More than 100 greenkeepers, groundsmen and grounds maintenance contractors from across Scotland attended an amenity demonstration day at Falkirk Tryst Golf Club on March 11, with those who braved the day’s stormy weather able to see some of the latest golf and sports pitch specific machinery and turf renovation equipment in action.
Featuring a range of machinery demonstrations from a wide selection of industry-leading suppliers, the maiden ‘Scottish Amenity Demonstration Day’ was jointly organised by Germinal GB, Allgrass Turfcare and Campey Turf Care Systems. The event was also sponsored by Cub Cadet, Seddon, Fairways GM, Fleet Line Markers and Steadfast Site Supplies and was kindly hosted by Falkirk Tryst Golf Club.
“Despite the weather’s best efforts to disrupt proceedings, the inaugural Scottish Amenity Demonstration Day was a great success,” said Alan Thomson, Technical Sales Representative for Germinal in Scotland. “As a group of like-minded suppliers, we recognised that there are no amenity specific events in Scotland where greenkeepers, groundsmen and turf care professionals can talk to multiple manufacturers and suppliers in a single location.
“We therefore worked together to organise the free-to-attend event to give visitors the chance to talk freely with a range of manufacturers about the latest golf and sports-specific grass seed mixtures and to see a selection of cutting-edge turf maintenance machinery – including the latest electrical and emissions-free equipment – in action.”
John Rushforth of Allgrass Turfcare extended a special thank you to Falkirk Tryst Golf Club for hosting the event: “Head greenkeeper, Gary McCandless and his team worked miracles to ensure that, despite heavily waterlogged ground conditions and torrential rain in the days prior to the event, the majority of demonstrations were still able to go ahead.
“Unfortunately, the wet conditions did prevent some machines from operating, but the sheer number of attendees proved there’s a clear appetite for this type of event in Scotland and we are already discussing the potential for future events.”
“Feedback from the event has been extremely positive,” added Richard Heywood of Campey Turf Care. “It was genuinely very gratifying to see so many faces from within the Scottish amenity sector coming together to learn about new developments within the industry and to try out the latest amenity-specific kit. This type of event is as much about networking on a semi-social basis as it is about promoting the latest machinery, and we look forward to organising similar open days in the future.”