October/November 2005
The turfcare magazine
from pitchcare.com
WE’RE
SERIOUS
ABOUT
TURFCARE
CHRIS
WOOD
‘PURRING
WITH
PRIDE AND
SATISFACTION’
FREDDIE’S
OLD HUNTING
GROUND
Andy
Andy Mackay
Mackay is
is the
the head
head
groundsman
groundsman at
at St
St Anne’s
Anne’s CC
CC in
in
Blackpool
Blackpool where
where it
it all
all started
started for
for
one
one Andrew
Andrew ‘Freddie’
‘Freddie’ Flintoff
Flintoff
A HOLE LOT
OF LOVE
Regular
Regular and
and seasonal
seasonal aeration
aeration is
is
essential
essential to
to turfgrass
turfgrass quality
quality
SPECIAL FEATURE
Funding for
Sports Clubs
FUNDING THE GROWTH OF GRASS-ROOTS SPORTS
ROBOT REVIEW
BIGMOW, SPIDER AND TWO MCMURTRY
MODELS GO UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT AT
RUGBY SCHOOL
PITCHCARE SPEND A DAY WITH
TURFMECH’S AUSTIN JARRETT
+ MILLENNIUM MOVES• WATER MANAGEMENT• LA CONFIDENTIAL•WORMS•SOD’S LAW
Take thatch out - put sand in
Brand new concept to the Graden range
Now there is a machine which not only grooves to remove
thatch but also injects sand - right into the bottom of the
groove.
•Amendments can be added to sand, such as Zeolite, Profile and Axis
•Can be used any time of year - even in damp conditions
•Firms the surface
•No loss of stability
Phone us for more details about this revolutionary new process
R& K Kensett, 4 Leazes Avenue, Chaldon, Caterham, Surrey CR3 5AH
Tel: +44 (0) 1883 342632 Web: www.kensettsports.com
Clean up process on wet green
Graden will be exhibiting at the following trade shows:
Scotsturf in Edinburgh 9th-10th Nov
Sportsturf Ireland in Dublin 30th Nov-1st Dec
Green Expo 2005 in Parc Expo Nantes 30th Nov-2nd Dec
1 www.pitchcare.com/re
Inside
this issue
WATER
management
38
8 ROBOT REVIEW
Big boys toys or serious pieces of kit.
Pitchcare invite groundsmen to Rugby
School to test the latest hi-tech equipment
15
SPORT FOR ALL
The greater the public’s level of sports
participation, the greater the opportunity
for local clubs to bid for precious funding
22 A HOLE LOT OF LOVE
Regular and seasonal aeration is essential
to turfgrass quality. Pitchcare’s Laurence
Gale reviews the procedures available
BOSS HAS
28 THE
A FEW WORDS
In, out, in, out ... Dave Saltman writes a
few words about the Millennium Stadium’s
modular system
44
56
LEATHERJACKETS
Leatherjackets are the second most
widespread pest problem on the golf
courses in the UK and Ireland
A DAY WITH TURFMECH
For over 15 years Turfmech have been
supplying their range of niche products to
the turfcare professionals. Laurence Gale
MSc talks to MD Austin Jarrett about the
company’s success
To subscribe to
pitchcare magazine
log on to
www.pitchcare.com
Trust McMILLAN
Chris McMillan, Operations Officer with Bournemouth
Borough Council, is responsible for managing 50% of
the sports facilities in the Borough
34
RESTRICTING DRAINAGE OUTFALL
32
SODS LAW
41
EARTHWORMS - FRIEND OR FOE?
42
TOP TEN TIPS
49
FREDDIE’S OLD HUNTING GROUND
50
CULTIVATION TECHNIQUES
58
Gordon Jaaback, Hertfordshire County Council’s
Agronomist and Project Manager, explains how they
overcame the problem
The Health & Safety Executive advise not to use mobile
phones where safety is important.
Also new sex discrimination regulations
Why is it that groundsmen and greenkeepers fear
earthworms so much? Should they really be that concerned
about them?
Trainer and Careers Counsellor, Frank Newberry concludes
his series on self marketing with top ten tips for
CV’s and Interviews
St Anne’s Cricket Club in Lancashire is where it all started
for Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff. Head Groundsman Andy Mackay
talks us through his post season maintenance
First of a two part article by Martyn Jones, reveiwing the
processes of identifying soil physical problems
THE PC TEAM
DAVE SALTMAN
WELCOME TO
MD. Rumour has it that
he was seen in the office
on 3 consecutive days!
Shame really, as we
were just in the process
of renting out his desk.
After his experiences
with the modules at the
Millennium stadium all
the jigsaws in his house
have been consigned to
the bin.
JOHN RICHARDS
Operations Director. As
befits someone of his
advancing years, he is
coasting along quite
nicely. Getting de-m
mob
happy as he awaits yet
another trip down under to
visit his daughter. Has
offered to do articles with
some of the Pitchcare
members in Oz providing
he can get himself away
from the beach!
LAURENCE GALE
Joint Editor. Currently,
trying to raise money
for local charities with
sponsored silences.
After just one week he
is very close to raising a
fiver. We recently
discovered that his hero
as a child was Norman
Wisdom. Why does that
not surprise us!
PETER BRITTON
Sales & Production
Director. All smiles last
month when his golf
handicap dropped into
single figures - it lasted all
of one week - October’s
medal putting him back
where he belongs. Still
desperately trying to get
over the stigma of having
to wear a yellow shirt at
Saltex.
ELLIE TAIT
PR and Marketing guru.
Ellie had her first
editorial day out with
Laurence (the whirlwind)
Gale for the Robot
Review... and is still
recovering. Avoided
having to wear a yellow
blouse at Saltex - “ I’m a
woman, I have needs”
was, apparently, her only
argument.
ALASTAIR BATTRICK
Web Developer. New
experience for him recently
– he actually broke out in a
sweat; when he was told
that he would have to pen
an article for this and future
issues of the magazine. Is
that in my job description?
he was heard to ask. It is
now.
SHARON TAYLOR
Company Accountant.
The most energetic
member of the team.
Trains and jumps
horses at competitions
and trials around the
country. She is actually
very good, and we are
very proud of her; but
we don’t tell her in case
she asks for a rise!
Features and Editorial:
Pitchcare.com Limited, The Technology Centre,
Wolverhampton Science Park, Wolverhampton,
West Midlands WV10 9RU
Tel: 01902 824 392 Fax: 01902 824 393
Email: mail@pitchcare.com
Advertising & Production:
Pitchcare Magazine,
9 Imber Road, Shaftesbury, Dorset SP7 8RX
Tel: 01747 855 335 Fax: 01747 858 744
Email: peter@pitchcare.com
No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior permission
of the publisher. All rights reserved. Views expressed in this publication
are not necessarily those of the publisher. Editorial contributions are
published entirely at the editor’s discretion and may be shortened if
space is limited. Pitchcare make every effort to ensure the accuracy of
the contents but accepts no liability for its consequences. Pitchcare The Magazine is printed by the Gemini Press, Dolphin Way, Shorehamby-Sea, West Sussex BN43 6NZ
A GROUNDSMAN myself, I have a belief
that expert information should be
imparted easily to current and future
generations of Groundsmen and
Greenkeepers. Pitchcare provides an
opportunity for people within the Industry
to pass on their wealth of knowledge and
time served experiences.
The Pitchcare magazine and website
have proved to be great mediums to
disseminate information and the website
message boards are the perfect place to ask
questions and get your problems solved
quickly. With nearly 10,000 questions and
answers already posted, a great many
people have received immeasurable help.
Whilst on this subject, I notice that the
message boards have come in for some
public criticism, and I’m slightly bemused
as to why. Yes, there is the occasional
halfwit, determined to wind others up and
be destructive, but the vast proportion of
the members are only too delighted to
provide useful advice to fellow members.
At Pitchcare we have always believed in
the importance of education and training
so earlier this year, in conjunction with the
ECB, we organised a Media Training
course. Attended by senior professionals its
aim was to give the delegates the
knowledge and experience needed to
participate in television and radio
interviews.
The course came about as result of
enquiries from Pitchcare members who
were unable to find relevant training in
this specialist area. The course was well
received by participants and sponsors, and
there are plans for
another in the
New Year. We
have
provisional
dates in
February
2006, so
please
contact me,
dave@pitchcare.com for more details.
Again as a result of enquiries from
members we have teamed up with one of
the industry’s most respected trainers,
Frank Newberry, to run a course on
Essential Management Skills. This new
course is aimed at helping those in a
supervisory or management position to
acquire a range of vital management skills
and put them into practice successfully in
the workplace. I’m pleased to say that
places on the first course were filled
quickly and we’ll be announcing new dates
on the website soon, so keep an eye on the
new ‘education and training’ section.
We have continually listened to our
members and, where appropriate, look to
implement suggested ideas. The drive to
improve education is one such avenue. We
have pursued the rights of our members,
and lobbied for more control on player
warm ups, goalkeeper scratch marks, and
now the banning of bladed boots from
winter sport.
There is continuing debate on the
benefit of trade shows, with some wide
ranging views. With the announcement
from the larger companies that they will
now be exhibiting at alternate shows, the
future looks uncertain. In other industries,
trade shows have been streamlined as
exhibitors find rising costs prohibitive.
Many traditional consumer shows are now
bi-annual. These days companies look to
other marketing methods to spread the
word and make sales. It seems increasingly
unlikely in this competitive world that our
sector can continue to sustain two major
annual shows. Ultimately exhibitors have
to look at their bottom line and major
expenses, such as exhibitions, could
become a thing of the past.
Finally, there is some debate on this
winter’s weather. The forecasters are
suggesting that we are in for the coldest
winter for at least a decade, the same
forecasters that said this year was going to
be as hot as ’76. I’m not a forecast sceptic,
and regularly rely on calls to the duty
forecasters prior to games; these prove to
be invaluable. Forecasters are professionals,
just like you and me, who use their depth
of knowledge and expertise, coupled with
the latest technology to make calculated
decisions. More often than not, they
are spot on. I hope to run a series of
articles explaining the finer aspects of
meteorology in the future.
Best wishes,
DAVE SALTMAN
Managing Director
Major players
pull out of Saltex
2006 will go on record as the year when some of the
major players in the industry said ‘enough is enough’
For several years there has been
debate and discussions about the two
main trade shows - BTME and Saltex.
Do we need both? Are they held at
the best time of the year? Are they
convenient to get to?
All valid questions in their own right,
but the fact of the matter is that the
cost to companies of exhibiting at trade
shows is very high. More and more,
they have been weighing up the actual
costs of setting up an attractive (and
expensive) stand for a week, on two
separate occasions, at two separate
venues, with a huge input of manpower
and all the logistics of getting
machinery to and from the venues.
Understandably, they have been
posing the question - is it worth it? The
answer for many is clearly NO.
Already, Ransomes Jacobsen have
issued a press release explaining their
decision not to exhibit at Saltex in
2006. They will be back in 2007, and
this bi-annual approach is one that
other companies, including Toro Lely,
are also taking. Peter Mansfield, the
Turf Division General Manager of Lely
UK commented, “Survey work that we
have done with our customer base
suggests that many of them do not
necesarily attend every show in every
year. A popular view is that, because of
the nature of our products, extensive on
site trials and demonstrations are
required and it is often more beneficial
for the customer to actively use the
product at his site. Static displays do
not achieve this. We believe it right to
do both in appropriate proportion. It
seems to be appreciated that, for the
larger machinery exhibitors particulary,
trade show attendance is becoming
harder to justify as costs continue to
rise.”
The organisers of Saltex have been
notified by Toro Lely that their long
term strategy is to attend in alternate
years, and they will be taking a similar
approach with BIGGA and BTME,
exhibiting in 2006, 2008 etc.
Other companies not appearing at
Saltex 2006 include Kubota,
Charterhouse, Hayter, John Deere, SISIS
and Turfmech.
David Hart, Divisional Manager at
John Deere, said “We continually review
our presence at all the shows we attend
on both sides of our business,
groundscare and agriculture - there is
no automatic decision to exhibit or not
to exhibit. Saltex does not fit into our
overall marketing plans for 2006, but
this does not mean we won’t attend in
future years.”
The MD of Turfmech Machinery,
Austin Jarrett, was, as ever, candid with
his comments, “We have been
monitoring for some years the ‘cost per
enquiry’ of all our marketing activities.
It’s only prudent. Quite simply, the
Saltex exhibition has generated less
and less enquiries at greater cost each
year for a number of years. Saltex has
become prohibitively expensive per
enquiry. Other marketing activities such
as roadshows, advertising, factory open
days and supporting dealer open days
have become a much more effective
way of communicating to our potential
and existing customers. Our customers
must remember that the cost of these
exhibitions are passed on to them in
the cost of the machine they buy from
us. The Company that can
communicate its message to its
potential customer more efficiently can
provide a more competitively priced
product.”
