Newslines Spring 2019

OTTERBINE AT THE HEART OF LADBROOK PARK For the past 15 years, Otterbine’s Sunburst aerating fountain has created a stunning centrepiece at the heart of Ladbrook Park Golf Club in the midlands. Three impressive interconnecting lakes make up the centre of the club and keeping 12,000m² of water clear and healthy for 15 years is the Sunburst. Course manager, Kevin Fellows says: “The lakes are central to the course and provide the backdrop to many of our 18-holes. The Sunburst has given us everything we needed. When we first excavated the lakes in conjunction with a local contractor, there was a transition period when we had a lot of weed and algae build up and fixing that as soon as possible was a real priority.” To combat this, the club worked with a water management company who recommended the Sunburst. “Once we had the fountain installed it solved all of our problems within a couple of weeks,” says Kevin. “You could see the improvement pretty much immediately, which gave us peace of mind we’d made the right choice.” The club excavated the lakes, not just to create beautiful surroundings for its golfers, but to provide a source of water for irrigation. With the Sunburst, the water is a good enough quality to irrigate the course and without having to rely on the mains water supply, the club has saved money and gained peace of mind from its ability to be self-reliant. Kevin concludes: “The fountain has been one of the best investments we’ve made, it’s cost effective to run and has proven itself to be a reliable product which is quite literally at the heart of the course.” news lines . spring 2019 . 11 Toro saves Royal Birkdale 25% water during record heatwave Toro makes Newquay talk of the county Royal Birkdale Golf Club h as saved 25 percent on water consumption during the 2018 heatwave thanks to Toro. The timing could not have been more fortuitous as Royal Birkdale turned on its new Toro irrigation system in April 2018 just in time for one of the hottest summers the country has ever experienced. Little did Chris Whittle, course manager, know, as the tender process for a new irrigation system started in September 2017, that within weeks of installation a record equalling heatwave would hit the country. As golf courses fought to prevent their turf from being burnt brown and water costs rose accordingly, Chris was in the fortunate position of having efficient, accurate and precise irrigation at his fingertips with a new Toro Lynx central control system and all new sprinklers, including Toro Infinity, across the 240-acre 18-hole links course Newquay Golf Club in Cornwall, a traditional links course with traditional links irrigation issues, has chosen Toro Lynx control system an d Flex series sprinklers to keep the course in top condition, and within six months the results are the talk of the county. Head greenkeeper Dan Kendle, pictured, explains: “It was time for a new system, but we also wanted to make sure we had a system which could cope with the fact that we’re an exposed links course. We’re built on sand dunes beside the Atlantic Ocean and we get a lot of wind and salt spray. I knew we needed an irrigation system capable of dealing with that.” “The difference since we switched to Toro is massive. We now have denser and greater grass coverage, especially across the greens. Members say they can’t believe how much better the course is now, and the buzzword is our greens are the talk of the county!” Newquay Golf Club has long been a Toro machinery customer, but Toro Irrigation was chosen on merit through extensive research and viewing different systems in action. “It was important we considered all the options before deciding and we were really thorough with the process. It’s a big investment and members needed assurance we’d done our research. We had a lot of discussions and went to see the Lynx system and another brand in action. After seeing how they operated, it was clear that the superior system was Toro’s.” in Southport, Merseyside. “We had a Toro system that had always served us well and the service from Reesink, L.S. Systems and Robin Hume Associates has always been great so there was no question we’d go with anyone else, but we needed more control. Lynx was the obvious choice and no sooner was it installed than it was put to the ultimate test!” And the system triumphed in the face of adversity bringing a 25 percent saving and that’s a conservative estimate, says Chris: “It was a figure that was unexpected in how significant it was. We hoped to make savings with the new system obviously, but not while we contended with extreme heat and lack of rain, the worst of which we hadn’t seen in years! When we realised how much we’d saved we couldn’t believe it. We’re delighted with the results Toro delivered.” Prioritising water allocation meant we kept the course playing well, looking fine and in the best possible health. Despite the need for more irrigation than we’ve experienced for many years, we made huge savings in water consumption. Chris Whittle course manager 01 From left, Royal Birkdale greens chairman Paul Jones, Reesink’s Robert Jackson, Royal Birkdale course manager Chris Whittle and L.S. Systems’ Darren McDonald. 01

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