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Aiming for efficiency
Economy is the name of the game, and superintendents look to accessories, equipment and software systems that help them save money, energy and time.
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The New Orleans Morial Convention Center played host to hundreds of golf industry exhibitors last month during GCSAA’s 2009 Education |
Superintendents know that doing more with less is the key to their game, especially in today’s economic climate where budgets are being hacked at courses around the globe. And vendors know their customers, so products and services designed to help superintendents do more with less were in no short supply on the trade show floor of the Golf Industry Show in New Orleans last month. Covering 258,000 square feet of space, exhibits hocked such economically minded wares as engines that save fuel, fertilizers that reduce chemical application rates, electric mowers that eliminate fuel emissions, robotic mowers that cut down on labor costs, a kit to upgrade an existing irrigation system and a fungicide that can reduce pesticide use.
All these and more are part of GCM’s annual post-show new product round-up. As always, not every new product found on the show floor could make its way into this collection, so stay posted for more new products featured in future issues in GCM’s “Product news” section.
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The new ProLink Touch from ProLink Solutions is an advanced management system for golf courses that the company says can quickly pay for itself in increased revenues and profit. A GPS-enabled touchscreen for golf cars, the system offers a master control panel to show users the location of every car in a fleet. Carts are color-coded so staff knows which cars are on time and which aren’t, and the system can maximize efficiency, accommodating more golfers during peak times and increasing pace of play. Rounds can be reduced by an average of 30 minutes, the company says. Carts automatically shut off if they approach a restricted area or attempt to go off the course, so fewer marshals may be required. The system collects ongoing data on cart activity, player activity and food and beverage sales. Screen graphics are designed to maximize food and beverage and clubhouse merchandising. Users can also implement local advertising opportunities. The ProLink Touch also offers continuous two-way communication with golfers. Send customized messages to carts about customers’ golfing experience to create instant merchandising opportunities. Contact ProLink Solutions, 800-483-5951 (www.prolinktouch.com).
A new fan from SubAir Systems LLC is designed for long throws and quiet operation. Available in a variety of sizes from 30 inches to 50 inches, the TurfBreeze fan comes equipped with ground poles, fan poles, oscillating assemblies and power control packages. The premium 5-hp fan offers the efficiency of a 7.5-hp fan and the quietness of a 3-hp fan, according to the company. The fan consumes less power yet is said to provide the same results. The premium model covers 46,000 cubic feet per minute and features a throw of 150 feet at 3 mph. Contact SubAir Systems LLC, (www.subairsystems.com).
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A gasoline-powered EFI model from Briggs & Stratton is an extension of its 3/LC three-cylinder, liquid-cooled commercial line of engines. Capable of delivering a 30 percent savings in fuel depending on duty cycle, the company says, the 34-hp engine also is designed to offer increased responsiveness at all engine speeds. The EFI system automatically adjusts engine settings in real time for no-choke cold starts. Contact Briggs & Stratton, (www.briggsandstratton.com).
The Green Care Collection from True-Surface by Turfline offers nine different cultural practices in one machine. Attachments include the Vacu-Cutter, which promotes horizontal growth, enhances absorption of nutrients and provides a faster playing surface. The Vacu-Scarifier complements regular use of the Vacu-Cutter inserts for reducing thatch and increasing greens firmness. The Vacu-Groomer removes lateral growth and promotes vertical growth; the Deep Slicer creates slits in the green to allow gas exchange and stimulate root growth; and the Greens Spiker punctures the surface canopy on greens to allow air and water entry and reduce susceptibility to localized dry spot. Rounding out the collection are the Star Slitter to aerate greens, the Vacu-Brush to give greens a light grooming in soft and firm options, and the NV Roller, which helps create smoother greens and gain greens speed. Contact True-Surface by Turfline, 800-443-8506 (www.true-surface.com).