SISIS also announced its intention to
attend Saltex on an “alternate year”
basis and will not have a stand at the
2006 event. Joint Managing Director
Roger Hargreaves said, “We are of the
opinion that two major trade shows
each year is excessive and our market
“Saltex does not fit into our
overall marketing plan for
2006, but this does not
mean that we won’t attend
in future years”
David Hart, Divisional Manager,
John Deere
research shows that it is not what our
customers want. We have advised both
the IOG and BIGGA that we feel strongly
that our industry needs either a single
annual exhibition covering the whole
market place or the two current
exhibitions rescheduled to take place in
alternate years.”
“SISIS has been a staunch supporter
of both the IOG and BIGGA since their
inception and look forward to a
continuing dialogue.”
Philip Threadgold, Managing Director,
Charterhouse Turf Machinery, stated,
“Our withdrawal from Saltex for 2006 is
no reflection on the IOG. Over the last
few years our margins have diminished,
as customers are demanding greater
discounts from us due to tighter budget
controls and reduced spend. This
means that we can no longer afford to
attend two major machinery shows in a
year. Consequently we will be exhibiting
at BTME in January 2006 and will be
back at Saltex in September 2007.”
Feedback to the organiser of this
year’s Saltex, Penton Europe, from
exhibitors and visitors suggests that a
lot of people get a lot of benefit from
trade shows. It is a good opportunity to
meet up with contacts and view
products; for new and smaller
companies in particular it is an
opportunity to showcase their products
and services to their target market.
Trade shows are beneficial in so
many ways to all aspects of the
industry. No-one is arguing about that.
However, the message to the
organisers, from the industry
companies, is loud and clear - we don’t
need so many, so often and at such a
high cost.
“Our withdrawal from Saltex is no reflection on the
IOG ... we can no longer afford to attend two major shows
in a year”
Philip Threadgold, MD Charterhouse Turf Machinery
3
IOG get
their man
Institute of Groundsmanship appoint Geoff Webb
as their new Chief Executive
The Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG)
has announced that Geoff Webb has
been appointed chief executive,
effective 7 November 2005.
Formerly Head of Grass Roots then
Director of Facility & Stadia
Development at the Football
Foundation, and before that Head of
Major Projects at the Lawn Tennis
Association, 43-year-old Geoff brings to
the IOG a high level of organisational
and leadership skills at, he says, an
exciting period in the history of the
Institute and the industry it serves.
At the Football Foundation (the UK’s
largest sports charity) Geoff was
responsible for developing the grass
roots facilities and football stadia grant
aid programme, managing an annual
budget of £52 million. Prior to this, he
had progressed at the Lawn Tennis
Association to the position of Head of
Major Projects with responsibility for
the highly-regarded Indoor Tennis
Initiative that developed 43 indoor
pay and play centres across the UK.
He has therefore developed a
wealth of knowledge and experience
in facility, sport development and
grounds maintenance, as well as a
thorough understanding of the issues
affecting the UK sport leisure and
charity sector.
A keen supporter of the work of the
IOG and the need for the profile of
groundsmanship to be raised, Geoff
comments:
“During my tenure at the Football
Foundation I utilised every opportunity
to make the governing bodies and
Government aware of this vital
component of the sports industry.”
“I have worked at senior level across
football and tennis to ensure that
opportunities through training,
education and awareness were
available to anyone with an interest in
grass roots sport grounds
maintenance,” he says.
“I have a very positive and supportive
view of the role and the profile of
groundsmanship and, through the work
of the IOG much is being done to
enhance the reputation of this greatly
needed and skilled profession.”
“In my new role I relish the
opportunity to help further raise the
profile of groundsmanship in the UK.”
2006 Golf Industry Show
will move to Atlanta
Houston relocation agreement falls through
Citing Houston’s inability to deliver
previously agreed upon services,
officials of the Golf Course
Superintendents Association of America
(GCSAA) and the National Golf Course
Owners Association (NGCOA)
announced today that the Golf Industry
Show and their respective education
conferences will be conducted in
Atlanta in February 2006.
The conferences and trade show were
originally scheduled to be in New
Orleans; however, due to the
destruction caused by Hurricane
Katrina, officials announced Sept. 7
that the events would relocate to
Houston. Atlanta, which was one of a
handful of cities examined for the
original relocation, last hosted the
GCSAA International Golf Course
Conference and Show in 2003 at the
Georgia World Congress Center.
The dates for the 2006 conferences
and show will remain the same as were
originally planned: the GCSAA
4
Education Conference (Feb. 6-11), the
NGCOA Solutions Summit (Feb. 7-10)
and the Golf Industry Show (Feb. 9-11).
“We are disappointed to be making
this announcement,” GCSAA CEO Steve
Mona said. “Officials from Houston had
said they could meet our needs, but as
discussions progressed, it became
obvious that significant hurdles needed
to be cleared. In the end, we
determined the proposed arrangement
would not create an experience that
would meet the expectations of
attendees, exhibitors, GCSAA and our
show partners.”
Mona and NGCOA CEO Mike Hughes
said they are confident Atlanta will
provide a successful venue.
“The meeting and exhibit space, the
hotel rooms and the supporting
infrastructure Atlanta provides makes
us confident that the Golf Industry
Show will not be compromised in any
way by this moves,” Hughes said.
“Our experience in Atlanta in 2003
was beyond expectations,” Mona added.
“The city was revitalized with the 1996
Summer Olympics, something noticed
by attendees who had not been there in
quite some time. The convention center
and hotels will be convenient locations
for education, networking and
exposition activities. Unlike Houston,
there are no other events that will
conflict with our ability to conduct the
conferences and trade show.”
Despite relocating the events for a
second time, November 1 will remain
as the opening for conference and show
registration.
A new registration brochure will be
produced and distributed by a date to
be determined, but online access at
golfindustryshow.com and faxback
forms will be available (800/472-7878).
GCSAA and NGCOA will be working with
exhibiting companies to reconfigure the
trade show floor.
Souness blames
Fibre Sand for injuries
ACCORDING to Newcastle
United manager, Graeme
Souness, his lengthy injury
list is caused by the fibre
sand area used at their
training ground.
Eight of his first team are
suffering from hamstring or
thigh strains which Souness
attributes directly to the fibre
sand.
He said: “We’ve lost close
on 600 days to hamstrings
alone in the last three years
at the training ground. In the
two years before Newcastle
came to this training ground
we were on a par with the
rest of the Premiership. We
were losing about 90 days a
year to hamstring injuries.
We’re running treble that
now.”
“We have a very hard fibre
sand area that was the only
area we could really train on
last year and we felt that was
our biggest problem, and the
(hamstring) statistics bear
that out.”
His first team training has
been moved to the Academy
Training Ground.
Days OFF!
... or what Pitchcare contributors get
up to out of office hours
PETE MARRON, Head Groundsman, Lancashire CCC:
Ideally, I would like to spend some time taking the dog for a
walk - but I don’t have one! And if I offered to take my wife
for a walk she really would start worrying about me.
During the summer there is very little time off; occasionally I
get on to my local Sale Golf Club for a round and the
greenkeeper, Chris, knows when I’m about because of the
number of divots on the course! I like a game of golf but,
unfortunately, I’m not that good. Out of the season my
favourite hobby is getting bladdered. Me
and my wife have a great social life so
most of the weekend we are drinking,
and Monday and Tuesday are
spent recovering. Mid-week I
occasionally go into town with
my pal, Derek, for a drink and
we usually end up in one of the
more interesting establishments
- the Fantasy Bar or Long Legs.
One thing I definitely do not do
on my day off is talk about
cricket or wickets; I get enough of
that throughout the year.
Gardening is something else I
definitely avoid. The front lawn
has a good sprinkling of old
English flowers, which can
be a bit embarrassing as
most of the
neighbours know who
I am.
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2 www.pitchcare.com/re
5
BIGGA rebrand
Harrogate show
BIGGA has officially
rebranded the third
week in January as
“Harrogate Week”.
The decision was
taken to provide an
umbrella title for the
vast number of
events which occur
during the busiest six
days of the year. Two
exhibitions - BTME and
ClubHouse; the Continue to
Learn education programme;
R&A Seminar, AGM, and
numerous fringe events,
together with the fact that the
North Yorkshire town is
synonymous with BIGGA,
naming it Harrogate Week
seemed the natural option.
The aforementioned
Continue to Learn education
programme more than
doubles the educational
opportunities on offer than
ever before. More than 120
hours of education is
available for industry
professionals at every stage
of their careers on a wide
range of topics.
The programme, supported
by The GTC, is aimed at
Greenkeepers, Groundsmen,
Supervisors, Course
Managers, Secretaries, Club
Managers, golf club officials
and others working in the fine
turf industry and will include
two-day workshops, one-day
workshops, half-day
workshops and seminars.
The Association of Golf Club
Secretaries and the English
Golf Union, working together
OBITUARY
Gerald Brooks
1935-2005
Gerald Brooks sadly passed away
on the 21st August after a two
year battle with Cancer.
He had worked in the trade he
loved for over 45 years, firstly at
Huxleys Grass Machinery where in
the early days he worked with his
father, Jack.
Gerald worked for Huxleys for 25
years from when they were a
Ransomes distributor to the time
they imported the Cushman
range and developed their own
6
New management
course dates
Details of the next ‘Essential Management Skills’ course
have been announced on the pitchcare website.
The two-day course, delivered by trainer and careers
counsellor Frank Newberry, is ideal for anyone who works in
a supervisory or management position or who aspires to be
a manager and will take place on Thursday 12th January
and Thursday 13th April 2006 at Leicester Tigers Rugby
Club.
with BIGGA, will present a full
day of seminars aimed at golf
club managers, golf club
secretaries, golf club officials
and golf course managers.
The R&A will work together
with BIGGA to present a much
anticipated session on
Maintaining the Sustainable
Golf Course.
A Fringe Seminar
programme will also feature
presentations from exhibitors
at the BTME & ClubHouse
exhibition.
With an inspirational
Keynote Speaker, Explorer
and Adventurer and the man
behind the Operation Raleigh
project, Colonel John
Blashford Snell; the
presentation of the BIGGA
Golf Environment Awards and
the introduction of new
Master Greenkeepers, the
Continue to Learn Programme
will give many much food for
thought.
Harrogate Week runs from
Sunday January 21 – Friday
January 27, 2006
Full details of the 2006
Continue to Learn programme
are now available at
www.harrogateweek.org.uk.
manufactured products.
In 1987 Gerald started in
business with Turf Machinery and
subsequently launched three
other businesses including
Garfitts International Ltd, Trac Ltd
and Total Concrete with his sons
Andrew, Trevor and Clive.
In the 45 years of being in the
trade he never missed one IOG
exhibition from the early
Hurlingham days to the present
Saltex exhibitions at Windsor,
where he enjoyed meeting his
friends and acquaintances from
the trade immensely.
He will be missed by wife Pat,
and family of three sons and six
grandchildren.
Full details including a course itinerary can be found in the
education and training section. The cost, £239+VAT,
includes two days of intensive training (no more than 12
delegates per course), lunch, refreshments throughout the
day, course notes and a three month trainer helpline after
the course has finished. Online registration is now available
and payment can be made using Pitchcare’s secure online
payment facility, or an invoice can be sent to your
workplace. Visit www.pitchcare.com/training/ where you can
also register to receive our new education and training
e-newsletter.
Alan Pierce
(centre) with
joint runners-u
up
David Newton
(left) and
James Lindsay.
Alan Awarded 2005
TORO Student
Greenkeeper Prize.
Assistant Greenkeeper at Ham
Manor Golf Club wins top Award.
ALAN Pierce, assistant Greenkeeper at Ham Manor Golf
Club, West Sussex, has become 2005 champion student
greenkeeper, after winning the Toro Student Greenkeeper of
the Year Award.
The competition, now in its 16th year, is open to the
3,000-plus Greenkeepers in the UK and Ireland currently
studying for industry qualifications, who have been
nominated to enter by their colleges.
Alan was nominated by his course tutor at Plumpton
College and proceeded through a regional final before going
before a panel of specialist judges at the national final of
the competition, which is sponsored by turf machinery and
irrigation systems manufacturer Toro, and organised by
BIGGA.
Alan, 25, has been in greenkeeping since he was 15. In
2000 he took his NVQ Level 2 in Amenity Horticulture and
has since gone on to gain Level 3 in Sportsturf
Management. He has also worked for Toro dealer John
Shaw Machinery as a turf machinery technician and is
qualified as a factory-trained technician with a number of
turf machinery manufacturers.
The 2005 competition joint runners-up were David
Newton, 47, first assistant at Arrowe Park Golf Club,
Merseyside, who studied at Reasheath College; and James
Lindsay, 27, deputy head Greenkeeper at Bedfordshire Golf
Club, from Merrist Wood College.
