souters sports - LJN Blog Posts - Landscape Juice Network2024-03-28T10:21:20Zhttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/souters%2BsportsSouters Sports bring architect’s vision to lifehttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profiles/blogs/souters-sports-bring-architect-s-vision-to-life2017-07-12T08:43:41.000Z2017-07-12T08:43:41.000ZFusion Mediahttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/FusionMedia<div><p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3314814550?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="450" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3314814550?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="450" class="align-right"/></a> After successfully completing a huge bunker renovation project at the prestigious West Kilbride Golf Club in Ayrshire, Souters Sports have been widely praised by both the club’s secretary and architect.</p><p>The West Kilbride Golf Club, established in 1893, is situated on the Ayrshire coast, with spectacular views across the Firth of Clyde to the beautiful island of Arran. As host to regular national events, West Kilbride is the most northerly of Ayrshire’s true links courses and the entire course is exposed to even the slightest breeze.</p><p>With the strongest of winds coming from the South West and North West, the 6523 yard course offers players the experience of links golf at its most demanding. <a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3314812063?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="450" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3314812063?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="450" class="align-left"/></a>West Kilbride has a committed membership base and its motto is "Gaudio Cedat Cura" - which translates to “Care gives way to joy,” which is perhaps testament to the club’s recent decision to rejuvenate over 30 bunkers. “We essentially wanted to make them look and play a lot better,” says managing secretary Graham MacKenzie.</p><p>“On some of the older bunkers the drainage had suffered and over time had developed a poor shape. We also wanted natural looking bunkers - to give the course more of a links feel and after a few members had commented on them we decided to go ahead with the project.”</p><p>The club called upon Scottish Golf Course Architects Rennie Design Ltd to undertake an analytical study of the facilities and following an in-depth report, plans for the renovation works were soon put in place.</p><p>“The next step was to put the job to tender, and myself and Stuart Rennie (managing director of Rennie Design) invited three different contractors to come in and pitch. It was at this point that we chose Souters Sports because we were most impressed with what they had done at other courses and with their overall portfolio. They came across incredibly well and we also thought that their proposal offered good value for money,” said Graham. With the architect’s vision in place and the Souters team briefed, construction commenced in late October and was complete by the end of February allowing time for establishment in advance of the season ahead.</p><p>The works incorporated the strategic repositioning of bunkers, building bunkers in similar positions, shaping support mounding and landform, drainage installation, irrigation alterations and finishing. The final piece of works was carried out on the 18th hole where the entire hole was re-bunkered to create improved strategy and deliver a visually impressive finishing hole.</p><p>“Between the architect and the club, we had a few different ideas throughout the project which changed the process but Souters were very accommodating,” says Graham.</p><p>“The feedback has been extremely good, not only from members but also from visitors who come to play on open days. The appearance is most notable and they look a lot tidier than they previously did and they also play a lot better. “I’m very happy with the work and would absolutely recommend Souters Sports and Rennie Design.</p><p>We built up a good relationship throughout the project and I would absolutely work with them again in the future.”</p><p>With such a potential complex project, Stuart was pleased that Souters were able to flawlessly bring his vision to life. “Souters Sports worked tirelessly throughout and carried out all aspects of the works in a professional manner. They were a joy to work with and Scott Maclaren and his site team pulled out all the stops to deliver the architects vision to the satisfaction of the client,” he said.</p><p>For further information, please contact Souters Sports Limited on 01236 453030 or visit www.souterssports.co.uk. Souters Sports are also on Twitter @SoutersSports.</p><p>For further information about Rennie Design please call 07977715 382 or visit www.renniedesign.co.uk / email stuart@renniedesign.co.uk</p></div>Souters Sports put on a royal performance at Queen Ethelburga’shttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profiles/blogs/souters-sports-put-on-a-royal-performance-at-queen-ethelburga-s2017-02-06T14:29:21.000Z2017-02-06T14:29:21.000ZFusion Mediahttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/FusionMedia<div><p>Souters Sports have been commended by Queen Ethelburga’s Collegiate in York after the company completed a multi-million pound project which involved a total re-development of the school’s existing playing fields and transforming them into professional sports pitches.