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APG CONGRESS 2017

NewsAug 29th, 20170 comments

Gleneagles and John Deere sign supplier agreement

Gleneagles has signed an exclusive contract with John Deere for the supply of golf course maintenance equipment and related technology to the three championship golf courses at the award winning hotel and golf resort in Perthshire, Scotland

The resorts Director of Golf Gary Silcock and John Deere’s worldwide Agriculture and Turf Division President James M Field officially confirmed the agreement at the John Deere Financial headquarters in Johnston, Iowa, in mid-August. This took place just before Gary Silcock’s visit to The 2017 Solheim Cup matches that were held at the nearby Des Moines Golf and Country Club, where John Deere equipment was used to prepare and maintain the tournament course.

Gleneagles, PGA course

Gleneagles is the venue for The 2019 Solheim Cup, the biggest event in women’s professional golf, which will take place on the Jack Nicklaus-designed PGA Centenary Course that also hosted the 2014 Ryder Cup. The inaugural European Golf Team Championships are being held on the same course at Gleneagles in 2018

Known as the glorious playground, the 850-acre Perthshire estate was recently voted Best Golf Resort in the World for an unprecedented sixth successive year by readers of Ultratravel, the Telegraphs luxury travel magazine, and was also named Scotland’s Best Hotel/Resort in the Todays Golfer Travel Awards 2017, retaining this title for the fourth consecutive year.

Following completion of recent renovation work on the Kings & Queens courses to bring them back more in line with James Braids original design vision, our courses continue to provide customers with a world class experience that is second to none said Gary Silcock. With three critically-acclaimed 18-hole championship courses to choose from, Gleneagles remains, quite simply, a golfers paradise.

This new agreement with John Deere will see our two worldwide brands working together to further increase quality and productivity on the courses, through the adoption of innovative, market leading technology. We are going through an exciting period for the greenkeeping industry, as we see the introduction of satellite guidance and telematics fleet management systems dedicated to turfcare.

As part of our ongoing investment programme, we look forward to working alongside John Deere and local dealer Double A Trading to help develop these systems and keep Gleneagles at the forefront of European and world golf.

Tim Merrett, John Deere’s Vice President, Agriculture and Turf Division, said: “Gleneagles and John Deere both owe much of their success to a heritage of great performance and strong values, and both organisations are dedicated to the pursuit of excellence. Like Gleneagles, we have built a reputation on quality not only in our products and dealer support, but also for the way in which we treat our customers and do business”.

John Deere equipment helps to maintain many of the worlds greatest golf courses. We are delighted and honoured to now see our mowers, tractors and utility vehicles at work on The Kings, The Queens and The PGA Centenary courses at Gleneagles.

Brian D’Arcy, John Deere Limited UK & Ireland strategic account manager who has worked closely with Gleneagles to tailor the agreement to the estates requirements, added: “We see this as a first step towards building a long lasting and productive relationship, so that Gleneagles can become a leading strategic partner with John Deere in the golf industry not only in the UK & Ireland, but across Europe and beyond”.

NewsAug 29th, 20170 comments

Finalists revealed for the Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year Awards

For ambitious greenkeepers, the Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year Awards can represent the culmination of years of hard work, and the British & International Golf Greenkeepers Association is delighted to reveal the finalists of this prestigious and long-running competition

These 12 student greenkeepers, featured below, will contest the 29th Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year and 2nd Toro Young Student Greenkeeper of the Year awards in September

The awards enable BIGGA, turf maintenance equipment manufacturer Toro and distributor Reesink Turfcare to celebrate those talented student greenkeepers who are dedicating themselves to a career within the industry.

Last years winner of the Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year award was Jimmy Heritage, of Maylands in Essex. He said: My life has been changed by the whole Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year process. I’ve met some incredible people, done some incredible things and gained a mass of knowledge and confidence along the way. There hasn’t been a day since returning that I haven’t used something I gained from it all.

2016 winners Dan Waring and Jimmy Heritage

The Toro Student Greenkeeper finalists are:

Chloe Gallagher, Ramside Hall Hotel & Golf Club, Durham

Graham Hastie, Stoneham Golf Club, Southampton

Levi Pethick, Stoneham Golf Club, Southampton

Matthew Kitson, Royal Mid Surrey Golf Club, Richmond

Michael Budd, Westerham Golf Club, Kent

Nick Machin, Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club, Kent

The Toro Young Student Greenkeeper finalists are:

Angus Roberts, Roxburghe Hotel and Golf Course, Scottish Borders

Joe Spadaccini, Scraptoft Golf Club, Leicester

Callum Done, Trump International Golf Links Scotland, Aberdeen

Christopher Clark, Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club, Kent

Craig Woodman, Bramshaw Golf Club, Hampshire

Matthew Bowles, Kings Hill Golf Club, Ken

The final will begin on Monday 11 September, where candidates will join an industry discussion group hosted by BIGGA Chairman Les Howkins

The finalists of the two awards will then undertake a variety of tasks, culminating in the awards presentation, which will take place on the afternoon of Tuesday 12 September

The Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year winner will receive an eight-week all expenses paid scholarship, including a six-week residential turf management study course at the University of Massachusetts, a trip to the Golf Industry Show and a visit to the Toro factory

The Toro Young Student Greenkeeper of the Year, won last year by Dan Waring of Ashbourne, will receive a two-week all expenses paid work experience placement at the exclusive Vidauban Golf Club in the South of France. They will also receive a trip to Continue to Learn at the BIGGA Turf Management Exhibition in Harrogate next January and enjoy a five-night package that includes hotel, four days of education, travel and £125 expenses, plus a Toro training voucher.

The runners-up of each award will also receive a training package for BTME 2018

BIGGA Chief Executive Officer Jim Croxton said: There are many talented people joining our industry, choosing greenkeeping as a career and investing in education to do so. The Toro Student Greenkeeper of the Year process is a brilliant way of recognising the individuals who will shape this industry for years to come

Our thanks go to Toro and Reesink Turfcare for their ongoing support of what has long been a highlight of the greenkeeping calendar for BIGGA and its members.

NewsAug 17th, 20170 comments