Bill wins
ECB award
ADVISORY SERVICES
AERATION
ARTIFICIAL SURFACES
CONTRACT SERVICES
DRESSINGS & TREATMENTS
ECOLOGY
FINANCE & INSURANCE
CONSTRUCTION & MAINTENANCE
HEALTH & SAFETY
GRINDING
MOWERS
TRACTORS
TRENCHERS
BRUSHCUTTERS
CHAINSAWS
CULTIVATORS & ROTIVATORS
ROLLERS
HAND TOOLS
LINE MARKING EQUIPMENT
SCARIFIERS
SHREDDERS
SPRAYERS
OIL & FUEL
SOIL
TREES & PLANTS
TURF & SEED
VEHICLES
DRAINAGE
IRRIGATION
WATER MANAGEMENT
WEATHER SERVICES
HEALTH AND SAFETY
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
GOLF COURSE DESIGN
A1 ASSESSOR TRAINING
CUSTOMER CARE
MANAGING WATER
PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
L12 COACH TRAINING
A1 ASSESSOR UPGRADE TRAINING
BASIC WORD
BASIC EXCEL
BASIC POWERPOINT
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
MEDIA SKILLS
MANAGING POA ANNUA
INFLUENCING SKILLS
DISEASE MANAGEMENT
3 www.pitchcare.com/re
The ECB have announced this
year’s Groundsman of the Year
awards with Surrey’s Bill Gordon
named Groundsman of the Year in
both the four-day and one-day
pitch categories.
It is the third year in a row that
the Brit Oval’s groundstaff have
been recognised for the quality of
pitches at Surrey. Meanwhile
Taunton were named runners-up in
both the four-day and one-day
categories.
ECB First Class Cricket
Operations Manager, Alan
Fordham, said: “Umpires marks
have indicated a good overall
standard of pitches in both fourday and one-day cricket in 2005.
We are pleased to announce these
awards which recognise venues
and head groundsmen who have
excelled this season.”
“Special mention is made of Bill
Gordon at the Brit Oval and Philip
Frost at Taunton who have finished
winner and runner-up respectively
in both the four-day and one-day
pitch categories which is an
outstanding achievement. ECB
congratulates all groundsmen who
have won awards in recognition of
their work in 2005.”
Paul Sheldon, Chief Executive of
Surrey County Cricket Club, said:
“This is another great achievement
by Bill and his team. They produce
excellent wickets which allow
spectators at the Brit Oval to enjoy
watching the best possible contest.
A large part of the Brit Oval’s
strong reputation as a world class
venue is due to the wickets
produced by our groundstaff.”
Four-d
day pitch
Winner: The Brit Oval
Runner-up: Taunton
One-d
day pitch
Winner: The Brit Oval
Runner-up: Taunton
Outgrounds
Winner: Southgate
Runner-up: Scarborough
UCCEs
Winner: Oxford
Runner-up: Loughborough
Commendation
Four-day pitch: Lord’s, Chelmsford,
Trent Bridge, Old Trafford
One-day pitch: Sophia Gardens,
Lord’s, The Citylets Grange
Outgrounds: Whitgift School,
Oakham School
E x hi biti o n
HARROGATE WEEK is so much more than an exhibition for the golf
and turf industry. Packed with innovative ideas, product launches and
an outstanding education programme. With a Careers Fair, Job Shop,
AGM’s, and forums running throughout the week along with Dinners,
Receptions and a Banquet it’s the only place to be each January.
Continue
to learn
EXHIBITION 24 - 26 January 2006
EDUCATION 22 - 27 January 2006
FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO REGISTER ONLINE VISIT
www.harrogateweek.org.uk
Organised by
E d uc tio n
a
7
ROBOT
Review
By Laurence Gale MSc & Ellie Tait
The Pitchcare staff are always
interested in innovation and new ways
of working but know from talking to
grounds managers that the latest
'robotic mowers' are viewed with
suspicion as very few people have
seen them in action. We believe that
one of the ways that manufacturers
and grounds staff can make greater
advances in product technology is to
work together, so we invited three
manufacturers to bring their
machines to the Midlands to be tried
and tested by a group of grounds men
and women from local schools,
councils and contracting companies.
In what must surely be an industry
‘first’, the ‘BigMow’ from Turfmech,
the MAS01 and MAS02 from
McMurtry and the Ransomes Spider
were used together at one venue.
Many historic events have been
recorded at Rugby School over the
years, but perhaps not since William
Webb Ellis first ran with a ball there in
1823 has there ever been anything
more worth watching than three
robotic mowers mowing the grass
simultaneously on the school rugby
pitch.
We all congregated for coffee at the
Pavilion at 10.30 where we outlined
the structure of the day and
introduced the manufacturers to our
invited guests. The group then made
its way onto the pitch where each
manufacturer introduced their
machine and explained the history of
its development, the technology
involved and how they see it being
adopted into its intended market.
Our guests were then split into three
groups, each being given the
opportunity to operate the robotic
mowers, look at them close-u
up and
ask more detailed questions before
moving round to see the next
machine.
SPIDER
Ransomes SPIDER
RANSOMES
OF all the mowers, the Ransomes Spider
certainly lives up to its name. Its unique
compact concept with 360-d
degree
turning capacity and an array of gadgetry
made it a sure-ffire winner when it came
to our guests ‘having a go’, especially
those from the ‘Playstation Generation’,
who quickly got to grips with the control
pack that was strapped to their waist.
Launched at Saltex in 2004 and
already the winner of five international
awards for design and innovation, the
Spider was designed with operator safety
in mind. Its ability to mow slopes with up
to a 40% incline means that the risk of
operators slipping down banks whilst
strimming can be a thing of the past.
It’s built in the Czech Republic and
distributed by Ransomes Jacobsen in the
UK and Europe. Being four wheel drive
and powered by a neat 17hp Kawasaki
engine allows it to track along and work
on most terrains, even in wetland areas.
Our demonstrator, Joe Turner told the
groups that he’d mown waist-h
height
vegetation with a Spider and drove the
machine onto a ramp so they could see
the substantial blade underneath. Its
cutting width is 800mm, with height
adjustments ranging from 80mm130mm.
He was also quick to point out that the
Spider isn’t a robotic mower, it’s a
remote controlled mower and human
input is necessary at all times. Successful
mowing with a Spider requires training
and experience of working with it on
steep terrain.
The ergonomic remote control
transmitter is strapped to the operator’s
waist. It enables them to:
• Start and stop the engine
• Preset the travelling speed (turtle
rabbit)
• Engage or disengage the mowing
device
• Adjust the height of cut
• Change the travelling speed and
direction
• Steering the machine through 360
degrees
The spider will shut down if it travels
past its operating range of 50m, if it
encounters a similar radio frequency in
the area, or if the signal is interrupted.
Apart from removing the risk of ‘trip
and slip’, using a Spider means there’s
no exposure to vibration, reduced noise
levels, reduced PPE protection required
and no physical contact required with the
machine during use. And the groups were
impressed by how easy it was to load the
Spider onto its trailer, reducing the need
for manual handling.
It retails at £15,000 with the complete
trailer, including loading bars and legs,
costing a further £850. As a specialist
piece of machinery the Spider has proved
a popular purchase for hire companies.
Our guests from Rugby and Warwick
Councils were so impressed, they asked
the local Ransomes distributor if he
could show it to another group of staff on
some rough banks nearby. After a
successful demonstration, they’re now
considering the possibility of renting or
buying one between them.
BigMow
Turfmech
BigMow
Watching Turfmech’s Austin
Jarrett walking around the
rugby pitch alongside a green,
turtle-like object, you'd be
forgiven for thinking that
BigMow was some sort of pet
he’d brought along for the
exercise. It is, however a
‘mowing system’, the latest
offering from Turfmech
Machinery. The smallest of the
machines on the field, it was
launched at Saltex in
September and is intended
primarily for large domestic
applications.
By lifting its lid and pressing
a button on the control panel,
Austin instructed it to return to
its docking station, a small box
placed at the edge of the pitch
which is where BigMow auto
docks and recharges its 30-volt
batteries when they run low or
when its mowing is complete.
He’d visited the site the day
before and installed a length
of cable just below the surface
around the perimeter of the
pitch. At a domestic property,
the cable would be installed
around the edge of the lawn
and around borders and
shrubs. It’s this cable that
produces an invisible fence
over which BigMow will not
cross.
Once it had docked, there
was a whirring noise as the
blades increased in speed to
spin off any excess clippings
before the mower shuts down
to recharge.
We gathered round to take a
closer look under the lid to see
how BigMow received its
instructions. A simple menu
shows a list of tasks that can be
selected and enables the user
to set the machine on a timer.
Next to the keypad, there’s a
gauge for adjusting the height
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•We are a family business that has been established for over 45
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•Hurrell’s are possibly the largest stockist of grass, game cover and
wild flower mixtures in the North Of England
go for growth
Hurrells
Beverley Road
Cranswick, Driffield
East Yorkshire YO25 9PF
Tel: (01377) 271400
Fax: (01377) 271500
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•We can, if necessary and providing your order comes to us by
midday, despatch your order 24 hours anywhere in the country.
•Provide Expert free advice on mixtures as individual as your club,
your pitch and your requirements.
•Only choose seeds that pass Hurrell’s unique rigorous Quality
control checks.
•Hurrell’s are a real, progressive company with an ear to the ground
looking and developing new products and ideas all the time.
www.hmseeds.co.uk
4 www.pitchcare.com/re
BigMow will slow down if
it ‘sees’ anything in front
of it and will then mow in
another direction
of cut. This is done by lifting a
pin and sliding the lever to the
desired height. And there the
human input ends.
Because of its size, we were able
to look at the workings of the
BigMow in more detail and Austin
flipped the machine over so we
could see the ‘business end’. At
the rear were two large drive
wheels which steer and at the
front, four casters which provide
the machine’s suspension. Across
the centre are five cutting discs,
each with three ‘Stanley knife’like blades. Each disc has its own
electric motor and a smaller,
plastic disc on the under side
which follows the contours of the
ground, preventing scalping.
Serrated discs may be attached if
the machine is going to be used in
an area where there is a lot of
debris or even golf balls.
The question of safety was
raised, particularly with it being
used in a domestic setting where
children and pets might get in its
way. The machine mows in
random directions and travels at 3
km/hr, but the sonar eyes on the
top of the machine will slow it
down if it ‘sees’ anything in front
of it. If this happens, it will turn
and mow in another direction.
The front of the machine has a
touch-sensitive strip, allowing it to
gently bump into an object before
reversing, turning and moving in
another direction.
Turfmech has made some clever
operational safeguards too. If the
temperature drops below 6
degrees celsius, the computer
recognises it’s too cold to mow
and returns the machine to its
docking station until the
temperature rises, when it sets it
off again. If the grass hasn’t
grown, BigMow will recognise it is
not cutting and return to the
charge station to wait for the grass
to grow.
Another guest asked about
presentation. If you want your
lawn nicely striped, BigMow’s not
for you. It mows in one-metre
strips and will easily tackle any
area up to five acres but it mows
constantly, creating a smooth
surface and thickening the sward
as it clips the grass, creating the
tiniest clippings.
By mowing this way, it
eliminates the problem of
disposing of cuttings. Despite its
£7,800 price tag, it has minimal
running costs. Austin estimates it
will use the same amount of
electricity in one year as a freezer
and a winter service with blade
change will set you back £150-£200.
There are other robotic mowers
available to buy, but they can only
mow up to half an acre, leaving
BigMow to tackle the premium end
of the domestic market.
5 www.pitchcare.com/re
The ‘business’
end of BigMow
15
& 02
McMurtry MAS01 & MAS02
MAS01
BigMow looked considerably
‘little’ compared to the other two
machines making their way up
and down the rugby pitch. Ben
and Richard McMurtry had
bought their MAS01 and MAS02
mowers along for us all to see.
The grey and yellow MAS01
cylinder mower has been designed
for large stadia and sports
grounds. The largest of the
machines on show during the day,
it was an impressive sight to see it
gliding up and down the field. It
was noticeably quiet, producing
nothing more than a soft hum as
it mowed the distinctive stripes
into the surface. And if you’re a
groundsman who likes to explore
your creative side at work, it’s able
to create a range of geometric
patterns on turf. It can even be
programmed to vary the pattern
each time it cuts to avoid
compaction of the surface by
following the same route each
time.
We wondered how a machine of
that size could create these
patterns with such accuracy. Ben
pressed a button and lifted the
grass collection box at the front of
the machine to reveal the 36 inch
wide cutting blade. It’s this,
coupled with the laser-guided
steering system that controls the
precise pattern creation. On top
of the machine is a long-range,
eye-safe laser scanner which
McMurtry
operates in conjunction with a
number of fixed reflectors around
the pitch. The on-board
computer uses the laser to
continuously calculate the
machine’s position on the
pitch, sending signals to the
steering system to keep to
the pre-programmed
path with
exceptional
accuracy.
Like BigMow,
once it has been
programmed it can be left to
mow the entire pitch unattended.
Powered by rechargeable batteries
and electric motors, it can mow
for more than six hours and can
cover more than 12,000 square
metres before it needs recharging.