</p><p>Queen Ethelburga’s, set in over 100 acres of manicured country park in the Vale of York, is ranked as the North of England’s academically most successful, independent co-educational day and boarding school. The school caters for girls and boys from 3 months to 19 years old, offering day, weekly and full boarding places. Founded in 1912, the school boasts exceptional academic success and 2016 saw the school’s best ever year for A-level results with over 98% of Year 13 going on to the UK’s best universities.</p><p>Standards are incredibly high at Queen Ethelburga’s, which is highlighted by the school’s recent decision to invest over £80m in new resources and facilities. When the school announced that it was looking for a total re-development of the existing playing fields, it was imperative that they selected the best company to embark on the new multi-million pound project.</p><p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3314786131?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="500" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3314786131?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="500" class="align-left"/></a>A project of this magnitude enticed sports turf contractors from all over the country and a rigorous tender process ensued. Souters Sports were part of the process from the very beginning and soon found themselves in the final two. However, there could only be one winner and Amy Martin, CEO of Queen Ethelburga's based at Thorpe Underwood Estate, gave her reasons as to why Souters Sports won the contract.</p><p>“When you know that you want a project completed to the highest possible standard, you actually start looking at every detail of the tender process. Souters’ presentation was immaculate – it was well presented, well put together and covered every piece of information we were after. They were the most professional company that we met with and they were ready to grab the project with both hands and that was what we were looking for.”</p><p>The mammoth project commenced in late March 2015 – the site was set-up and earth works began to cultivate and the re-levelling of the existing areas was carried out. The works progressed quickly on the initial project which included:</p><ul><li>1 cricket area comprising of 6 wicket squares (5 natural and 1 synthetic) and an outfield area.</li><li>1 full size football pitch.</li><li>1 full size rugby pitch.</li><li>5 smaller pitches of varying sizes for dual-use football and rugby.</li><li>Full drainage systems.</li><li>Full irrigation system.</li><li>Network of footpaths.</li></ul><p>In a matter of weeks the Souters’ team had installed the drainage and irrigation systems and preparation of the footpaths had begun. However, the team soon faced somewhat of a huge curve ball after the installation of a huge LED floodlighting scheme was added to the project.</p><p>Ground investigations identified that over 50% of the site was made up of sand which posed problems for the sizes of bases and installation as it was key to ensuring stability for wind loading of the columns once installed. The sizes of the holes that had to be excavated meant that significant impact and damage was sustained to the already completed works.</p><p>Nonetheless, the Souters’ team rose to the challenge and soon overcame the issue.</p><p>“When we decided that we would add in floodlighting we changed the goal posts massively,” says Amy. “They (Souters Sports) have a great can-do attitude - and as a team they just started looking to solve the problem instantly. In fact they actually adapted their way of working to suit us, which I don’t think you find in many contractors these days.” </p><p>Going above and beyond the call of duty, Souters’ were tasked with other additional work throughout the project which included the supply and installation of a six bay cricket practice net facility; two single multi-games areas for football basketball and netball; one larger multi-games area for netball, tennis and basketball; an upgrade of the existing hockey pitch irrigation system which included a full remote control system; the installation of perimeter fencing for the wet hockey pitch and the artificial hockey pitch; the installation of ball-stop netting systems to all the natural turf and synthetic pitches; redevelopment of a recreational pitch for general play including drainage and natural turf surface; redevelopment of the existing back field which included re-levelling, drainage installation and natural turf surface to allow a further football pitch and two rugby pitches; installation of drainage lift pumps to recycle water from the drainage system and reservoir back into the irrigation system; and additional paving and reinforced vehicle crossing points.</p><p>Within 18 months the project was completed and Queen Ethelburga’s Collegiate now boasts arguably one of the finest sporting facilities in Europe.</p><p>“It truly is an amazing facility, says Amy “The kids love it, the England FA Ladies under 18’s love it, the Bath rugby team love it and even the Brownlee brothers who cut the ribbon to officially open it said it was fantastic. It’s all big names and sports teams that are saying how good the facility is and that speaks far more highly than myself saying how great it is.”</p><p>“Overall, I would highly recommend Souters Sports because I’m incredibly happy with the work they carried out. Right from the start they were very good – they are just an excellent and highly professional firm.”