Newslines Summer 2017

Greens, fairways and roughs Toro trio impresses Duns Golf Club , an 18-hole parkland course established in the Scottish Borders in 1894, has recently taken charge of three new Toro machines, which join the existing fleet to maintain almost 100 acres of turf. And since the Toro trio purchase less than a month ago the undulating course is “really starting to impress”, says club captain Derek Bates. The machines purchased were the Reelmaster 5610-D , Greensmaster 3250-D and the “excellent” Groundsmaster 4300-D . Derek says: “The course which covers 97 acres with many undulations is really starting to impress now. The greens are the highlight of the course thanks to the Greensmaster 3250-D. They are immaculate and visitors are impressed with how fast and slick they are playing. The machine follows the undulations effortlessly, giving a consistent cut, and climbs any hills with no problem.” And the greens aren’t the only talking point, the fairways are also turning heads with some help from the heavy-duty Reelmaster 5610-D: “The fairway mower’s DPA cutting units are giving a great after-cut appearance and visitors have compared our fairways to that of baize on a pool table,” says Derek. The final machine in the trio is the Groundsmaster 4300-D. According to Derek: “The greenkeepers use the GM4300-D to chew through the roughs with ease and report that, like the other Toros, it is very comfortable to operate.” Derek says the deal was made easy by Reesink rep Mike Turnbull: “After lengthy discussions with Mike, an excellent deal was struck. We considered the fact that the machines have low fuel consumption and brilliant residual sale values. Reesink and Toro provide a first class backup service, too, ensuring optimum performance and longevity. All these factors led us to believe that by choosing Toro the club has made the right decision for its future.” With visitors raving about the results provided by the new machines within a month, it clearly was a good decision. Q&A With Mark Pettit, pictured above and inset, ex -Arsenal Football Club groundsman, who with IOG recognised young groundsman, Josef Farrow, forms Premiership Lawncare . Here Mark give us a glimpse into the company which provides top-flight lawncare, sports facility management, spraying services, aeration, commercial site management and renovations. How did Premiership Lawncare come about? We both worked at Oakham School and on a wet day in November 2015 we sat in the works vehicle and got on the subject of starting our own business. Since then it’s been the best decision we could have made. What’s the project you’ve worked on that stands out the most? We enjoy all aspects of the job, but some of our most enjoyable projects have been domestic lawns. It’s great bringing our professional experience into people’s lives via their lawns, creating a fantastic outdoor living space. Which surfaces are the hardest to treat? Every surface offers different challenges. Cricket is certainly a challenge especially with the great British summer being so unpredictable at times and more and more fixtures seem to be put on the square each year. We have limited time to get things done and bowls is another busy surface, there always seems to be something on the green. Without irrigation systems at some places watering becomes a problem, which, when we get dry weeks, means late night watering with portable sprinklers. We wouldn’t change our job for the world though! Where do you see the future of turfcare maintenance going, any notable changes we can expect? Wherever the industry goes the basics will never change, good cultural practices will always go towards creating great surfaces. Products will come and go but we always find a way to adapt and continue to create great surfaces. Which UK ground or club’s playing surface do you admire the most, and why? I respect any groundsman or greenkeeper in the industry, it’s not an easy profession to take up, scrutiny at whatever level you work at will be there and people’s expectations continue to rise due to the high standard we all work at in this country. Every facility in the country has different circumstances so for me it’s not fair to judge. With regards to business goals, where do you see Premier Lawncare in five years? We want to obviously continue growing as a business, we are already ahead of schedule and that is a good sign so we will just continue the good work and see where it takes us. We’ve got to ask, what’s your favourite bit of Toro kit and why? We looked no further than Toro when it came to buying an aerator. The ProCore 648 was ever-present in Arsenal’s shed and it is, in my opinion, the best there is for professional spiking. news lines . summer 2017 . 09 Parts Real deal for September According to agronomists, cylinder mowing is the best option for grass, delivering the cleanest and healthiest of cuts. This is because the blades spin vertically creating a scissoring action against the bottom blade to cut the grass leaves. With the workings of a cylinder mower so intricate, it would be unwise to upset the equilibrium by putting anything other than genuine parts in your Toro machine. Fitting an inferior ‘will-fit’ part against a genuine Toro cylinder removes the guarantee of a consistently accurate cut right down to 2.5mm with no risk of turf damage. It’s just not worth the risk. With Reesink Turfcare offering ten percent off all genuine Toro cylinders, bought this September , now’s the time to stock up and ensure you have a good supply and the best possible cylinder cut at the best possible price.