There are four settings of cut normal, quality, quick and slow for
a first cut. For greater aesthetics,
the cutting cylinder can be turned
off for pitch rolling and striping
without mowing and those
concerned about putting large
pieces of machinery on a worn
surface were told that the machine
can also be programmed to avoid
muddy goal-mouths.
There is an option to let
clippings fly or have them
delivered via a chute into the 70litre capacity grass box. You can
programme the MAS01 to run to
any part of the stadium and
empty the high-lift box
completely automatically, when
full.
All programming is done on a
control pad which slots into the
top of the machine. It’s connected
by a flexible wire so that an
operator can manually over-ride
the automatic operation if they
choose.
The prospect of such a large
machine running unattended in a
football stadium meant that the
group was understandably
interested in its safety features. A
warning sound is given when it
starts up and a beacon on the rear
flashes when it's moving. It has
ultrasonic obstacle detection,
bringing the machine to a
complete halt if an object is in its
path. It also has fail-safe soft
bumpers at the front and rear and
three emergency stop buttons on
top for instant shut-down.
Our guests were quite obviously
impressed with the technology
being demonstrated by the
MAS01, but eyebrows were
certainly raised when the brothers
told them how operator and
machine communicate with
eachother. The operator is able to
supervise the mower from their
mobile phone and can even check
up on its progress via text
message. Likewise, once the
mower has finished its match day
preparation and wants to head
back to the garage for a cup of tea
(sorry- couldn’t resist it!), it’ll text
the operator to tell him the job’s
done. Groundsmen needn’t have
nightmares about coming into
work on a matchday and finding
half the pitch uncut as the
machine will also text to alert the
operator if there’s problem.
The absence of an engine
means low maintenance and
running costs - less than 50p per
pitch. There’s no petrol and
therefore no harmful emissions.
However, the group thought it will
take a groundsman to understand
the value of freeing up a member
of staff to carry out other tasks
before they’d consider paying its
£30,000 price tag.
The McMurtry brothers also
kindly bought along their new
prototype MAS02, which works on
the same principles as the MAS01
but is a rotary version intended
for use by contractors. With a 60”
(1.5m) mulching cutting deck and
a zero turn radius, it can cover up
to 1.7 acres per hour and can run
for up to nine hours. The MAS02
will be launched in 2006 with a
price tag of £25,000.
ROBOT
Review
Conclusions
ONCE all the three groups had
seen each machine we all got
together in the Pavilion to
round up the day. Our guests
were all surprised to find out
how well advanced the
production of robotic mowers
was - indeed some of them
were not even aware that
robotic mowers existed, let
alone that they were being
marketed and were available
for general purchase.
They were very interested in
talking to the manufacturers
and understanding each
machine’s capabilities. They
also commented that they felt
more comfortable about what
robotic mowers had to offer
the industry and it made them
think about what part they
may play in its future.
Importantly, they had been
asked to think about different
applications and didn’t regard
them as a threat. They were
satisfied that none of the four
machines on the pitch were a
gimmick, and that each had
the technology and the
usability to be a viable
management tool that
complements what they do.
James Mead, the Head
Groundsman from Rugby
School said that he could see
many benefits from the
development and use of these
mowers in helping maintain
sportsturf. In particular, he
would welcome the fact that
his staff could carry on with
other important tasks which
would improve the playability
and condition of his pitches
whilst the machine mowed.
Our groups suggested that
the machines could be
adapted to carry out other
operations such as sweeping,
aerating and scarifying - often
mundane jobs which take up a
lot of time and resources.
The majority of delegates
were from Local Authorities
and therefore understood that
neither the McMurty MAS01
nor the BigMow were suitable
for working in L.A.
environments in their present
format.
Many recognised that the
Bigmow would be more suited
to the private domestic
market, maintaining lawns for
lazy gardeners and at the
same time creating a good
talking point for the
neighbours - a definite ‘boys
toy’. Several guests expressed
concern that it might be a
target for thieves who wouldn’t
know that that machine is
useless without its docking
station or cabling. It was also
suggested that BigMow would
make an ideal Mole deterrent
if it runs randomly across the
lawn throughout the night.
Although impressed with the
McMurty mowers advanced
laser technology, many
thought that organisations and
sports clubs would be put off
by its £30,000 price tag. They
suggested that grounds
managers in America would
be more likely to use it, where
there are larger areas that
need maintaining. In the
States, new technology is
welcomed and embraced and
the groups thought that the
UK turf industry is still very
much for keeping with
traditional groundmanship
values and tools.
However, many recognised
the potential of the MAS02
rotary mower, especially for
use on horse racing and polo
fields in the UK as you can
leave it to mow unattended
during the night. One
gentleman suggested it could
be used on air fields, cutting
the great expanses of grass
between runways.
And, probably due to our
mainly Local Authority guests,
it was the Ransomes Spider
that created most interest.
‘Gadgets’ have always been
popular and there’s no doubt
that using the Spider at the
demo was fun. Our guests
thought the normally dull, and
difficult, prospect of mowing
banks could suddenly become
the task that everybody fights
over if they purchased one.
Especially as it is a lot easier
than walking up, down and
along steep banks and slopes.
Like all machines, there is a
danger level to be considered,
especially with the nature of
the terrain it has been built to
work on.
The event gave everyone
who attended the unique
opportunity to see the
machines working and to form
their own opinions. Crucially,
the manufacturers were able
to gauge this opinion and gain
valuable feedback from our
guests. They were pleased
with the level of interest their
machines received and we
hope it will encourage them to
continue pushing machine
technology forward for the
benefit of the end user and
the surfaces they maintain.
Editors note:- Pitchcare is
looking for product review
venues across the UK. If
you'd like to host a similar
event, please email
Laurence@pitchcare.com.
EACH issue
we catch up
with a
leading
turfgrass
professional
and ask him
or her what’s
going on in ..
Lives
READERS
Who are you? Chris Wood, Pitches
Consultant for the England &
Wales Cricket Board
What would you be if not in this
industry? God only knows. It’s all
I’ve ever known since I left school!
How are you? Purring with pride
and satisfaction as an Englishman
after the most memorable cricket
season ever. Other than that, not
in too bad a shape for a 55 year
old!
Who and what to a Caribbean
Island? Cheesy I know but I’m
married to a South American who
loves the sun and rhythm of the
Spanish guitar as much as I do.
Trouble is I would have to take
someone along who could play
the thing as well. (The guitar, not
my wife!)
Where are you? At my office,
based at my old patch at the
Shenley Cricket Centre in Herts. 3
miles from home in London
Colney and 20 miles from ECB HQ
at Lord's.
What are you on? Sorting out end
of season issues, advisory visits
and attending lots of meetings
etc. interspersed with copious
amounts of really strong Yorkshire
tea for my attention span!
What’s bugging you? Paperwork
and traffic jams!
What are you reading? “As It Was”
The Memoirs of Fred Trueman.
Professional Yorkshireman and
t’greatest fast bowler that ever
drew breath. My childhood idol
and inspiration to make cricket a
lifetime occupation.
Trade shows - good bad or ugly?
Great for networking and an
excuse to get p****d. (not that I
ever do!)
What will you do when you retire?
Probably be put out to grass! (A
stud farm would be good!)
Seriously, no idea at the moment
although it's not long to go!
Favourite bit of kit? That’s got to
be my 36 inch Allett Regal that I
loved in the 80’s with a Reliant
engine, 3speed, reverse gearbox
etc. - I felt like a turf-bound Hells
Angel!
Top 3 bowling heroes? Fred
Trueman, Richard Hadlee, Darren
Gough.
Favourite TV programme?
CSI & CSI Miami. Kind of reminds
me of Pitch Panel investigations!
Traditional Cricket or Twenty20?
I like both forms of cricket
equally.
Favourite film? The Alamo. I think
it’s my siege mentality. Stubborn
and never give up until the end!
Most likely to be heard saying..?
“Looks very easy-paced to me” or
“I’ll not being paying that price!”
Best experience? Achieving a First
Class status match and
recognition 5 years from restoring
a disused and run-down venue
with zilch equipment to start with
& Monday 12th Sept at the Oval!
Least likely to be heard saying..?
“Looks a right quick belter to me”
or “I don’t mind paying the price
as it’s got a famous label!"
Worst experience? Being spat on
and finding my tyres let down at
10pm at night, in the pouring rain,
250 miles from home after
heated pitch panel hearings + not
making the grade as a player and
having to leave the Oval staff.
Why this industry? Outdoor life
and the nearest connection to
broken dreams of becoming a
professional cricketer.
Shane Warne v Steve Birks - who
won? Stevie Birks hands down
because Warney had a strop and
resorted to childish scraping of
the surface, then scuttled off to
the press announcing that: “The
Groundsman should keep his
mouth shut and get on with his
job to produce a good Test Pitch” Birksy did and the Aussies,
Warney et al lost the match priceless!
6 www.pitchcare.com/re
SPORT
for
ALL
Funding for
Sports Clubs
Participation the key to funding
the growth of grass-rroots sport
The Government’s strategy to get the
population more physically active is
filtering through to grass-roots sport,
where aspects of local provision such as
community involvement can hold the key
to funding streams for cash-strapped
clubs.
Soundbites may come and go but Sport
for All is still the name of the game - the
greater the public's level of sports
participation, the greater the opportunity
for local clubs to bid successfully for
precious funding. But there is no money
tree from which they simply pluck blank
cheques.
Continued...
To stand the best chance of
receiving a grant or loan, clubs
will need to prepare a detailed
written business plan
OFTEN it is a question of a hard-won
fight for cash and of knowing ‘how to
play the game’, whatever the size of the
club.
In essence, we are witnessing the
transition from an amateur to a
professional sporting dynamic, even at
grass-roots level, and clubs have to
demonstrate their professionalism by
showing funding bodies that they can
run their organisation to proven
successful models.
National sporting agendas aside, a
huge opportunity will open up for clubs
across the country now that London will
host the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic
Games - some say the best opportunity
this country has ever had for inspiring
people of all ages and backgrounds to
get involved in sport.
A large slice of the funding that sports
clubs receive annually is generated by the
National Lottery. Each of the home
countries has a national sports council
(Sport England, Sport Scotland, Sports
Council Wales, Sports Council for
Northern Ireland), and they are the
agencies charged with administering
Lottery funds in accordance with their
own key objectives.
In England, the main funding stream
for sports clubs to apply to develop their
facilities is the Community Club
Development Programme. Set up in
December 2002 and administered by
Sport England, the CCDP is a
collaboration between the Department
16
of Culture, Media and Sport, Sport
England and 16 national governing
bodies of sport (four band A and 12
band B). The £60m programme is
earmarked for some 250-300 projects
designed to meet the CCDP's aims of
creating ‘a sustainable and financial
viable sports club infrastructure in
England that links with schools, provides
appropriate support and pathways for
identifying and developing talented
individuals and meets the needs of local
communities’.
Capital funding programmes exist in
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland,
each with their own criteria and levels of
support (see Table: National Sports
Councils).
In Eire, the Irish Sports Council
channels funds primarily through
national governing bodies and its
network of Local Sports Partners.
In all cases the objective is to get
people to start, stay and succeed in sport
at every level.
Eligibility criteria
FUNDING sources lay down set criteria
for eligibility. To stand the best chance of
receiving a grant or loan, clubs will need
to prepare a detailed written business
plan.
This will demonstrate the intent of the
club to not only increase participation,
but also to maintain their facilities at a
high standard. When allocating funding,
the respective sports governing body and
national sports council, for example, will
ask what the club will contribute to the
local economy and community.
If the club can convince the agency
that they can do this, as well as promote
the health and fitness of those using
their facilities, they stand a good chance
of being granted funding. The accent on
community participation does not rule
out the involvement of clubs in elite
sport.
Applying clubs might have aspirations
to train aspiring Olympic athletes at
their site, for example, as well as running
a community sports programme.
Excellence is a major priority for the
national sports councils. A club that
shows the intent to train athletes at
Olympic standard will attract interest
from funding bodies, as this is seen as
meeting seal of excellence. The potential
for participation will also be increased as
higher standards of equipment and
training make the club a more attractive
and enduring proposition for a younger
and broader catchment.
By embracing the concept of
excellence, clubs are seen to be leading
the way in contributing to their
community, in training professional
athletes, training and employing coaches
and encouraging youngsters to engage in
sports activities. Clubs who seek funding
should ensure that the potential they
have to achieve excellence is clearly
outlined in their business plan.
The first port of call
should be your own sport’s
governing body
Commercial funding
FUNDING from the commercial sector
represents a major source of financial
support for sport clubs. Companies can
be keen to back local and regional
facilities but merely need the incentives
and formal administrative structure in
place for them to plough in money with
minimal fuss and red tape.
Sportsmatch, run in England, Scotland
and Wales, is the government’s business
sponsorship incentive scheme for grassroots sport, assists in this process by
matching pound for pound commercial
investment in approved community
sports development programmes. In line
with the governments overall strategy, it
is directed at projects that aim to
increase participation in sport at grassroots level and improve basic skills.