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Two new models of coring aerators from Redexim Charterhouse were introduced at the Golf Industry Show in New Orleans. The company displayed its redesigned Verti-Core II (pictured) and the latest Easy-Core series machines, which incorporate several new and improved features such as simple adjustments, a trouble-free belt drive system and multiple tine options. With working speeds up to 3.5 mph, the new coring machines are the fastest on the market today, the company says. The units are also designed with fewer moving parts for simple service and less maintenance. Contact Redexim Charterhouse, 800-597-5664 (www.redexim.com).
Lebanon Turf introduced its Nutri-Life catalyzed fertilizer, which allows turf managers to reduce the nitrogen applied to grow quality turfgrass by 25 percent or more. The fertilizer is also said to increase root growth for better nutrient uptake and has been field-tested by several university research programs. Nutri-Life’s efficiency can cut costs significantly, the company adds, as users can apply 20 percent less fertilizer per 1,000 square feet and treat 25 percent more area with the same amount of formula. Contact Lebanon Turf, (www.lebanonturf.com).
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The Toro Co. announces its new Workman HD series utility vehicles available this spring through Toro distributors. The new lineup offers total capacity ranges from 2,835 to 3,002 pounds, depending on the model. Comprising six models in all, the series’ features include an I-beam-shaped DeDion rear axle, which isolates and protects the engine, transmission and main frame from vehicle loading, a truss-like front space frame for rigid torsion, integrated wheel bearings and hydraulic disk brakes. The new HDX model features an electronic fuel-injected engine for enhanced fuel economy, instant cold starting and automatic high altitude compensation. Attachments and accessories include the Workman 200-gallon sprayer, Vicon spreader or Topdresser 1800. Optional comfort amenities include deluxe hard cabs, canopies and windshields. Contact The Toro Co., 800-803-8676 (www.toro.com).
The OARS pellet from Aqua-Aid is formulated with OARS acid-removing chemistry that is proven to remove organic acids that cause water repellency and localized dry spots, the company says. OARS pellets can also increase water infiltration into difficult-to-water areas, thereby increasing irrigation efficiency. The chemistry can be applied through hand-watering or syringing. Contact Aqua-Aid, 800-394-1551 (www.aquaaid.com).
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The MPT 2000 Refresher from E-Z-Go is the largest refresher vehicle on the market, the company says. With a total payload capacity of 2,000 pounds, the vehicle can carry up to 887 12-ounce cans or 400 20-ounce bottles. The MPT 2000 also boasts 21.2 cubic feet of cold storage space and can be equipped with other options and accessories such as a food warmer, mini-bottle carrier, condiment tray, dry goods storage, sundries cabinet, cash drawer and humidor. The vehicle is powered by a 13-hp, 401-cc, low-emissions Kawasaki engine that features a hemispheric combustion chamber for improved power and fuel mileage, according to E-Z-Go. An automatic, continuously variable transmission, a four-wheel hydraulic braking system and a leaf-spring suspension with hydraulic shock absorbers are additional features. Contact E-Z-Go, (www.ezgo.com).
Starfighter, a new herbicide from Phoenix Environmental Care LLC, offers pre-emergence control of a variety of grassy and broadleaf weeds. Introduced at the 2009 Golf Industry Show, the herbicide controls weeds such as crabgrass, goosegrass, field sandbur, annual sedge, annual bluegrass, Virginia buttonweed, pigweed, Florida pusley, oxalis, stinging nettle and carpetgrass. Containing the active ingredient oxidiazon, Starfighter will be available in a 3.17-pound flowable and a 2 percent granule formulation. It can be used on dormant turf and commercial landscape plantings and nursery sites. Weeds are controlled with Starfighter through the shoots rather than the roots, meaning roots won’t be harmed in the process. Starfighter can be used for long residual pre-emergence weed control even in areas that need to be sprigged or where roots are already weakened due to pest, mechanical or other damage, the company says. The formula, which can be tank-mixed with other Phoenix products in order to broaden the weed spectrum and lengthen control, is available in 2-by-2.5-gallon containers and in 50-pound bags. Contact Phoenix Environmental Care LLC, 888-240-8856 (www.phoenixenvcare.com).
