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After trying a lot of machines on demostrations, we have finally decided and placed an order. It's been a hard decision, but now its time to reveal our winners.... 
Here's a list of the new machines and their uses
First delivery this Friday 13th Feb
A representative from Ransomes and Jacobsen talks us through the benefits of the Hybrid Eclipse machine. Andrew and Adam from Gaudet Lauce, Jim from Harborne and yours truly. 
The west midlands BIGGA section autumn tour of Ransomes 
Demo machines from Ransomes Below I get to try the biggest cutting decks 'ever' and the Eclipse From Ransomes in Ipswich we continued our tour south to the TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR TRAINING CENTRE 
The new architecturally designed Tottenham Hotspur Training Centre has been built on 77 acres and is located on Hotspur Way, Enfield. It is the home of the Club's First Team and Academy and is recognised as one of the best in Europe. The state-of-the-art facility - which includes a covered artificial pitch, world-class player preparation areas, pool and hydrotherapy complex, altitude room, large-scale gymnasium and specialist sports rehabilitation suites - will support the Club's ambitions to attract, develop and retain the highest quality talent. There are 15 grass pitches across the site including four dedicated solely for First Team Training and one and a half artificial outdoor pitches with floodlighting. The First Team Match pitch is built to exactly the same specification as the pitch at White Hart Lane. The new Training Centre has been designed with environmental protection and sustainability in mind. The focus has been on enhancing and reinstating key features of the local environment including restoring historic hedgerows and field boundaries as well as significant additional planting, an organic kitchen garden and orchard. The Club has planted over 150 new and semi-mature trees and thousands of new plants, hedges and flowers across the site in order to establish and enhance the ecological habitat. What a magnificent training ground and great hospitality, thank you Spurs.
Mind you despite their multi million pound state of the art facility look what happened Tottenham 0-1 West Brom James Morrison grabs a second half winner to hand his side all three points at White Hart Lane
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2764187/Tottenham-0-1-West-Brom-James-Morrison-grabs-second-half-winner-hand-three-points-White-Hart-Lane.html#ixzz3R3EYnCc9 Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook The third week in October saw Round 2 of our Toro machinery demonstration. I personally tried all of the demonstration models, and my favourite machine for pure impact to the course was the 'rough cutter' (groundsmaster 4500D) which completely changed the appearance of the rough. Previously our rough was block cut (half and half) but with the use of the groundsmaster we managed to 'stripe' the area effectively .... 
Toro ~ Toro Toro ~ Toro Toro ~ Toro Toro TORO
Demo time.... A nice selection of new Toro machines that we recently had on trial....
So the day started with a very untidy shed ......
......and then along came the 'Shed Fairy'........booooom !! All ready for our new head green keeper Karl Williams......
We make it look easy.... In these two videos we are demonstrating a bit of team work with our two new machines. What we are trying to achieve ? To maintain the height of the grass around the tree plantations to match the same height of cut as the rough. This is to encourage faster play and general appearance, thus making your round more enjoyable :) I said ...."SCREAM if you want to faster" Snake in the grassIt certainly slithers it's way around the course... Our new Trimax snake.. Here's what the pro's are saying.... "Snake is the accumulation of over 30 years of Trimax innovation, engineering and customer insight. Designed for sports turf and golf courses, Snake has the unique ability to transform a variety of conditions into an even carpet of green. We've seamlessly combined our world class cut quality and have added articulation capabilities never seen before on a Trimax Mower. We believe that what we've created is the best sports turf rotary mower in the world. Built for agility, as tough as nails and an incredibly versatile mower, the Trimax Snake won't fail to impress. Snake owners benefit from a proven 3 year warranty and genuine Trimax support." Trimax Snake   We had a set of Lloyds gang mowers originally a fantastic piece of kit but sadly time came for a upgrade. The Trimax Merlin (below) which we had on demonstration for two months. The new rotary mower has drastically improved the courses presentation in my opinion. The definition between fairway and rough is the best I've seen. One of the great advantages is the machine can be reversed into the most awkward place's from around tees and ditches thus reducing man hours every ... it's a certainly a game changer :)  My verdict is that both of these machines are equally as good as one another.
However, as Redditch Golf Club is a mature course with many trees, we found the snake just handled that much better in our environment. Here's simon on our brand new ZERO TURN rotary mower, which we've named 'Sally'. Simon came up with the name Sally, taken from the music legend Wilson Pickett's song. Fair play Si, I have a lot of time for this. Every machine should have fitting name. The Zero Turn sit down is the most manoeuvrable mower for its size. With a small cutting width the Zero Turn Rider is very versatile and can cope with very tight areas and fast enough to cover large areas at speed enabling high output per hour. They work well on slopes and gradients but are not classified as a bank mower. Although they do have a very low centre of gravity and are more stable than tractor style machines.The Stand on Zero Turn Rider mower has now been around for 15 years. There are now nearly 10 manufacturers offering this design. The benefits are many - namely :
With cutting widths ranging from 36" - 72" the Zero Turn Rider is very versatile and can cope with very tight areas and fast enough to cover large areas at speed enabling high output per hour. I will try and make sure by the end of the month I have a video of Simon showing off his skills.
Unsung heroes and my good friends Ethan, Simon and Ashton below... My reflection in your sun glasses .....
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What goes on in 'The Shed' stays in the shed......
forgot the bottle opener....no worries, just watch next doors conservatory !!
I asked Phil our Head Greenkeeper, what was at the end of the rainbow ?
He said, " The Rose & Crown, I think !"
Same joke different pub.............. I know !! 
We decided to try and get Simon back for his break by laying a trail of Bourbon biscuits ...
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