Sporting projects typically involve
coaching and development programmes,
which aim to increase participation and
improve basic skills. Applicants can
include national governing bodies, clubs,
schools, local authorities or other
competent deliverers of sporting
experience.
Process summary
THE first point of call should be your
own sport’s governing body. Find out
who the regional or local representative
is, discuss the project to see if it fits in
with the governing body’s strategy.
Without support from your governing
body you are unlikely to receive funding.
Draft an outline plan of the project
with estimated costs. Bear in mind that
you will not receive a 100% grant (50%
will be good going), so consider where
the rest of the funds are going to come
from.
Contact your local sports council to
discuss the project; you should get some
indication of whether you are likely to
receive funding if you were to go ahead
with an application.
If you get a green light, complete the
application form. Make sure you cover
all the issues, and highlight the works
and programmes you are proposing to
do which fit in with the sports council’s
and sport’s priorities. Also, make sure
you get estimates from reputable
companies. The more thorough the
initial application, the better your
chances. Also, check when grant award
meetings are taking place and give
yourself a sensible timescale for getting
the application in by the allotted
deadline.
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7 www.pitchcare.com/re
17
Who you gonna call?
Funding AGENCIES
National Sports Councils
Sport England - £5,000 plus; decisions
made locally by 9 regional sports boards.
It is important that any application meets
the regional priorities and criteria. Website
has easy to follow guidance notes.
Project details can be submitted online
using the enquiry form
www.sportengland.org/funding, or you can
phone to discuss your idea on 08458 508
508. Excellent funding case studies.
Smaller fund - Awards for All
www.awardsforall.org.uk - for grants
between £500 and £5,000.
Sports Council Wales - Sportlot Capital,
schemes over £5000, up to 70% of costs
for voluntary organisations. Guidelines
available on website www.sports-ccouncilwales.co.uk. Smaller Community Chest, up
to £750 in any one year, and specifically
mentions groundsmanship and ground
improvements in the eligibility criteria. Tel:
029 2030 0500
Sports Council for Northern Ireland Building Sport Scheme for capital projects
which includes outdoor playing surfaces.
Up to 85% grants available (95% if in a
particular priority area).
www.sportscouncil-n
ni.org.uk
18
Sport Scotland - www.sportscotland.org.uk.
Funding primarily through local authorities
and governing bodies. The National
Strategy for Sport has 11 targets but no
specific mention of improvement to or
additional pitches. Delivery of the strategy
is, however, heavily dependent on local
authorities and others working in
partnership to contribute to capital and
revenue costs. Difficult to find what
funding is available and to whom.
Commercial Funds
Irish Sports Council www.irishsportscouncil.ie. Funding is
allocated to sports National Governing
Bodies who have to apply each year for
funding. Clubs, one assumes, have to
apply to their respective sport's governing
body. As an alternative the Department of
Arts, Sport and Tourism have a capital
grant fund for sports and recreational
facilities. Up to 70% grant (80% in certain
disadvantaged areas); floodlighting,
playing surfaces (natural and synthetic)
are included in the project listings.
www.arts-ssport-ttourism.gov.ie
The Football Foundation. Main funding
schemes:Capital Projects - Funding is available to
refurbish or construct changing rooms,
grass and artificial pitches and clubhouses
for community benefit. Funds applications
with a 50% target level of grant support
but, in exceptional cases, higher levels of
support, up to a ceiling of 90%, will be
available.
**NOTE FOR UK SPORTS CLUBS - without
support from your sports' governing body it
is very unlikely you will receive funding
from your National Sports Council.
Sportsmatch - Government supported
scheme to encourage local businesses to
support grass roots sport. Matched
funding available for approved projects.
www.sportsmatch.co.uk Tel. 44(0)207 273
1942
Sport Specific Grants
FOOTBALL
Schools Capital Projects - Grants of up to
£1m are available to primary and
secondary schools across England, to build
or modernise football pitches, changing
rooms, floodlights or multi -use games
areas, providing new opportunities for
extending sporting provision for pupils and
communities.
Goalpost Safety - Provides
funding for the replacement of
unsafe goalposts. The
Foundation will assist in
funding half the cost of a pair
of goals up to £1,500.
Contact:
www.footballfoundation.org.uk
RUGBY UNION
Community rugby will be
spearheading the Rugby
Football Union's new strategic
plan under a £14m cash
injection for the sport over
three years. The bulk of the
money will be ploughed into
facilities such as training
pitches, floodlights and
clubhouses via the Community
Club Development
Programme, the Rugby
Football Foundation and the
newly announced National
Sports Foundation.
The Rugby Football
Foundation itself provides two
forms of funding An interest-free loan
Scheme of up to £100,000
and pound for pound provision
called Groundmatch Grant
Scheme, which is available for
projects between £1,500 and
£5,000. Recent grants have
been awarded for pitch
improvements, pitch drainage,
pitch purchase and floodlights.
Eligibility criteria and
application forms can be
found under Rugby Football
Foundation on the RFU
website www.rfu.com
CRICKET
Funding available via the
Community Club Development
Programme. The ECB have
identified 1,453 Focus Clubs
nationwide. A Focus Club is
one that has been identified
for a clear strategic reason,
and one that is committed to
long-term junior development.
Each Focus Club will be
expected to meet certain
criteria in return for ECB
resources. There are a number
of priority areas including fine
turf (pitches, outfields,
drainage and grass practice)
and non-turf pitch/net
systems. Information on
www.ecb.co.uk in the
Development section.
LAWN TENNIS
It is not made clear on the
website www.lta.org.uk but, as
tennis is one of the 4 Band A
sports (with football, cricket
and rugby union) selected by
Sport England, clubs will have
access to funds via the
Community Club Development
Programme. There are
guidance notes on planning
facility projects and how to
access funding, but no specific
information or advice on
priorities or projects suitable
for funding.
BOWLS
Grants purely for greens
improvements are difficult to
find and, if any have been
awarded, it is likely to be from
a local funding source. Greens
improvements are generally
encompassed in an overall
project to improve a park or
sports facility. As such, funding
has been sourced from local
community agencies, local
authorities, National Lottery
Awards for All fund.
GOLF
There are examples of funding,
from local and national
agencies, for environmental
projects such as the
creation/enhancement of
wildlife areas. Funding is
available for woodlands
management and
development
www.forestry.gov.uk. The Royal
& Ancient's Golf Development
Committee have a
reconditioned greenkeeping
machinery programme, but
examples on the website only
show funding overseas
www.randa.org
RUGBY LEAGUE
Funding is not available from
the governing body, but
guidance is given on suitable
funding sources such as the
sports councils' capital and
community schemes, local
authorities and Sportsmatch.
RACING
Horseracing Betting Levy
Board. www.hblb.org.uk The
Board supports a continuing
programme of improvements
with interest-free loans from
its Capital Fund. High priority
projects include improvement
of the track, working areas
(such as weighing rooms,
stableyards and hostels).
Financial support is also
allocated each year to
promote Research and
Development projects
designed to improve the horse
welfare and related
infrastructure at racecourses.
Projects are proposed for
funding by the Jockey Club
Racecourse Committee.
Grants approved in 2005/06
include support for a project to
establish racecourse watering
best practice at £10,000 a
year for four years which
started in 2002.
8 www.pitchcare.com/re
19
Case STUDIES
Timperley Cricket, Hockey
and Lacrosse Club
“The process of bidding for
Lottery money has become far
easier than it once was”, says
Colin Taylor, former club
chairman and author of the
club’s first Lottery bid in 1997
in which he put the case for
funding for accommodation
and changing facilities and an
administration centre to
replace the traditional wooden
housing.
That bid failed, a fact that
the club was made aware of
some 20 months after they
had lodged the application.
“We were left high and dry
because the funding goalposts
had been changed due, in the
main, to a change in priority
by one of the governing body’s
of the sports we are involved
with,” recalls Taylor.
It was their second bid for
Lottery cash in 1999 that
ended in the award of a
£0.4m grant from Sport
England to part-fund a £1.1m
redevelopment. “The newer
grant-aiding process allows
clubs to hear far earlier if they
have made a successful bid,”
Taylor says.
Timperley’s approach to
winning Lottery cash is a little
different from the norm, Taylor
believes. “We didn’t set out to
chase funding,” he explains.
“Rather, we undertook a root
and branch evaluation of the
club and its future, then put
forward a sports development
strategy embracing a 20 to
30-year track record of
community involvement (the
club has been very active in
schools through their longestablished post of Lacrosse
Development Officer, for
example).
“We then went to Sport
England’s North-west region
and asked them: ‘Will your
Lottery funding fit this
strategy?’” The game plan
succeeded.
Although the funding
application process has grown
less cumbersome, the task is
still a daunting one for clubs,
Taylor believes “Funding
procedures and programmes
can, to the inexperienced fund
raiser, to be confusing. This
creates a real problem for
community and amateur
sports clubs.”
Given his experience
working within local authority
fund administration and
application departments,
Taylor is well-placed to talk on
the subject.
“Applying for funding can be
a big, long, confusing process.
My view is not to chase the
funding at all but to put
together a robust financial and
operational management
plan, decide what you want to
achieve and proceed from
there.”
“If you do not run your club
as a business, you cannot
demonstrate to funding
sources any trustworthiness in
delivery. You
have to put
your
management
house in
order and run
profitably.”
Although
Taylor admits
his
experience with the funding
process is “mixed”, he believes
that Timperley represents a
good example of a club
working in partnership with
local and regional agencies
and the community.
“It is our strong record with
Trafford borough for example
that helped us secure full
funding for a sports
development officer, in
association with the authority
and Greater Manchester
Sports Partnership. We are
creating employment.”
Despite past trials and
tribulations, Taylor is broadly
praising of the Lottery bidding
process. “It made us look
closely at ourselves and we
continue to apply some of the
lessons we learned from doing
that. Lottery bidding worked
for us, that’s for sure.”
“Applying for funding can be a big, long,
confusing process. My view is not to chase the
funding at all but to put together a robust
financial and operational management plan”
Ashmore Cricket Club,
North Dorset
ASHMORE’S claim to fame is
that it is the highest village in
Dorset. It is located at the
southernmost end of the
Wiltshire Downs in beautiful
rolling countryside.
Pitchcare’s Peter Britton
was, for many years, both a
player and club chairman of
the village cricket team and it
was he who sought to replace
the 1950’s Nissen hut, that
doubled as both a village hall
and pavilion, with something
more respectable.
“The team had known
some success in the Village
Knock-out tournament in the
1970’s but plummeted down
the local leagues in the
1980’s, only to recover again
in the early 1990’s” says
Peter.
It was this resurgence, and
the newly available Lottery
funding, that prompted Peter
to research just what was
available.
“I approached the Lottery
Sports Fund, the local council,
the County council and
various other bodies.
Everything looked so
promising that, with the help
of a few other club members,
I prepared detailed plans for a
new village facility ... and
that’s when the problems
really started!”
The old Nissen hut was
hardly ever used by the village
except for a few hardy souls
playing whist once a week in
the winter, a few rodents and
countless spiders. And, of
course, the cricket team in
the summer.
“I was so confident that we
would get the villagers
approval” said Peter, “and
was delighted when many of
the 150 inhabitants turned up
to hear our proposal. We had
Powerpoint presentations,
plans, a build cost of £74,000
and promised funding
totalling over £40,000 from
various bodies even before we
had completed our Lottery
bid.”
“What I had completely
overlooked was the villagers
themselves! I had gone off on
my mission without
considering them. It must
have appeared to them that
we were undertaking some
sort of cloak and dagger
operation.”
So not surprisingly, in
hindsight, a few weeks later
the project was taken over by
the Village with one member
of the cricket club sitting on
the newly formed village hall
committee. Over the following
months, new plans were
drawn up by a professional
architect at a cost of £15,000
(10% of the estimated build
cost) and fund raising
activities were being
organised by the the village.
“Their hearts were certainly
in the right place” says Peter
“but at times it seemed more
Dibley than Wembley. The
drawn out negotiations
between the committee and
the Lottery fund, including
one refused bid, meant that
the Lottery Sports Fund offer
had disappeared along with
the £40,000 already
promised to the cricket club.
So other areas of Lottery.”
funding were targeted. Their
first criteria was that the
‘sports’ side had to be
excluded from the bid if the
building was to be a village
hall - and I still don’t
understand that. It also
required ‘proof’ that we could
cater for ethnic minorities (in
a Dorset village), along with
various other strict criteria.”
The build cost rose to
£220,000.
Was the hall ever built? It
was completed last month almost 11 years after the
initial presentation to the
village - and it looks fantastic.
Lesson learned? “For a
small sports club I’d say that
however good your idea is,
however viable and however
certain that you are doing
everything ‘by the book’,
always make sure you enter
into dialogue with as many
‘interested parties’ as
possible.”