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Club Car’s new Guardian satellite vehicle control system brings an advanced level of protection to golf courses and their golf cars, the company says. Developed with help from GPS Industries, Guardian software incorporates many features of GPS technology — limiting vehicle access, controlling vehicle speed, reviewing golf car history and monitoring vehicle performance — into a system that can be accessed from any computer with an Internet connection. The system uses existing satellite imagery to plot a course and designate the restricted areas. Course managers can use Guardian to limit vehicle use or maximum speed anywhere on the course, including near lakes, bunkers, environmentally sensitive regions and steep downhill parts of the car path. Using a local interconnect network that allows the vehicle’s controller and on-board computer to communicate in real time, Guardian will display a message to customers to return to an unrestricted area if a boundary is violated and can also slow a vehicle’s speed or stop it altogether in designated areas. Contact Club Car, (www.clubcar.com).
Turf-Seed, operating under The Scotts Corp., has launched the sixth installment of its icon program: Wear tolerance. The icon program is designed to help superintendents easily identify varieties of grass that are bred for tolerance to extreme conditions and resistance to common diseases such as gray leaf spot and brown patch. The wear tolerance icon includes varieties that can stand up to a high amount of rough use and wear and tear. In addition to the wear tolerance icon, the program includes heat tolerance, salt tolerance, shade tolerance, brown patch resistance and gray leaf spot resistance. Contact Turf-Seed, 800-247-6910 (www.turf-seed.com).
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Actioneco is bringing its electric greens mower to the United States. Powered by a lithium-ion battery system, the all-wheel- drive, triplex greens mower is programmable to let users electronically control cutting height. The machine also provides automatic clippings collection and a spreading system. Greens, approaches and tees can be cut and clippings spread with one sweep of the machine, and one charge provides up to eight hours of operating time, the company says. All reel mowers can be converted into rotary mowers within minutes. Other amenities include an operator’s seat that swivels 180 degrees, electronic traction control, joystick control and automatic wash and drying. Powered electrically, the Actioneco mower is friendly to the environment, producing no exhaust gases and no oil leakage. The machine also operates with a low sound level, the company adds. Contact Actioneco Inc., (www.actioneco.com).
Harper Industries Inc. introduces its TV 30 self-propelled sweeper/vacuum. Self-propelled, unlike other similar machines that require a trailer to transport it to its destination, the TV 30 is ideal for fairway cleanup and verticutting applications. With a 60-inch working width, the machine includes a 3.25-cubic-yard high-lift dump hopper that lifts up to 6 feet high to empty materials directly into a cart or waste dumpster. Powered by a 38-hp Kohler engine, the unit provides the same recirculating air system performance as the company’s towed models. A line of attachments includes a standard-equipment 60-inch sweeper brush, an optional rubber finger attachment for raking tall grass and a verticut option that performs two jobs in one pass. The unit is in final production stages and will be released to the market this summer, the company says. Contact Harper Industries, 800-835-1042 (www.harperindustries.com).
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A new robotic mower hit the golf market this year at the Golf Industry Show in New Orleans. The RG3 mower from Precise Path uses robotic technology to move precisely across greens, maintaining a consistent height of cut and traveling in straight lines along curved perimeters without the need for a human operator. Originally developed as part of a military-sponsored contest to create robotic machinery, the RG3 uses a local positioning system rather than GPS. Each unit includes four beacons which, when placed in a rectangle around each green, communicate with the unit about the shape of the green to cut. After a one-time installation and set-up, users can ready the units by delivering them to the green, positioning the four beacons and hitting start. Crew members can then tend to other tasks while the RG3 mows the green. The unit comes with software that allows superintendents to control the direction of mow, whether to roll and/or mow, whether to double-cut or clean-up, and more. The units also can operate any time of day. The RG3s will be ready to ship by the fourth quarter of 2009. Contact Precise Path, 317-818-8185 (www.precisepath.com).
