GROUNDSKEEPING
TOPDRESSING TRANSFORMED AT ARSCOTT GC THANKS TO PURCHASE OF REDEXIM RINK
Matt Lewis of Charlies Groundcare ( left ) with Arscott GC Head Greenkeeper Andrew Lewis
disc spreader and opted for the Rink because of its size , reliability and the fantastic back-up support from the team at Charlies .”
The arrival of a Rink and Speedbrush from Redexim has transformed topdressing for the team at Arscott Golf Club – turning a task that would have previously taken 14 hours into one that ’ s complete in just four ! The labour-savings and convenience brought about by their new DS800 now means that Head Greenkeeper Andrew Lewis can topdress more frequently and in more areas around the site , bringing further benefit to the condition of the Shropshire course .
Andrew has been at Arscott since it opened in 1992 and was part of the original team that converted the agricultural land into an 18-hole golf course . Together with changes to the course , Andrew has seen changes in trends and maintenance techniques over the years – topdressing included . “ Where we would have previously been putting two ton ’ s down on a green and working it in , now it ’ s all about little and often dressings that work down in just a couple of days .”
To keep pace with the requirement for more frequent topdressing , the club purchased a Rink DS800 delivered by Charlies Groundcare , in the spring of 2022 . The DS800 features a 0.8m3 hopper capacity , variable spreading widths of between 2m and 12m , and spreading thicknesses of 0.5 to 15mm for optimal versatility and effectiveness . “ Previously , we were using a fertiliser spinner which did the job but was very small and meant repeated trips backwards and forwards to the shed to collect material which was ¾ of a mile away from the furthest green ! We looked at a couple of different models of
“ The time it now takes us to get around all 18 greens has more than halved , and as a small team of just three , it frees up all-important labour to be working on other tasks . It ’ s already completed one pass in April and where we would normally do just one more in September , we ’ ve actually decided to do an additional dressing on all 18 greens mid-summer as well as some work on the tees and surrounds which would just not have been feasible before .”
To complement the Rink , Ascott also purchased a Redexim Speedbrush which Andrew says is proving to be a brilliant piece of equipment – not just for working in dressing . “ We ’ re finding more and more things to do with the Speedbrush , from dispersing clippings to clearing moisture and standing the plant up on the surrounds to improve the quality of cut . All of this , together with the increase in topdressing are already making a huge difference to the course .” www . redexim . com
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