</p><p>For further information, please contact Souters Sports Limited on 01236 453030 or visit <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.souterssports.co.uk/">www.souterssports.co.uk</a>. Souters Sports are also on Twitter @SoutersSports</p></div>Souters Sports get the game on at Partick Thistle FChttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profiles/blogs/souters-sports-get-the-game-on-at-partick-thistle-fc2016-11-15T11:41:29.000Z2016-11-15T11:41:29.000ZFusion Mediahttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/FusionMedia<div><p>After Partick Thistle FC had four games cancelled last season due to a waterlogged pitch, head groundsman Alan Findlay knew that it was time to take action. He found the solution he was looking in specialist sports turf contractor Souters Sports.</p><p>It is probably fair to say that Alan has had his work cut out throughout his six years as head groundsman at the Firhill Stadium. When he first started working at the club, rugby union team Glasgow Warriors were also tenants, which meant that he was tasked with maintaining a dual purpose pitch for both rugby and football. There were times when he would have to prepare the pitch for a rugby game on a Friday evening followed by a football game the very next day.</p><p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3314810592?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="450" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3314810592?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="450" class="align-left"/></a>Glasgow Warriors eventually departed from Firhill in 2013 but the damage had already taken its toll. With an already ageing pitch, the feeling was that the soil was so compacted because of years of use. The undersoil drainage pipes and heating were also not functioning correctly and were starting to cause major problems. Something needed to be done according to Alan.</p><p>“The winter was horrendous last year and we had to have four home games postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. Every game that we lost was probably £20,000 in revenue we missed out on, so although we’d have to pay to install a new pitch and drainage system – we hoped that it would actually prevent us from missing out on that lost revenue.</p><p>“The job went to tender and Souters Sports, who were one of the companies in the frame, did a similar job at St Johnstone FC recently. With that in mind I suggested the club go with Souters. The fact that they work with pretty much every football club in Scotland gave me even more confidence.”</p><p>With Partick Thistle's season not finishing until Sunday, May 22 and with the 2016/17 campaign starting less than two months later, in mid-July, with the group stages of the revamped League Cup, there was an incredibly short window to get the work completed.</p><p>However, the Souters Sports team were confident that they could do the job within this time period and got to work the very next day after the last home game of the season.</p><p>To help with the drainage issues, the Souters team planned to dig wider trenches to install the new twin lateral pipes. The old system drained every 10 metres through 4 inch channels but the team increased that to 12 inch channels every 5 metres which were then back-filled.</p><p>The Souters irrigation team then came in to install the new valve boxes and complete the pipe work to provide the new sprinklers on the pitch. Next, the secondary drainage was installed before some fresh free-draining material was brought in. Cultivations and levelling proceeded and then it was finally seeded.</p><p>Alan admitted that the short window in which Souters had to work was a cause for concern, but as he revealed, they certainly didn’t let him down.<a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3314808509?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="450" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3314808509?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="450" class="align-right"/></a></p><p>“My main concern was that the pitch renovations had to be completed within two weeks. Souters promised me that the job would be done in that time and fair play to them - it was, and to an excellent standard.</p><p>“I’m very pleased with the job, everything went incredibly well and the seed started to germinate within a week. Last season I had to drag a hose to the middle of the pitch to use it as a sprinkler – which is not practical for half time watering. But now I can give it water whenever it needs it through the new irrigation system, which has been a God-send for me.</p><p>“We also receive excellent after-sales support with the Souters guys, if we ever need anything then we can just phone them up and they’ll help us out straight away.”</p><p>For further information, please contact Souters Sports Limited on 01236 453030 or visit www.souterssports.co.uk. Souters Sports are also on Twitter @SoutersSports</p></div>Souters Sports set the standard at Ibroxhttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profiles/blogs/souters-sports-set-the-standard-at-ibrox2016-10-13T14:13:43.000Z2016-10-13T14:13:43.000ZFusion Mediahttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/FusionMedia<div><p>David Roxburgh, head groundsman for Glasgow Rangers FC, has praised the work of specialist sports turf contractor Souters Sports, after they completed pre-season renovations on the famous pitch at Ibrox Stadium.</p><p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3314781823?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="350" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3314781823?