Rain Protection offers golf courses financial protection against rain and weather-guaranteed promotions. The service allows users to design their own contracts online in minutes. Users choose the place, the time period to be protected and the amount of money to be paid if it rains. Regulated by the futures industry, the company says there are no claim forms, no processing delays and no proof of loss required for its customers. An event doesn’t have to be cancelled to be hurt from bad weather; the company also covers shortfalls from low turnout, including reduced admission, parking revenue and lower concession and merchandise sales. Contact Rain Protection, 516-650-0600 (www.rainprotection.net).
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Jacobsen now offers its classic XP reels with its Advanced Relief Technology, designed to extend the life and consistent performance of each reel. The technology allows the reel to be built with a higher degree of angle relief on each blade, keeping the reels sharper and extending their lifespan by as much as three times, the company says. Jacobsen reels with ART allow faster backlapping, create less friction during operation and produce less heat and wear compared to similar products, Jacobsen adds. Contact Jacobsen, 888-922-8873 (www.jacobsen.com).
The new UgMo wireless root-zone intelligence system from Advanced Sensor Technology offers a bundled package of wireless hardware, analytic software and ongoing agronomic consultations, resulting in water savings, reduced use of chemicals and optimized playing conditions, the company says. The software operates through a wireless mesh network to measure real-time soil moisture, temperature and salinity in the soil’s root zone. Customers can use UgMo to determine when the turf needs water, how much it needs, when and what type of fertilizers are necessary and ways to eliminate disease before it happens. Contact Advanced Sensor Technology, 484-690-0570 (www.ugmo.com).
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Civitas, a new fungicide from Petro-Canada that’s also labeled as an insecticide, was officially launched in New Orleans at the Golf Industry Show. The broad-spectrum fungicide features a new mode of action based on an induced systemic resistance. When applied, Civitas turns on the natural defenses of a plant to fight off fungus and, unlike chemical fungicides, does not kill the fungus. Civitas is designed to strengthen turf quality down to the roots. Able to control a variety of grasses against dollar spot, brown patch, anthracnose, spring leaf spot, grey leaf spot, fusarium patch, leaf spot, powdery mildew, grey snow mold and pink snow mold, Civitas also can control sod webworm, annual bluegrass weevils, banks grass mites, mealybugs, mites, cutworm and fall armyworm. Tested on several university research sites around the country, the fungicide has yielded no resistance to fungal diseases, offers a short re-entry period to allow golfers back on the course faster and enhances root systems. The company is targeting the Northeast and Midwest regions first and plans to launch in the Pacific Northwest and Canada in 2010. Contact Petro-Canada, (www.civitasturf.com).
Bayer Environmental Science’s Chipco Triton Flo fungicide is now available to the turf industry. A sterol biosynthesis inhibitor, Chipco Triton Flo contains the active ingredient triticonazole, engineered with the company’s StressGard technology. Intended to improve plant health, the formula provides broad-spectrum, systemic and residual disease control of anthracnose, brown patch, dollar spot and more. Applied as a preventive treatment, Chipco Triton Flo has worked on bentgrass, Poa annua and zoysiagrass. Its mode of action disrupts membrane function and disease growth, while the active ingredient can be quickly absorbed by roots, crown or shoots, the company says. Contact Bayer Environmental Science, (www.backedbybayer.com).
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The new Kawasaki KRH300A handheld blower can deliver up to a 25 percent decrease in fuel consumption compared to the engine used in the company’s previous models, it says. The new model features a TJ027E 2-cycle, 26.3-cc engine that incorporates a two-barrel carburetor and stratified engine design to buffer in fresh air between outgoing exhaust and incoming air and fuel. The design also encompasses a catalyst exhaust system to further reduce exhaust emissions. With an air volume of 450 cfm and low noise/low vibration features, the new blower features several ergonomic features for operator comfort and convenience. A pant guard cover clips over the air intake guard to prevent loose clothing from getting caught in the intake blower. Contact Kawasaki Engines and Power Products, 800-433-5640 (www.kawpowr.com).
