Every fall the course shuts down for 5 days to perform what Apple calls “aggressive agronomic practices.”  This short window of time allows the maintenance team to take that extra step to nurture and care for the greens they have worked hard all year to maintain. They use this time to aerate, top dress and mow down native fescue grasses. Every part of the course will get taken care of from the tees, greens, bank grasses and fairways. Located on steep inclines and sloping terrain, most of the course’s native grass areas only get mowed down a couple times a year and they rely on the Ventrac Tough Cut mower deck and tractor, equipped with dual wheels, to handle the job nicely. The Ventrac Aera-Vator helps out with the aeration process on the rough while core cleanup is easy with the Turbine Blower.  It takes many machines to care for a course this size but they depend on their Ventrac tractors to make the process run like a well-oiled machine.

Watch the video for the full story and see why Ventrac is such an important piece to the puzzle of golf course maintenance. No matter how perfect a golf course, the team at the Pete Dye Course at French Lick always strive for a better one.  Great work guys!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ef-gtO2LWpE

We would like to welcome our newest International Distributor to the Ventrac family, Asia Turfquip Supplies, in Singapore.  ATS is a diversified company that provides quality turf products and the latest innovations in turf management practices.   Their locations  serve Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia and they are a key industry player, serving golf courses, public parks, recreation facilities and water management.    Having just received their first shipment of Ventrac equipment as a new distributor, they were aimed and ready to focus on training and operation.

Ventrac President, Dallas Steiner,  recently flew to Asia Turfquip Supplies to conduct equipment training and demonstrations on golf courses throughout Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.  The first trip was to Juara-Juara KGPA golf course.  Dallas instructed staff from ATS, as well as golf course staff, on the safe operations of Ventrac and several potential customers were also on hand to run the equipment as well.   They took to the hills of the course to test out the abilities of Ventrac with the MJ contour deck and MR reel mower.

The next day was focused at the Palm Garden Golf Course.  Personnel from the course and ATS staff were on hand to learn what Ventrac could do on some of the 30 degree slopes.   It was an impressive demonstration of Ventrac’s slope mowing in action.  The next couple days were filled with demos on the Nilai Spring Golf Club and Laguna National.   Both courses boasted some 25 -30 degree slopes where Ventrac blew away any question of its ability to perform on the hills.   Those in attendance displayed their excitement about the performance of Ventrac with an all thumbs-up review.

Watch video from all 4 courses to get a feel for what kind of terrain they deal with and just how well Ventrac can stick to those slopes.

Ventrac is pleased to have partnered with Asia Turfquip Supplies.   Welcome to the Ventrac family!

Enjoy the slideshow of scenes from the golf courses and beautiful shots of the city of Malaysia.

The Rendered Version of the MJ840 Contour Deck

Last week, two employees from Ventrac, Dan Swartz and Roscoe  Lehman traveled to Huntsville, Alabama for the Siemens Solid Edge ST4 Global Launch Event.  The Ventrac Engineering Department currently uses the Solid Edge ST3 CAD system to design equipment, such as the MJ840 Contour Mowing Deck.    Solid Edge hosted the event to introduce new users, as well as current users, to the newest ST4 version of the software.  Packed with tips and ideas, technical training and opportunities to interact with Solid Edge users from around the world, the event helped Dan and Roscoe get a better idea of what the ST4 version can do for Ventrac. 

Dan was sought out by some of the Solid Edge development team who wanted to learn more about how Ventrac uses Solid Edge’s Synchronous Technology software.    Dan Staples from Solid Edge  spoke about meeting up with Swartz and Lehman during the two day event on the Seimens blog.    Staples loved the image Ventrac created using the ST3 software and wanted to work with Ventrac to create an image for the new ST4 splash screen.    The Solid Edge Blog shows one example of a rendered image of a tractor and contour deck along with more from Staples’ interview.

Dan and Roscoe entered the MJ840 contour deck in the Solid Edge Product Showcase and it became one of the featured products during the event.   Dan was interviewed over the course of the two days about how Ventrac uses Solid Edge software in the development of products.    Swartz talks more about how the contour mowing deck moves and maneuvers across uneven terrain, making it an ideal deck for mowing around bunkers on golf courses.   See the interview below and how Dan explains the value of using ST3 rendered images to view equipment.     

It was windy, but  Dan was unfazed by the sign mishap!

Our visit to this prestigious golf course began on a cool, breezy fall morning in Indiana as the sun beamed over the Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort.  The quiet shadows created an ambiance across the course highlighting every intricate detail of its design.   Golf champion and World Golf Hall of Fame course designer, Pete Dye, showed considerable passion when building the course and the results speak in pure Dye fashion.

Avid golfers come from miles to get the Pete Dye Course at French Lick experience…and an experience, it is.  Nestled atop Indiana’s highest peak sits this creation of poetic symmetry in landscape with grand panoramic views.   The 18 hole course depicts Pete’s signature style with a heavy influence from great Scottish courses that feature small greens, pot bunkers and undulating fairways.   Each green features challenging shot-making holes strategically designed and sketched into the severe terrain of the Mt. Airie property that is now the home of the Pete Dye course at French Lick.

Pete made his first visit to the site and said there was no way to build a golf course on the property – the rugged terrain and severe slopes would be almost impossible to work with.  But within 24 hours, Pete was back scheduling a second visit.   The tough landscape couldn’t stop his passion for designing and he was awarded the contract for the project, which became the biggest project he had ever done.