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="350" class="align-left"/></a>David has been head groundsman at Scottish giants Rangers FC for an impressive thirty years, and throughout that time he has become one of the most respected figures in the world of groundsmanship. Along with the club, he has been on somewhat of a roller coaster ride experiencing the highs and lows over the past few seasons, but one thing that has remained constant is the quality of the pitch at Ibrox. This is achieved through David’s extremely high set of standards and only the best will suffice, as he explains.</p><p>“I came in with the ‘Souness revolution’ as they say, and he did a lot for Scottish football - even in terms of the playing surfaces. He was demanding, he had very high standards and there was no place for losers - everyone had to be winners. It’s the right way to be in my opinion.</p><p>“Standards are everything - it’s not just myself and my staff, it’s the companies that I bring in here. If they don’t match those standards then I will find someone who will. For me, Souters Sports are meeting the standards that I want and they’re carrying out the kind of work that will help take the pitch to the next level. It’s the little things that they do like making sure the edges are clean, clearing up behind themselves as they go and that the machines that are coming in are clean and well maintained - all these things count.”</p><p>The Souters Sports team met with David earlier in the year, decided on the work that was to be done and picked an eight week window to proceed. Following the last game of the season, the Souters team got to work the very next day.<a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3314782004?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="350" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3314782004?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="350" class="align-right"/></a></p><p>They started by stripping off the top 25mm of vegetation with a Koro Field Topmaker from Campey Turf Care, which required just two passes to take it all off. The team then cultivated and turned the pitch over before applying 150 tonnes of fresh fibre elastic material in order to bring the concentrate levels back up. Lime and pre-seed fertiliser was added as more cultivations ensued before stone raking was carried out. Finally it was a case of ensuring that the levels were up to David’s expectations.</p><p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3314786284?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="350" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3314786284?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="350" class="align-left"/></a>Souters Sports were in and out within eight days after a job well done according to David:</p><p>“The problem I have is finding the right companies to do exactly what I want them to do. I want perfection and that isn’t easy - Ibrox stadium sits within one of the most demanding environments in Europe. I need to work with people who understand the complexities of Ibrox and Souters do that perfectly, which is why they are in – they did an excellent job.”</p><p>For further information, please contact Souters Sports Limited on 01236 453030 or visit www.souterssports.co.uk. Souters Sports are also on Twitter @SoutersSports</p></div>Souters Sports Gives World’s Oldest Golf Course New Lease of Lifehttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profiles/blogs/souters-sports-gives-world-s-oldest-golf-course-new-lease-of-life2015-04-14T15:43:01.000Z2015-04-14T15:43:01.000ZFusion Mediahttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/FusionMedia<div><p><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.souterssports.co.uk" target="_blank">Souters Sports</a>, one of the UK’s leading specialist sportsturf contractors, has breathed new life into the world’s oldest golf course following the installation of a new irrigation system.</p><p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3314735780?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="350" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3314735780?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="350" class="align-left"/></a>History books prove that golf was played on Musselburgh Links as early as 2 March 1672 and there is further evidence that Mary, Queen of Scots reputedly played there in 1567. It was also an original Open Championship venue, hosting the event on six occasions between 1874 and 1889.</p><p>Although the previous irrigation system may not have dated back to the times of Mary, Queen of Scots, the watering system for the greens and tees was seriously outdated and old lead pipes supplied the water system. The signs were not good and in order to preserve this historic golf course, East Lothian Council decided that urgent action was needed.</p><p>“There were many leaks in the system and watering the course was extremely difficult which disrupted playing time – the council decided that it was time for an upgrade.</p><p>“We had heard that Souters Sports were the best at this type of work and they were contacted to initiate a plan and costing for a new irrigation system,” said Mark McGrath, Amenity Officer for East Lothian Council.</p><p>Firmly established as a leading player in the UK irrigation market, Souters Sports has unsurpassed expertise and experience in designing and installing irrigation systems. From manual hose point systems, drip systems and travelling sprinkler systems to fully automated, complex computer-controlled sprinkler systems, Souters Sports deliver a solution to fulfil every requirement.