NEWS
Tribute to Barry Huxley Barry Huxley, who founded the Huxley Golf business with his brother Paul in 2000, has died suddenly. Barry had been a Director of the Huxley family business Huxley (UK) Ltd for over 50 years, before its transfer to an Employee Owned Trust in 2020. The business was started in 1946 by Barry’s and Paul’s father, Ted Huxley, who began selling Allen Motor Scythe grasscutters in London and the home counties when he was demobbed after war service in the RAF and Fleet Air Arm flying Spitfires and Seafires. Until 2000, The Huxley Grass Machinery business manufactured and supplied commercial grass cutting and turf maintenance machinery to golf courses and sports grounds throughout the UK and overseas as far away as Japan. Barry joined the family business in 1970, after an apprenticeship at Ransomes, in Ipswich, to learn about the manufacture, servicing and sales of mowing machinery. The firm continued to prosper, introduced the Cushman Turf Care System to this country in 1975 and began to develop and manufacture its own range of Huxley mowers, turf care implements and trucks. When the Huxley Grass Machinery business was sold in 2000, Barry and his brother Paul started the Huxley Golf business, having spotted the need for low maintenance, realistic and innovative all-weather golf surfaces. It was clear from the start that high quality installation was key to the new business and Barry led from the front.
No boundaries for Baroness It’s a recognised fact in cricket that a good groundsman wins matches and is as much a part of the side as a pacy seam bowler or a gifted spinner. After more than 20 years in the game and winning a good few awards along the way, Simon Lee, Head Groundsman at the Ageas Bowl home of Hampshire CC, for the past two years, knows his craft supremely well. He also knows a thing or two about the equipment he needs to keep his wickets and wider grounds up to international standard. The arrival of Baroness mowers in the Ageas fleet on the outskirts of Southampton is, therefore, a significant accolade for a brand that has become a favourite on many golf courses across the UK.
“I REALLY LIKE THE WAY THE BARONESS MACHINES ARE ENGINEERED…”
6 | TURF MATTERS | JULY-AUGUST 2022
Now regarded as one of the best cricket grounds in the country, the Ageas Bowl has taken delivery of three Baroness machines from Lister Wilder in recent months. Simon and his team have a five-unit mid-weight LM551B for outfields and an LM56GC pedestrian cylinder mower for pitch preparation. Meanwhile, the Boundary Lakes golf course that is another key element of the wider Ageas leisure offering has a three-unit LM315 greens mower. The decision to opt for Baroness was one that Simon did not take lightly. “I spoke to other top-level groundsmen and it came highly recommended by others who have had experience of using them. You can read all you like about grass cutting machinery but when the verdict comes from someone you trust then you know you are making a good decision,” he explained. “When we demoed the machines, we found the Baroness mowers were cutting tighter
and neater than the competition and giving us better presentation at the same level of cut.” The reality of living with the new machines has matched up to the promise from the demo. “It isn’t just the quality of the cut that everyone talks about and how long the cut lasts. I really like the way the Baroness machines are engineered. That makes life a lot easier for me in managing the whole process.” Common to all the Baroness machines is the approach to the cutting cylinders, which are individually balanced before being installed and with a heat treatment process ensuring that the cutting edges of both cutting cylinders and bed-knives stay sharp and true. The LM551B with its 45hp Kubota engine is equipped with a 22-inch standard reel along with optional mower units and accessories, allowing users to create the best configuration to meet their own turf conditions. n www.baronessuk.com