Construction began in 2006 as every inch of ground was selectively placed by the direction of Pete and his course architect and construction manager, Chris Lutzke.  Pete and Chris were meticulous in where every hill, slope and mound of dirt was pushed, moved and shoved.  They embellished the beauty of the natural site to give each hole its own personal identity with Pete’s style of fashioning each hole out of the ground.  The course boasts rolling, winding gravel cart paths, wild grassy areas and water sites for an architectural layout that replicates nature.  Together they took a nearly impossible landform and turned it into a world class championship course.

Maintaining a course of this caliber has many challenges, yet course superintendent, Russ Apple, has maintenance under control.  Russ and the grounds crew make certain that each green , tee box and fairway are meticulously groomed for precise play action.  The grounds crew love what they do and pay particular attention to the care they give the grounds, tapping in to Pete’s advice and guidance along the way.  Given the course was built with many sculpted slopes and bunkers as well as steep hillsides, equipment that could handle the terrain was necessary.  To maintain the dynamic landscape, the French Lick grounds crew turned to Ventrac to help assist them in the daily grooming and maintenance of this course.  Given the massive number of undulations and steep inclines, the Ventrac contour mowing deck is able to mold itself to the basins and over the bunkers without scalping or tearing up the terrain, saving the grounds crew hours of hand trimming and sod repairs.

The grounds crew relies on the unbelievable traction of Ventrac when grooming the course, allowing them more maneuverability around the hillsides and up steep grades, taking them where other equipment can not safely drive. To mow the rough native grass areas of the course, the grounds crew uses Ventrac tractors exclusively – mowing these natural habitats about twice a year.  One massive hill of native grass in particular they mow with Ventrac surrounds the highest peak on the course where the stately clubhouse resides.

Voted “Best New Course” of 2009 by Golf Magazine and Golf Digest, the Pete Dye Course at French Lick continues to receive rave reviews by all.  Truly a grand work of art, Pete feels it is the best inland course he has built yet.  And to think all of it was started with a simple sketch scratched on to a paper napkin….all from the creative mind of Pete Dye.

New Ventrac Home Page

An exciting newly designed website has just been launched. The new website at www.ventrac.com has dynamic new features as well as additional product information, Ventrac Advantage pages, loads of new video and outstanding photo galleries.

At www.ventrac.com, discover a whole new look and feel to the site.  Pictures tell a big story, and there are more photos and video than ever before.   Inspiring customer testimonial pages feature stories and photographs from customers who love their Ventracs and tell what Ventrac does for them.

Ventrac Advantages pages are new additions that feature key points explaining the advantages of using Ventrac.  Included are highlighted points explaining tractor features and performance like slope mowing, articulating frame, Minute Mount, Finish Mowers and Driver Comforts.

The new Markets section highlights various sales markets like Municipalities, Landowners, Schools, Golf Courses and Landscapers.   These specific sections will help define what these various markets may be looking for and what their needs are when purchasing new equipment.

Monthly Featured Product information is also readily available for viewing with an emphasis on a different Ventrac attachment every month.   Ventrac’s commercial grade attachments are designed and built uniquely for the Ventrac compact tractor and every attachment works like a separate piece of equipment with unmatched performance.

The new website has easier navigation, a wider knowledge base and an expanded photo and video gallery, making www.ventrac.com the place to find expert information about Ventrac.  With a fresh new look and appeal, the website will continue to grow and expand with more content and information, providing cutting edge information for the industry.

Also new for Ventrac in 2010 is a presence on several social media platforms. Follow the latest happenings related to Ventrac on the new Blog and  Facebook Page, watch the newest Ventrac video clip on their YouTube Channel, and follow all these happenings on Twitter. All of these links are available at www.ventrac.com.

Ventrac equipment is sold and serviced through a network of authorized dealers in the USA, Europe, Canada,  South Africa and Southeast Asia and supported by the company’s corporate headquarters, Venture Products, Inc. in Orrville, Ohio.   Ventrac develops highly innovative compact tractor models with front-end commercial grade attachments that serve a wide variety of customer markets from golf courses, landscapers, municipalities, schools, and homeowners/landowners.  Ventrac is dedicated to providing a unique, superior quality product while maintaining the highest standard of business ethics making Ventrac a leading force in the compact tractor industry.

Learn more about  “Your One Tractor Solution”.

Watch Jack's Contour Video on YouTube

Ventrac is the ultimate machine for mowing uneven terrain.  The Ventrac Contour Mower Deck will go where other mowers dare not.

We are again featuring Jack Wiley, who uses his Ventrac Turbo Diesel and attachments to do a multitude of tasks.  Jack sent us a video of his tractor in operation with an 84″ contour mower deck.

The contour deck does what is says it will do…contours the shape of the land.  Jack is mowing over quite a wavy landscape, where other mowers would easily scalp.  Even with so much rise and fall of the ground, the contour deck stays with the terrain with not a bit of scalping while producing a beautiful cutting finish as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=221fEBF2l-k

“It (the video) shows me using the Contour Deck on slopes and undulating areas in my yard.  You will see the deck flex a considerable amount many times–much more than on the typical golf course.  These undulations are due to subsidence over old abandoned coal mines.”

Check out additional turf maintenance attachments at www.ventrac.com