</p><p>Flexible in their approach to the design of irrigation systems, the Souters Sports irrigation team work with every client in order to provide a complete design and build service. This entails an initial meeting where the team use their specialist knowledge to advise the best course of action.</p><p>“I met with Robert Smith and James Fitzpatrick from Souters Sports for an initial site meeting and along with my greenkeepers, the location of water points run of pipes was agreed.<br/>“Once the plans were put in place, the work quickly begun and I had the pleasure of working with James, who is so professional in his approach to the job. There has been very little disruption to the course during the installation with James keeping me constantly updated on progress and any issues he encountered resolved.<a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3314736040?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="350" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3314736040?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="350" class="align-right"/></a></p><p>“The quality and standard of work that James brought to the job, in my opinion, is second to none and his whole professionalism and dedication to the job has to be commended.”</p><p>With all of the irrigation work Souters Sports carry out, great care is taken to minimise the impact of the installation and to ensure that reinstatements are carried out to the highest standards. As water is a precious commodity, Souters Sports’ systems incorporate the latest technology for water efficiency and system control, such as variable speed drive pump systems, automatic weather stations and radio remote control systems.</p><p>Whilst the quality of Souters Sports work is of the highest quality, the company also provide excellent customer service, which according to Mark, is not always the case in his experience.</p><p>“In the line of work I am responsible for, I have contact with many contractors who are mostly interested in getting the job done quickly and as a result customer service always suffers. This I found to my pleasant surprise was not the case with Souters Sports and in particular James and his team.</p><p>“I would be more than happy to recommend Souters in the future for any other works associated to this type of work. If the aftercare is as good as the installation then I foresee only good things for the Old Links course for the future.”</p><p>For further information, please contact Souters Sports Limited on 01236 453030 or visit <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.souterssports.co.uk" target="_blank">www.souterssports.co.uk</a>. Souters Sports are also on Twitter @SoutersSports</p></div>Souters Sports Impresses Yet Again At Championship Golf Coursehttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profiles/blogs/souters-sports-impresses-yet-again-at-championship-golf-course2015-03-12T13:23:42.000Z2015-03-12T13:23:42.000ZFusion Mediahttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/FusionMedia<div><p>Following tell-tale signs of sand contamination, the De Vere Carden Park Golf Resort near Chester, has recently called upon the services of leading natural sportsturf contractor Souters Sports to carry out wholesale bunker rejuvenations.</p><p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3314719231?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="250" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3314719231?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="250" class="align-left"/></a>The Carden Park Golf Resort boasts not one, but two championship golf courses, the Cheshire and the Nicklaus; with the latter being a previous project for Souters Sports when they successfully completed major drainage work. It was this impressive work which led course manager Peter Pattenden to place his trust in the company once again for the bunker rejuvenation on the Cheshire course.</p><p>The Cheshire, built 24 years ago with bunkers in revetted style had shown the telling effects of sand-trap erosion and with the Nicklaus course receiving significant investment over recent years, it was imperative that the Cheshire was not left in its shadow.</p><p>Leading the Cheshire project was Souters Sports’ bunker shaper Rab Tait, who engineered the lifting and replacing of nearly 8,000 metres of turf for facing and surrounds, and the installation of 1100 tons of fresh Bunkerites sand. A 13-ton excavator with swivel bucket and two turf-tyred dumpers handled the earthworks and transportation.</p><p>However, as the project unfolded it became apparent that many of the bunkers had no drainage at all, so for Souters it became a drainage project too. To solve the problem, Rab and his team installed 80mm of piping where necessary to see that the freshly shaped bunkers would drain efficiently.<br/>“We knew many of the bunkers were poorly drained and actually had no idea whether there was anything in place. It was a voyage of discovery, you might say. Much of what was there was either blocked or had collapsed, we discovered,” said Peter.</p><p>Peter and Rab planned and made decisions about re-developing bunker set-ups hole-by-hole. This was governed very much by what the topography would allow along with weather conditions. Much of the work involved bringing noses in and taking noses out where appropriate or moving bunkers left or right slightly to influence play.<a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3314720083?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="250" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3314720083?