Rain Bird Golf Division’s ESC-1 and PAR+ES Retro Kit are available for customers to upgrade their Rain Bird controller systems. The PAR+ES kit can upgrade end-of-life Rain Bird controllers in a plastic or stainless steel pedestal, while the ESC-1 is available to replace all types of control systems. Contact Rain Bird Golf Division, 520-741-6100 (www.rainbird.com/golf).
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Designed to work in tandem with Standard Golf’s Laser Link Golf and other brands of rangefinder systems, the new Smarty Reflectors make a flagstick measurable. Easily attachable to the top of a flagstick, the Smarty Reflector is virtually unnoticeable at just less than 2 inches high and 7/8 inches wide. The four-corner, cube-shaped reflectors provide 360-degree coverage and are made from DuPont Zytel St-108 nylon. Contact Standard Golf, 866-743-9773
(www.standardgolf.com).
Nufarm introduces two new herbicides to provide broadleaf control — both 4-Speed and 4-Speed XT herbicides contain the active ingredients 2,4-D, dicamba and pyraflufen-ethyl. The difference is that 4-Speed contains mecoprop-p and 4-Speed XT contains triclopyr. 4-Speed XT is engineered to provide fast, effective post-emergent control of a wide range of broadleaf weeds with visible results within 24 to 48 hours. The formula provides good tolerance on established cool- and warm-season turfgrasses. It controls ground ivy, wild violet, oxalis, spurge and many other hard-to-control weeds, Nufarm says. 4-Speed offers control of dandelion, white clover, buckhorn plantain and other broadleaf weeds. Results with 4-Speed are also visible within approximately 24 to 48 hours, the company adds. Contact Nufarm, (www.nufarm.com/us).
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TrunkPump announces a new shallow water strainer that allows users to pump liquid out of areas as shallow as a ¼ inch deep. The new strainer is ideal for golf course bunkers, basements and other low areas. The company also announced a VS model pump that mounts in less than a minute with no tools to any Ventrac or Steiner tractor. Hoses stay attached as the tractor operates. Contact TrunkPump, 910-463-1282 (www.trunkpump.com).
Precision Laboratories launched its Uptake technology, engineered to produce healthy turf at lower use rates by improving uptake. A specialized manufacturing process combines advanced adjuvant technologies with essential plant nutrients, resulting in improved performance of tank-mix components and enhanced color and quality, the company says. Because the formula offers a lower use rate, customers need less of the product to handle and store. Uptake is also said to improve spray coverage and absorption while reducing drying time on plant foliage. Contact Precision Laboratories, (www.precisionlab.com).
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John Deere Golf introduced its new Quick Adjust cutting units at the Golf Industry Show. Featuring the patented Speed Link system, the units can be instantly adjusted within seconds from one point on the cutting unit. The company says the new Quick Adjust units allow technicians to set an entire fleet in the time it previously took to adjust height of cut on one mower. The Quick Adjust 5 with a 5-inch diameter is available in 18- or 22-inch widths, while the Quick Adjust 7 with a 7-inch diameter offers widths of 22, 26 or 30 inches. It replaces all ESP cutting units. Height of cut adjustments can be made with a 16-millimeter or 5/8-inch wrench or socket. A reel eccentric on the bedknife shoe repositions the bedknife to the reel and increases clearance at the bedknife’s rear. Additionally, a notch system allows for quick adjustment. Contact John Deere Golf, 800-537-8233 (www.johndeere.com).
The Tidy Whitey hole painter from White Metal Golf makes perfectly white holes in less than five seconds per hole, the company says. Paint each lip by inserting the device, activating it by turning it 90 degrees and then de-activating it. Each can of paint lasts for more than 200 holes. The secret is four nozzles that spray in every direction. Contact White Metal Golf, 800-548-1033 (www.thetidywhitey.com).