“My big mistake was in
thinking that I and the cricket
team were doing the villagers
‘a favour’ by knocking down
the old nissen hut and
building a brand new hall. I
think, more than anything, I
hurt their pride! ”
WEED
OF TH
MONTHE
Japanese
KNOTWEED
(Fallopia japonica)
Fallopia japonica, commonly known
as Japanese Knotweed, is also
known as Polygonum cuspidatum and
Reynoutria japonica. This
rhizomatous perennial invades
habitats primarily through
vegetative reproduction, though the
plants are known to produce
abundant displays of tiny white
flowers followed by seed.
Japanese Knotweed is a prolific
weed that grows in dense clumps up
to 3m in height, on tubular stems
that ascend from the base of the
plant. The plant dies back each
year, leaving the stems to form a
protective framework over the newly
forming emerging shoots that begin
to grow in the following spring.
The roots are woody and have been
recorded to depths of 1-5m or
more. The plant forms rhizomes
0.5-5cm in diameter that spread up
to 7m laterally each year. The ability
of this plant to reproduce itself by
rhizomes is the reason this weed so
invasive.
Knotweed forms panicles of white
flowers up to 10cm long. The plant
flowers from August to October
before dying back to leave brittle
hollow stems that stand throughout
the winter.
Leaves are 6-12 cm x 5-10 cm in
size, broadly ovate and truncate at
the base.
Knotweed can reproduce itself by
seed and by rhizomes. It’s vigorous
powers of vegetative reproduction
mean that it has been able to spread
to all parts of the British Isles
without the aid of sexual
reproduction.
It can tolerate most soil conditions,
including very acidic soils. It will
grow in most situations.
Establishment and competition with
other plant species is aided by a
number of characteristics. Firstly, it’s
ability to grow tall, out smothering
many other plant species, it’s ability
to reproduce by rhizomes and,
finally, the amount of debris it
leaves behind each year which
eventually forms a carpet that
shades out other plant flora. This
plant is also shade tolerant.
Once established it is often difficult
to remove or eradicate. However,
there are a number of tactics now
being used to eradicate or reduce
the spread of this weed. In most
cases they are labour intensive:
• Digging out the plant. Often this
process must be repeated a
number of times to remove all
signs of roots and rhizomic
growth. All debris harvested must
be dealt with as hazardous waste
and must be taken to deep landfill sites suitable for the disposal
of live Japanese Knotweed
rhizomes. It is an offence to
knowingly spread this plant ‘in
the wild’ (Wildlife and
Countryside Act 1981).
• Cutting on a regular basis.
Continue to cut down the
vegetation back to ground level
and keep cutting it until it
exhausts itself; not being able to
manufacture food from
photosynthesis.
• Covering with plastic or
tarpaulins to prevent light
getting to the plant, resulting in
the plant dying out.
A combination of cutting and
herbicide is probably the most
effective.
Chemical Control: Apply nonselective herbicides when plant
growth is active. There are a
number of products available for
controlling Japanese Knotweed.
These chemicals are best used when
the weeds are actively growing,
usually between April-October.
• Roundup pro biactive. (Contains
360g/L glyphosate. Scotts.
• Roundup Pro Green. (contains
450g/l glyphosate present as
590g/l (50.9% w/w) of the
isopropylamine salt of glyphosate.
Rigby Taylor.
• Timbrel (Contains
667g/L(44.3%w/w) triclopyr
butoxy ethyl ester. (480 g/L
triclopyr acid equivalent). Bayer
Environmental Science.
Herbicides are usually applied as a
foliar spray but can also be applied
directly to target plants using a
weed-wiper or herbicide glove.
Good results have been achieved by
injecting glyphosate into hollow
stems immediately after cutting.
Herbicides are an effective tool
where high quality turf is desired.
However, they must be applied with
care and accuracy and in the context
of a good overall turf management
programme.
21
A hole lotta
LOVE!
Okay,
Okay, it’s
it’s aa corny
corny title,
title, but
but it
it could
could have
have been
been worse.
worse.
‘Tines
‘Tines they
they are
are a’changin’
a’changin’ for
for one,
one, or
or even
even ‘Core
‘Core blimey!’
blimey!’
But
But the
the fact
fact is
is that
that regular
regular and
and seasonal
seasonal aeration
aeration
maintenance
maintenance operations
operations are
are essential
essential to
to ensure
ensure turfgrass
turfgrass
quality
quality is
is maintained
maintained throughout
throughout the
the playing
playing seasons
seasons of
of
most
most fine
fine natural
natural turf
turf and
and field
field turf
turf facilities.
facilities.
The
The impact
impact and
and cost
cost of
of not
not carrying
carrying out
out these
these operations
operations
can
can be
be high,
high, resulting
resulting in
in lost
lost or
or cancelled
cancelled fixtures
fixtures which
which
will
will have
have other
other impacts
impacts for
for the
the club
club members
members and
and users,
users,
often
often resulting
resulting in
in lost
lost revenue.
revenue.
By
By Laurence
Laurence Gale
Gale MSc
MSc
14
15
Lack of effective aeration
leads to poor root growth,
poor grass growth and
poor drainage
All grass swards are grown on
soil / sand profiles that
provide the appropriate
environment structure for
plant growth. This growing
medium, commonly known as
soil, is made up of
proportions of soil solids
(mineral and organic
material) and soil pores
(water and air).
Maintaining the correct
balance of these components
is critical for sustaining
healthy plant growth. The
spaces between the particles
of solid material are just as
important to the nature of
soil as are the solids
themselves (Brady & Weil
2002). It is in these pore
spaces that air and water
circulate, and help provide
the plant with the necessary
nutrients and air and water it
requires to respire and grow.
These pore spaces can vary
in size and are generally
classified into two sizes macro pores (larger than
0.08mm) and micro pores
(less than 0.08mm). Macro
pores generally allow
movement of air and the
drainage of water and are
large enough to
accommodate plant roots and
micro-organisms found in the
soil. The ability to retain a
good balance of macro pores
in soil structure is essential
for maintaining grass plant
health. It is when these
macro pores are either
reduced in size by
compaction or filled with
water that we see
deterioration in pitch
playability and resistance to
wear.
However, the main
contributing factor that
reduces and damages pore
spaces in soil, is compaction,
caused by compression forces
normally associated with play
and use of machinery,
particularly during wet
weather periods. Over time
these compression forces
reduce the pore spaces so
that air, water and nutrient
flow through the soil profile
is restricted, and leads to
many problems associated
with compaction.
Compaction can occur at
varying depths. On winter
games pitches there are two
distinct types; one is
compaction by treading (3060mm depth) and the other
by smearing and kneading
(30mm depth) when playing
in the rain and bare soil
surfaces (Adams & Gibbs
2000). Compaction has been
measured down to depths of
120-150mm on horse racing
courses.
In addition, compaction
caused by vehicles, and this
includes mowers, greens irons
and myriad other machinery
designed to treat cultured
turf these days, has been
measured much deeper than
150mm.
Greens and tees
construction with heavy
machinery, where minimum
subsidence and a totally
level surface is demanded
can, in some cases, result in
compaction panning as deep
as 750mm.
Quasi-compaction pans
associated with black layer
iron pan and similar
chemically induced ‘compact’
zones also exisit. After all,
they are impervious and
prevent root growth just as
well as any true compaction
pan, can be a metre below
the surface and develop
wherever the soil chemistry
and soil water oxygen content
provides the correct (should
that be incorrect) conditions.
The extent of compaction
is dependent on the soil type.
Clay, clay loam, silt and sandy
soils will all compact, but the
majority of compaction
problems are associated with
the heavier soils (clay and
clay loams). There are a
number of methods available
to measure soil compaction
and hardness:
• Cone penetrometers are
devices that are pushed
into the ground, measuring
the resistance of the soil
when inserting.
• Taking soil samples using
density rings to measure
soil bulk density.
• Clegg hammers that
measures the impact of a
weight dropped from a
predetermined height.
Other indicators of
compaction are changes in
visual appearance,
performance and physical
properties of the soil and
surface:
• Plantain weeds (Plantago
major) seen in the surface
generally indicate
compaction problems.
• An anaerobic soil condition
is formed that reduces root
growth and restricts micro
organism activity.
• Decreased water infiltration
and reduced hydraulic
conductivity that leads to
surface water logging and
ponding.
• Saturated soils have
reduced soil strength,
which often results in loss
of ground cover.
The above conditions will
adversely affect pitch
playability in many ways,
reduced ball speed, ball
bounce, ball roll, player safety
and, in the long term,
damage the surface soil
23
Using a variety of aeration
techniques and machines pitches
are playable all year round
structure, which may lead
to expensive
reconstruction costs.
How do we aerate?
www.groundsmanindustries.com
To alleviate these
compacted layers we need
to consider a range of
techniques and equipment
that can encompass the
different types of playing
surfaces (fine turf and
field turf facilities). The
main aim of aeration is to
penetrate the soil profile
to create new macro pore
space. This is achieved by
several methods:
• Using solid tines (Hand
forks, Pedestrian and
tractor mounted)
• Using hollow / coring
tines (that remove soil
cores from the soil)
• Using flat / star tines
www.johndeere.co.uk
• Disc / blade implements
(linear aerators)
• Compressed Air
• Water systems
• Deep drill
• Drill and fill
It is essential to include a
variety of aeration
techniques to prevent pan
layers being created. This
usually happens if you
continue to use the same
aeration tine / corer set at
the same depth, and will
result in a compacted layer
forming at the base of tine
/ core depth. Most
turfgrass managers try
and vary methods of
aeration, changing the
depths, size and diameter
of tines.
The variety and choice
of implements and devices
now available is excellent,
providing different tine
sizes, operating widths and
shattering features that
can meet the requirements
of any facility and, more
importantly, do not
disturb the playing surface
and allow play to continue
after use. With the
demand for higher quality,
all year round playing
surfaces turfgrass
managers are always
interested in trying out
new techniques to keep
playing surfaces aerated.
In recent years we have
seen the development of
compressed air and water
aerators that offer deeper
aeration than conventional
aerators.
When do we aerate?
Aeration should be carried
out on regular basis when
weather and soil
conditions allow. You may
contribute to surface
deterioration if you aerate
during bad weather when
the surface is saturated
IS AUTUMN
Earthquake Rotary Decompactors
TM1 Walk Behind Vacuum
Tornado Blowers
Decompaction
Clean-up
Leaf Removal
For further information
or to request a
demonstration contact:
Tel: 01889 271503
sales@turfmech.co.uk
www.turfmech.co.uk
www.turfmech.co.uk
24
9 www.pitchcare.com/re
and likely to smear. Timing is
the key to successful aeration.
Aeration is carried out to
complement other seasonal
renovation programmes, dethatching, and topdressing
and over seeding usually
completed in the spring and
autumn.
Normally only the deeper
machines offer a heave action
- machines that work down to
a max of 100mm to 120mm
deep do not normally have a
heave facility.
However those deeper
machines that do have the
facility can be used at any
time of the year, varying the
amount of heave, depth and
tine diameter allowing
reasonable playing surfaces to
remain. The downside to
heave is when it’s used in the
wrong (too dry or saturated)
conditions, when the heaving
or fracturing that results, will
be short lived.
Hollow coring is generally
done annually / biannually
depending on the type of
playing surface, and is used
to remove thatch and reintroduce new materials to
the playing surface.
Compressed air systems
work to relieve compaction in
the top 5 ins of the soil,
where most compaction is
found, and can be used as
frequently as necessary
whereas deep compressed air
de-compaction treatment,
penetrating up to one metre
below the surface is usually
carried out to deal with
panning below the reach of
other aeration machines and
should not be need to be
repeated for 4 to 5 years.
Aeration:
• Improves soil surface
drainage (water
infiltration).
• Helps to increase soil
temperatures
• Increases soil pore space.
• Allows gaseous exchanges
in the soil (oxygen, carbon
dioxide) that improves root
depth (growth and
development).
www.imants.com
www.soilreliever.com
The Ecosol
Aero-fil System
PROVIDING STATE-OF-THE-AR T AERATION AND DRAINAGE
The Deep Drill 60/18 and Drill ‘n’ Fill aerators bring
dramatic improvements to turfgrass quality, with
unrivalled performance:
• Drill, extract and backfill all in one action!
• Improve infiltration, percolation and gas exchange up to 18" deep.
• Bypass wet, spongy upper areas into freer draining, more structured
soil beneath greens, tees and fairways.
ALL THIS WITH NO DISRUPTION TO PLAY!
For contract work, sales or a no obligation chat,
call the UK & Europe’s sole importers today.
• Aids integration of top
dressings into soil profile
• Aids the breakdown of
thatch /organic matter
• An aid to promoting better
surface levels that will
increase ball roll /speed
• Aids surface firmness /
dryness thus increasing ball
bounce and surface grip
31 Castle Road Hythe Kent CT21 5HB Tel: 01303 267636 or 01666 861250
www.ecosolve.co.uk email: info@ecosolve.co.uk
10 www.pitchcare.com/re
25
www.toro.com
GARETH ROGERS, Head
Greenkeeper at Grimsby Golf Club
“Since Terrain Aeration treated all
18 greens with their Airforce
terralift machine in September
2005 they are looking good and
in great shape - the Airforce
machine does what it says on the
tin.”
