainable management of non-rye tees and fairways. Orionette makes up 15% of both J Fescue and J Green, requiring less water and fertiliser and contributing to fast and sustainable surfaces.

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John Deere celebrates 30 years of training

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John Deere celebrates 30 years of training: John Deere is marking the 30th anniversary of its renowned apprenticeship programme with an open day to recruit the next generation of technicians to work across its agriculture, turf and parts business.

Well in excess of 1,000 apprentices have qualified since 1992, and the company is keen to showcase the exciting career path that lies ahead of those who complete the course.

John Deere celebrates 30 years of training

John Deere celebrates 30 years of training

On 6 October, John Deere and the scheme’s training provider, ProVQ, will open the doors of its new training centre in Upper Saxondale, Nottinghamshire, where candidates will be offered guided tours, practical demonstrations and driving experiences.

Classrooms and workshops will be staffed by instructors and apprentices, providing a unique opportunity to view the state-of-the-art learning facilities on offer and talk to those who know all about the programme.

John Deere’s apprenticeship programme sees technicians work within the company’s dealership network as a paid employee while completing either a two or three-year course comprising on-the-job practical learning and classroom studies.

Three courses make up the programme; Ag Tech – focusing on agricultural machinery, Turf Tech – focusing on professional turf equipment, and Parts Tech – focusing on parts service and support.

“It’s a hugely exciting time to be part of the agricultural and turfcare industries – they are evolving and becoming more technologically advanced than ever before,” John Deere Branch Training Manager Allan Cochran says.

“The job is so much more than just servicing and fixing things. The machines and parts our apprentices work on and with are some of the most advanced in the world, many capable of levels of automation or operating at capacities we could only dream of a few years ago.

“With exam results now known and young people planning their futures, we’re encouraging them to join us for our open day to find out how John Deere can ignite their careers.

“It’s not just for people who love tractors – if you want to earn while you learn and be part of a huge, global brand with a reputation for ground-breaking innovations, then a John Deere apprenticeship could be the perfect start to your career.”

The open day will be held on 6 October, with three sessions being run at 10am, 1pm, and 3pm. Refreshments will be provided throughout the day, and entry is free, although pre-booking is a requirement as places are limited.

Booking is live at https://JohnDeereApprentice.eventbrite.co.uk

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