Newslines Spring 2018

Trentham takes control with Toro Otterbine news Testing times for new aerator Otterbine’s High Volume aerator has been installed at th e R&A’s Equipment Testing Centre t o provide clean and healthy water for irrigating the golf practice area (see story left). Paul Kimber from Kimber Golf says: “Otterbine was considered a good choice to aerate the water for irrigating the practice area, based on the good company it keeps under Reesink Turfcare distributorship. Otterbine is providing us with the high quality solution for an important client we would expect.” And that solution is clean and healthy water. Otterbine is the only manufacturer to have oxygen transfer and pumping rates independently tested and published on its aeration systems with the High Volume offering the highest in the industry. Callum Oliphant, managing director of Applied Irrigation who helped make this product choice, says: “One pond feeds the entire underground irrigation tank so the product we chose had to be able to shift a good quantity of water. Otterbine is the best on the market and the High Volume in particular is powerful; keeping the water clean and healthy won’t be a problem for this system.” Implementing moisture level monitoring, updating controllers with the latest software and frequently applying evolving course setup conditions, all contribute to responsible and sustainable irrigation management. Here Ed Stant, course manager at Trentham Golf Club near Stoke-on- Trent, pictured right, tells us about how recent changes to his irrigation management are paying dividends. “Two years ago we had Toro Lynx with Infinity sprinklers installed,” says Ed. “The right technology greatly aids professional irrigation management, but getting the most out of it is a skill in itself, and starts with monitoring soil moisture levels. I use a HH2 Moisture Meter probe and its readings dictate what irrigation I apply. “We had a reasonably wet summer in 2017 but as we all know, no course is uniform and for whatever reasons certain areas will need more moisture than others. Being able to apply additional water where needed has resulted in us having great grass coverage across the entire course, even in the walked areas.” One of Ed’s highlights is the separate surrounds sprinklers: “Having separate surrounds sprinklers means we can irrigate in opposite directions and, therefore, avoid overwatering the greens when irrigating the surrounds.” Toro for R&A test centre Toro’s Infinity and T5 sprinklers have been chosen to irrigate the golf practice area at the R&A’s Equipment Testing Centre in Kingsbarns near St Andrews in Scotland. Additionally, an Otterbine High Volume aerator has been tasked to provide clean and healthy water for the system (see story right). Rigorous state-of-the-art testing is performed at The R&A’s Equipment Testing Centre by leading scientists, two cutting edge robots and some of the most elite players on the circuit, using the small but perfectly formed practice area; the results from which directly affect the game of golf across the world. The two greens have benefitted from four Toro Infinity 35 sprinklers with TDC wallmount, while seven Toro T5 sprinklers have been added across two tees. Paul Kimber from Kimber Golf, the golf course architect and contractor working with The R&A on the facility, says: “From its inception, this project has asked pertinent questions as to how and why things are done and how can they be improved. We applied some new techniques, developed a site-specific construction methodology for the greens and tried to create as many research opportunities as possible. “I have used Toro irrigation for several years and found they provide a quality product with good customer service from Reesink Turfcare. This was considered a very important factor for the client, and had the irrigation designer, Callum, in agreement.” Callum Oliphant, managing director o f Applied Irrigation, recommends the use of Toro’s sprinklers because their “performance is reliable and consistent and the quality of design excellent”. The turf needs to be as near to perfect as it is possible to get. It’s therefore easy to see why Toro was picked to help achieve that goal. news lines . spring 2018 . 11