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="250" class="align-right"/></a></p><p><br/>With a series of high profile clients, the Souters Sports team has completed a number of services to golf courses throughout the UK including renovation and maintenance, irrigation, reservoirs and water harvesting and primary and secondary drainage installations - to name but a few.</p><p>The company also adheres to a best-of-the-best recruitment policy, in which they have patiently spent a number of years assembling a group of proven, enthusiastic and talented professionals, trained in all facets of golf course construction, which has been reflected in their work; and Peter is yet another satisfied customer.</p><p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3314719521?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="250" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3314719521?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="250" class="align-left"/></a>“The project has been a huge success with great feedback from the members. It’s a joy not to have standing water in the bunkers any more, and know that they all offer a high level of consistent playing quality. They look amazing too.”</p><p>For further information, please contact Souters Sports Limited on 01236 453030 or visit <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.souterssports.co.uk" target="_blank">www.souterssports.co.uk</a>. Souters Sports are also on Twitter @SoutersSports</p></div>Souters Sport’s Swift Help gets Course out of Bunker Nightmarehttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profiles/blogs/souters-sport-s-swift-help-gets-course-out-of-bunker-nightmare2015-01-30T09:30:24.000Z2015-01-30T09:30:24.000ZFusion Mediahttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/FusionMedia<div><p>Little Aston Golf Club, at Sutton Coldfield in the West Midlands, experienced a bunker ‘wipe-out’ recently when an unexpected storm deposited over five inches of rainwater in an hour. All 93 of the course’s bunkers were left severely damaged, yet at no stage was it closed or play suspended thanks to decisive action by Course Manager Neil Baker and contractor Souters Sports response at very short notice. In barely a fortnight all of the 100-year old sand hazards were restored to their former immaculate state.</p><p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3314727865?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="350" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3314727865?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="350" class="align-left"/></a>Neil Baker, who took over at Little Aston last year and had extensive experience of course renovation work in his previous course management role at the Tandridge Club in Surrey, says he was able to organise an effective, emergency clean-up for 30 of them straight away. The remainder, however, were well beyond raking and the energies and skills of his eight greenkeepers and 34 artisans. His assessment of contamination and migration caused by the massive amount of storm water left him in no doubt that outside help from an experienced contractor was essential, and quickly.</p><p>“It was obvious to me that we needed to clean 60 of the bunkers out completely, re-bowl and re-shape them,” said Neil.</p><p>Effectively it was a straightforward replacement of the sand content, but this was a massive task. Neil had had regular contact with Souters Sports’ Business Development Manager Gary Cunningham, himself a former local course manager, and through him asked the specialist contractor to tender for the work. This was approved two days after the storm and the company was on site and working four days later, using two six-ton dumpers with flotation tyres and an eight-ton excavator with 360-degree bucket.</p><p>Neil has a good working relationship with Cheshire-based sports sand supplier White moss, which meant that all sand could be immediately delivered. 460 tons of Eco Bunker 2 sand was delivered and ready for Souters Sports’ arrival on site. The massive renovation task was completed in just 10 working days, averaging six bunkers a day.</p><p>“The standard of playing conditions here has to be retained at all times, and any problem – even a grand scale one like this – has to be resolved immediately,” said Neil.</p><p>“The course was kept open throughout the work and bunkers yet to be renovated were simply taken out of play; players dropping at the nearest point of relief. Every couple of hours we were able to put the rakes back in one more restored bunker.</p><p>“The renovation work was quite a sight to see and members were impressed with how un-intrusive it actually was. In many ways it was an exciting project, if one we didn’t expect or want. The whole course was quickly back to normal, as if nothing had happened. Souters Sports did a great job for us. I hadn’t worked with them before, but on the strength of this they’ll be doing a drainage project on the course for me soon too.”</p><p>Little Aston, first opened in 1908, first designed by Harry Vardon but later re-designed by the famous Harry Colt. The very private and exsclusive,Club which over the years has hosted many large tournaments including the English Amateur, brabazon trophy, Dunlop Masters, and more recently British open qualifying and carris trophy were delighted to see the Course back in play so quickly.</p><p>For further information, please contact Souters Sports Limited on 01236 453030 or visit <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.souterssports.co.uk" target="_blank">www.souterssports.co.uk</a>. Souters Sports are also on Twitter @SoutersSports</p></div>