IAN McMILLAN, Course Manager,
Walton Heath Golf Club
“Aeration on the golf course is the
single most important job we do.
I’m a great believer in aeration of
all kinds. It promotes healthy root
growth and that, in turn, provides
healthy and strong grass plants.
Deep aeration helps with
drainage, allows water and air to
the rootzone and provides
compaction relief to heavily used
areas.”
DAVID GOWER, Head
Groundsman, Bromsgrove Rugby
Club
“Deep aeration is an important
area of grounds maintenance,
improving drainage and aiding
root development. Following a
deep aeration programme last
January the improvement in
drainage on a very wet area of
one of our pitches was
particularly noticeable.”
CHRIS MUSGRAVE, Estate
Manager, Barbury Castle Estate.
“We are renowned for the quality
of our facilities here and it is
really important that we keep our
turf in the very best possible
condition. The gallops can really
suffer and that’s why I’ve
purchased the new Terra Spike.
The XF is much quicker over the
ground than other machines, so it
is much more productive. With 11
miles of gallops, it needs to be.
After the horses have been over
the ground, we hand fork the
more severe areas, then use a
roller to flatten the surface. Then
we follow this with the XF aerator
which helps relieve the
compaction and improves
drainage. It also allows air into
the rootzone promoting healthy
growth.”
www.blec.co.uk
www.ecosolve.co.uk
www.turfmech.co.uk
Where needles Adare!
Paul McGinley says that the Adare Manor and Golf Resort course
“is not just one of the best in Ireland, its one of the best in the
world”- a statement not to be taken lightly.
It’s also a testament to the
dedication of Resort
Superintendent Joe
O’Flaherty and his
greenkeeping team who
manage the Robert Trent
Jones designed 7,125 yards
championship course set in
840 acres of rolling
parkland and formal
gardens within the 19th
Century estate near
Limerick.
In 1999 Joe O’Flaherty
designed and implemented
a drainage and topdressing regime to ensure
that the course was
available all year round.
The success of this was in
no small way attributed to
the deep aeration
programme that was
undertaken, initially using a
contractor then followed by
the purchase of a
Wiedenmann Speedlink
P160 aerator.
“We are on a heavy clay
base here”, said Alan
MacDonnell, Assistant
Resort Superintendent,
“and Joe’s plan involved
very intensive top dressing
which has since created a
12.5 cm sandy rootzone.
This, coupled with deep
aeration to open up the
clay base, has proved really
effective and means that we
are playable virtually every
day of the year."
The 8-year old Speedlink
P160 has served the club
admirably, but has recently
been replaced with a Terra
Spike XF, the very latest
fast deep aerator from
Wiedenmann UK.
Purchased from local
dealer, Seamus Weldon of
Killarney, the new machine
is up to three times faster
than conventional machines
and has provided
significant benefits in a
short timeframe.
“The speed and quality
of finish is superb”,
continued Alan
MacDonnell, “With the old
P160 we could aerate one
fairway a day, now we can
get round the whole course
in just 3½ days. The
VibraStop anti-vibration
system is excellent and
we’ve gone for the
hydraulic depth control
option which makes it easy
to adjust if the operator
hits a hard area. It also
frees up valuable time for
other jobs.”
The Adare Golf Course
opened in 1995 and
features rock-walled
streams, undulating putting
surfaces with the Jones
signature clover leaf
bunkers. A 14 acre lake
dominates the front nine
holes while the back nine is
routed through wooded
parkland. The River
Maigue meanders through
the course creating
additional challenges.
In 2000 the course
hosted the inaugural Ladies
World Cup of Golf, won by
the Swedish pairing of
Sophie Gustafson and
Carin Hoch. In 2002 it was
the venue for the A.I.B
Irish Seniors Open, won by
Seigi Ebihara and hosted
the event again in 2003
and 2004. It was also the
venue for the 2003 Smurfit
Irish P.G.A Championship,
which was won by Paul
McGinley. In July, Adare
was the venue for the JP
McManus Pro-AM, which
attracted top golfers from
around the globe, with the
eventual winner being
Padraig Harrington.
www.charterhouseturfmachinery.co.uk
www.sisis.com
www.wiedenmann.co.uk
www.terrainaeration.co.uk
How deep is
your drill?
In the situation of cricket
wicket aeration: with the
nature of the soil and loam
that goes to compose a
wicket, conventional solid or
hollow tine work fails to
penetrate more than a few
inches. Deep Drill aeration
can however drill into these
hard surfaces with relative
ease, giving all the benefits of
aeration and root extension
opportunities. It is the
second of these points that is
really helping improve cricket
square performance as the
deeper root structure has a
binding effect within the soil
profile. This has proven to
reduce the movement
between soil platelets (caused
inadvertently by use of
different loams over
decades), thus giving a
consolidating effect. The net
results are healthier grass
plants and wickets with more
consistent surface firmness,
i.e more uniform ball bounce
There’s lovely
The green, green grass of Tom Jones’
hometown, Pontypridd, in South Wales is
making a rapid recovery, following the
singer’s open-air concert to mark his 65th
birthday.
Pontypridd’s most famous son drew
around 20,000 fans to Ynysangharad
Memorial Park, in the town centre, at the
end of May, for a homecoming concert,
which marked the star’s first major
appearance here since he became
internationally known.
According to Martin Sullivan, Outdoor
Parks and Amenities Officer for Rhondda
Cynan Taf Council it wasn’t the crowds that
did the turf damage, but the construction
and de-construction of the imported
American stage. “Steel decking was laid
onto the field as a track-way for the huge
crane employed to construct and
dismantle the stage,” he explains. “Due to
the weight of the crane, (approx 20 tonne),
once the event was over and the decking
was lifted, we were left with a 50 mm
depression over the surface area with
severe compaction and water logging.”
Sullivan, who had anticipated this kind
of damage prior to the event, had already
booked Suffolk based Terrain Aeration,
who came in with the company’s Airforce
machine, to administer deep, compressed
air de-compaction treatment 12 days after
the concert.
“Our brief was to
treat the sunken
grass and as much
of the rest of the
adjacent football
pitch as possible in
a day,” said Terrain
Aeration’s M.D.
David Green.
Working at 2
metre spacings to
inject compressed
air one metre down causing fractures and
fissures to break up the soil, Terrain's
Airforce machine was at first, hampered
by the presence of boulders lying at about
250mm below the surface. “Progress in
these adverse conditions was abysmally
slow,” admits Green “with the power of the
JCB hammer absolutely essential to make
any progress whatever into the subsoil.
Once full penetration to one metre depth
was achieved there was suitable soil
movement when the air blast was fired.”
Fortunately the boulder layer was
restricted to a strip, approximately 8
metres wide, after which it petered out
into heavy clay. Once Terrain reached this
point, the work rate increased 5 fold.
Having treated approx. 2,200 sq. metres
of the worst affected areas, and watched
the surface water drain away, Terrain
Aeration returned to Suffolk leaving the
welsh ground staff to top dress and bring
the depressed areas up to surface level.
“The field dried out in 3 days,” said
Sullivan. “We had good weather and our
cricket outfield was back in play
immediately. We hosted three major
games for the Ladies European
Championship this summer, and brought
the football pitch back into play in late
Augustready for the first matches in early
September.”
Having foreseen the adverse effects of
this concert and acted accordingly,
Sullivan will not think twice about
repeating the performance. “We now know
that any further concerts or events of this
nature will require similar aeration
treatment after the event,” he confirms.
The boss has
a ‘few’ words!
How the Millennium
Stadium’s modular
system complements
multi-use
By DAVE SALTMAN
It was way back in March that I last
wrote an article about the on goings at
the Millennium Stadium. Since that
eventful Welsh Grand Slam win on the
19th, the stadium has played host to a
great many more games and other
non-grass events.
It is easy to gloss over the fact that
the LDV Cup Final, Konica Rugby
Union Cup Final, FA Cup Semi-finals
and Final, three divisional Play Off
Finals were amongst many other
corporate games and minor cup finals
played between the end of March and
the end of May.
On Sunday 6th June the last of the
spring’s grass sport in the form of The
Legends Tribute rugby match was
played.
No sooner had the game finished
and the posts removed, than our team
of labourers started to cut the grass
into four foot squares, mirroring each
individual module underneath and
then they were removed the forklift
drivers.
For those of you that aren’t aware,
the pitch at the Millennium Stadium
comprises 7388 high density plastic
modules (or giant plant trays), filled
with a drainage layer and growing
medium of fibre root zone that rises
above the module by approximately
75mm. The module depth is
approximately 200mm.
The start of this removal operation
is always slow, due to the limited space
initially available. However, once the
first few articulated lorries get loaded
with modules down in the bus bay, the
space in the bowl opens up and
everybody starts to work more
efficiently. With a reasonable space
cleared at the top of the access tunnel,
the articulated lorries are then driven
straight up into the bowl.
For everyone concerned, including
me, this was a first, and that evening
was the start of a new learning curve.
With the Speedway guys moving in the
next morning, we had to work
diligently and keep the modules
The Millennium Stadium gets ready for the play-off finals
Blocks out
Moving the pallets
... still moving the pallets
“It was a valiant effort, with so many people
working incredibly hard - it taught us some
very valuable lessons about the system”
moving out. After the game, I had
marked out on the centre of the pitch the
oval shape that was to be left in, for the
speedway track to be built around. We
were leaving in just over 3000 modules
for another week. Our deadline was
midday on the Monday, and just to add
to the pressure, there were penalty
clauses in place if we weren’t finished.
The articulated lorries were loaded
with anything up to 60 modules at a
time, and then transported to a
Freightliner site about six miles from the
stadium.
The lorries arriving from the stadium
were unloaded and the modules stacked
three high.
The weather was appalling on the
night in question, and fortunately the
stadium roof was closed. There was no
such luxury at the rail terminal and the
poor guys on the forklifts were working
in atrocious conditions. The tall pylons
of floodlighting seemed to be ineffective
in the heavy squally rain and the guys
found themselves unloading the lorries
in a wet gloom by forklift headlights.
By 6am Monday the last modules left
the stadium and the ‘bowl’ was cleaned
using a skid steer loader and then a road
sweeper.
The Speedway guys arrived at 8am,
delighted that they could start the track
and wall construction much earlier than
anticipated.
The following week, after the
Speedway was finished, the haulage and
forklift guys were back and the
remaining modules were removed from
the stadium and stacked at Freightliner
as well.
With the system stacked we decided to
have a go at piecing a trial area together
and successfully put a 15 x 15 matrix of
modules together at the rail terminal.
However, we had concerns about the
integrity of the modules and also made
an assessment of each of the modules
that we randomly pulled from the stack.
It is important to know that this system
was installed into the Millennium
Stadium in 1999 and was only the second
GreenTech ITM system in use anywhere
in the world. The only working example
was at the Giants Stadium in New York,
where two modular systems were in
rotation. The Millennium system has
therefore been in operation for about
seven years, regularly moved in and out
First few pallets in
of the stadium. Each module has been
lifted, stacked, transported, re-laid a fair
number of times and many of the
modules are starting to look tired and
ready for replacement.
The stadium hosted two concerts, REM
and U2. after the speedway and then the
Watchtower convention moved in for
three days of worship. As soon as their
equipment was removed on the 20th
July, we were back into the stadium to
start the major operation of importing
and piecing together over 4000 tons of
modules and material.
I had organised a surveying team to
come into the stadium the week before
and they had set out the 'bowl' from
scratch, working with original drawings
of the pitch. On the Tuesday that we
started, one of the surveyors helped us to
place the first line of modules in
correctly. This first row, as we now
realised, had to be absolutely exact. On
the first shift we took 10 hours to place
about 280 modules. The night shift took
over from us at 6pm, ably supervised by
Lee Evans (Head Groundsman) and
through the night they laid another 770.
Each shift consisted of 7 forklift drivers
and 16 men, divided into three laying
teams of four with a couple of general
labourers, putting out feet and cleaning
as we went.
There were also three lorries working
around the clock bringing in the
modules from the rail terminal and an
extra forklift driver there to load the
lorries with the drivers.
On the Wednesday shifts nearly 2700
modules were placed, but we started to
encounter problems of squareness again,
and had to pull a few rows out and
straighten the foot locator pads. By the
Friday all the modules were in and we
laid the concrete step blocks around the
perimeter of the pitch. Given that this
was our first attempt at piecing the pitch
back together in the stadium, working to
deadlines once again, I was extremely
proud of the way the 45 or so staff had
performed on the eight twelve hour
shifts.
I had allowed a gap of two days
between us finishing and SF Hodgkinson
coming in to prepare the surface prior to
turfing, this was in case of unseen
problems- in the end we didn’t need this
luxury.
The dead vegetation that still sat on
Installing modules
top of the modules was Koro’d off and
removed (thank God - the smell
permeated every edifice within the
stadium), and then the fibre rootzone
was tickled up with a four metre stone
rake. Over two days SF Hodgkinson’s
contractor Derek Crane, achieved
excellent levels and the surface was now
prepared for the turf. I had no reason
not to retain the Dutch company,
Hendriks, for the supply and installation
of the pitch. Their workmanship and
quality of the turf delivered to date has
been exceptional.
Due to the nature of fixtures and
events at the Millennium Stadium, this
new pitch was only going to be in for
three major games, the Charity Shield,
the Powergen Rugby League Cup Final
and the Wales v England World Cup
Qualifier (WCQ) on the 3rd September.
It didn’t seem that the surface had
been in more than five minutes before we
started to strip it out again on the
evening of the 3rd September. England
had just won a less than memorable
game and as the stadium cleared of
supporters, we removed the goals, while
other guys de-rigged cameras/cables and
advertising hoardings.
I had decided to strip off the turf with
the Koro (a crying shame), before
removing the modules. This was for a
number of reasons. One, so that we
didn’t have a layer of stinking vegetation
sitting on the modules when they came
back; secondly, the next move back in
was again against the clock, and we
would be struggling with time to
complete all operations, so removing the
turf in advance saved us time a few weeks
later; and thirdly, the cost saving of not
having to pay a lot of extra labourers to
cut around each of the 7388 modules.
The pitch was Koro’d twice through
the Saturday night, the lads finishing at
6:30am.
I stayed with them through the night,
catching a couple of hours sleep on a
sofa. At 8am the haulier (eight lorries)
and the forklift drivers arrived, and
immediately found it easier to pick up
and stack the turf stripped modules. The
team worked efficiently through the day
and by 11pm the site was clear of
modules and concrete edge blocks.
The stadium tarmac was again cleared
of spoil, and swept spotless with road
sweepers. The next events due in were a
Pitch in
Palletts installed
concert for Gay Pride and
the GB Rally.
We also had a banquet
dinner on the 4th October
and it was this dinner that
was causing us the biggest
dilemma. The Wales v
Azerbaijan WCQ was on the
12th October and training
for both teams would have to
be catered for, potentially on
the 10th and 11th. There was
also a Barnardo’s Half and
Full Marathon in the event
schedule on Sunday 9th. This
involved 7500 people
running down into the
stadium and around the
pitch through the day.
The banquet event was an
evening affair and so the
catering tents, staging,
lighting towers, flooring,
carpets, tables and chairs had
to be removed afterwards, all
completely gone by midday
on the 5th. Effectively this
gave us three and a half days
to piece together half the
modular system, grade the
surface and turf it, to my
mind a virtual impossibility.
Long in advance, I’d liased
with the commercial
department and event
organisers and we reached a
happy compromise. This
agreement meant that we
could import four fifths of
the modules in advance, and
turf just under half the
surface prior to the banquet.
With everybody organised,
we started reinstating the
modules for the second time
this year on the 22nd
September, just 18 days after
it had been removed.
I have tried to retain the
same lads on each move,
allowing them all to gain the
knowledge and experience of
piecing the modules together
successfully. From the forklift
and lorry drivers to the
teams laying in the modules,
everyone now works
competently. 12-hour shifts
aren’t the best at any time,
Grading the pallets
but there is some great
camaraderie now, even
between the day and night
shifts.
All the modules were in
place by Friday teatime and
the blocks had been placed
around the completed pitch
area. We had left out about
1250 modules in total for the
banquet, some off the North
end and the rest in front of
the tunnel. These two areas
were for the catering tents,
welcome area and concert
staging.
When we were finished, SF
Hodgkinson graded the laid
area and Hendriks laid just
over 4500 square metres of
turf. The turf this time is a
mix of tall fescue and smooth
stalk meadow grass. We have
chosen this mixture because
the pitch has to withstand a
fairly hefty fixture list of four
rugby internationals and at
least ten training sessions in
November. Lee Evans had
flown over to Holland to view
the turf, and was extremely
pleased with its quality. He
even brought some back,
though I doubt if he’s the
first to bring grass back
through customs from
Amsterdam!
The turfing was down with
a few days to spare before the
banquet organisers started
their event build.
On Wednesday 5th
October, I arrived at the
stadium at 7am, to find that
virtually none of the banquet
event had been de-rigged,
(just what you need when you
have just a few days to get
the pitch ready for a World
Cup Qualifier. There were
two lorries loaded and on the
way over from the storage
site and about twenty men
turning up at 8am to get
started. Although the original
de-rig was supposed to be
completed by noon, the event
organiser had subsequently
told me that apart from
flooring everything else
would be gone through the
night.
Anyway problems are there
to be solved and we set the
lads on various tasks to help
the event organisers get their
equipment out of the
stadium.
The first concrete blocks
were removed at 1.30pm and
the last event lorry was clear
of the stadium for 3.30pm.
By the time the day shift
were changing over to the
night shift only 300 modules
had been laid.
The nightshift worked
tirelessly and by 6am
Thursday there were about
40 modules and about 60
blocks left to place in.
Derek Crane arrived on
behalf of SF Hodgkinson to
do the final surface grading
at 7am. Although we were
finishing the corner area off,
we brought up some steel
ramps and helped Derek to
get the tractor and stone rake
up on to the modules. He
started to grade while we
finished the corner area.
The first turf lorry arrived
at about 10am and by 2pm
the first turf was being rolled
out. Derek continued to
stone rake in front of the
turfing team and our day
shift lads, cleared rubbish
and swept up around the
pitch and seating.
At 11.45am Friday
morning the last turf was cut
in at the edge of the pitch
and now Lee and Steve had
the unenviable task of getting
the newly laid turf ship shape
for the following week’s
game.
Lee managed to move the
Wales training session to
Tuesday morning, with
Azerbaijan training that
evening.
The game itself went well,
Ryan Giggs scoring two
cracking goals. The turf lines
still showed on the cameras
on the North end, but the
turf laid the week before had
married in nicely.
The next events start in
November, with four
Saturdays of international
rugby. Each of these games
are preceded by a training
session for each team, and I
believe the Welsh squad will
be looking for at least a
couple of extra training
sessions as well.
I will write an update on
how this turf coped with
these events at the end of
November, after we have
taken the whole system back
out for a two-month schedule
of Motocross, concerts and
parties.
Given the nature and scale
of events at the Millennium
Stadium, it is quite hard to
envisage another suitable
operating system. The
modular system has major
benefits, in allowing virtually
any event to be hosted at the
venue. When you think that
this year alone, there will
have been 4 sell out concerts,
three different motor sports
as well as a full programme
of football and rugby to
name but a few events in the
annual calendar.
It has been a tremendous
year, and I would like to
personally thank the haulier
Mark Rees, Ace Site Services
(forklift drivers), Linde
Severnside (forklifts) as well
as Lee, Steve (Assistant
Groundsman) and all the
staff, who have given up their
time to help on the pitch
moves.
We are now looking at the
gradual replacement of old
modules, so that the system
can be revitalised.
The full version of this
article can be read on
Pitchcare.com
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Supplying the horticulture, groundscare and hire markets
The lack of suitable drainage outfall is a
headache for Hertfordshire County Council
Gordon Jaaback, HCC’s Agronomist and
Project Manager, explains how they
overcame the problem
Restricting
DRAINAGE
outfall ...
The intention of secondary drainage
installation on football pitches is to
remove surface water as quickly as
possible. Throughout the wet winters the
aim is to provide firmer grounds that
enable play to resume as soon as possible
after rain. The problem arising on many
existing undrained sites is the lack of a
suitable drainage outfall. In urban areas
many of the pitch developments and
renovations are surrounded by
residential properties with no natural
watercourse present. Furthermore, the
waste water authorities will not always
permit drainage of grassed football
pitches to enter their storm water pipe
reticulations. Where outfall is permitted,
it is to be controlled in accordance with
MAFF/ADAS Reference Book 345. With
heavy clay soils established to grass cover
and slope not exceeding 2% the
permissible outfall rate is in the region of
6 to 8 litres per second per hectare.
Redevelopment at
Borehamwood
In a current pitch development for the
Hertfordshire County Council in
32
Borehamwood, North London, the
requirement on a 4 ha site was to restrict
outfall into the storm water system to a
rate of 20 litres per second. The site is a
very wet one with firm plastic clay down
to below 1.6m. There was a natural slope
though undulating of nearing 2%. After
stripping the topsoil, this gradient was
laser-graded to maintain this fall across
the direction of play. The very wet
conditions proved difficult in early
grading but the warmth over July and
August helped to firm up the surface.
The deeply-wet subsoil did confirm the
need for the relatively deep storage
drains to control underground water
movement from the top to bottom pitch.
In considering the extent of the
rainfall to be allowed for, tables compiled
by HR Wallingford were studied. It was
agreed to consider the highest
precipitation within a 5 year return
period for the duration of 30 minutes.
This was established at 21mm. To cope
with this concentrated rainfall, estimates
were first made of the water that would
be retained before run-off commenced.
This quantity would comprise that
amount that was withheld in the grass
cover, the amount held in the microdepressions of the soil surface and the
amount taking up all the voids in the slit
and lateral drainage installation.
Totalling between 8 to 12 mm the run-off
quantity was therefore estimated at
12mm.
Attenuation
Three attenuation (temporary water
storage) trenches measuring 1m wide
and 1.6m deep were filled with 40mm
stone within a geotextile to 1m depth.
Above this there was a 300 mm depth of
root-zone material, the surface of which
formed the invert level of a grassed swale
300 mm deep with side-slopes of 1:10.
The temporary storage capacity of the
three stone-filled trenches and swale
design would more than adequately
contain the 12mm of water run-off from
each pitch and further ensure that the
bottom pitch did not accumulate any
surface or underground surplus water for
the pitch above it. Gulley drains installed
into the root-zone further enable the
maximum intake of all the water that the
stone-filled trenches could hold
without undue delay.
Constructed between June and
September 2005 the pitches have still
to establish but to date all surplus
water run-off has been satisfactorily
controlled. In order to improve the
porosity of the clay loam soil three
applications of gypsum were made
each at 5 tons per hectare. Slit drains
at 1m spacing are to be installed in
May and thereafter sand dressings will
be made annually for the first five
years at least. The established swales
have proved to be a positive means of
controlling and temporarily storing
surface water flow and with a depth of
300mm and shallow gradient on either
side, they are easily mowed without
any scalping.
Urban redevelopments
Urban redevelopments are currently a
priority and the provision of an
adequate drainage outfall or
temporary storage is a main concern
where properties below the site would
be subject to damage from flooding.
Attenuation systems assist in
controlling and restricting peak-flow
outfall rates. Yet outfall to lower
ground is inevitable on heavy clay soils
at the time of persistent rains in the
winter. The great benefit of
attenuation is the ability to limit this
flow rate to one that would be
expected from a greenfield site. The
calculations in accordance with the
MAFF/ADAS No 345 publication
ensure that an outfall can be created to
adjoining lower ground where no
natural watercourse exists - at a rate
that would be reasonably expected if
the site had not been developed.
urban redevelopments
are currently a priority
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12 www.pitchcare.com/re
33
Trust
McMillan
Bournemouth’s bowling greens are in the safe
hands of Operations Officer Chris McMillan.
Laurence Gale MSc finds out about his
maintenance regime
T
he residents of Bournemouth have
no excuse for missing out on their
sporting exercise, with 17
individual bowling greens at 12 sites
around the borough open for casual play
between 10am and half an hour before
sunset seven days per week, from the end
of April to the end of September.
Sixteen of these bowling facilities are
maintained by Bournemouth Borough
Council, utilising the expertise of their
fine turf greenkeepers, headed up by
Chris McMillan, the Operations Officer.
Chris has been working for
Bournemouth Borough Council for 15
years. He started on the grounds
maintenance educational round, looking
after the school grounds and sports
pitches. After working on the schools for
3 years Chris became interested in fine
turf and went to college at Sparsholt for
four years and achieved NVQ levels 2 &
3 in sports turf maintenance and
management.
Last year he obtained NVQ level 4 and
hopes to start the IOG National Diploma
next year.
In his role of Operations Officer he
takes responsibility for managing 50% all
the sports facilities in the Borough,
34
overseeing the needs and requirements
of 16 full time staff and an extra 4
seasonal staff in the summer months.
Bournemouth is a unitary authority
and maintenance operations are done in
house, and only involve external
contractors when needed. All Chris’s staff
presently working on bowling greens are
trained to a NVQ level in sports
maintenance or have a number of
invaluable years experience.
His responsibilities include the bowling
greens, numerous football and rugby
pitches and Green Flag awarded Parks
within the Borough.
Chris and his staff have transformed
the quality and playing characteristics of
their bowling greens by paying more
attention to thatch levels. An aggressive
de-thatching programme has been
implemented since the purchase of a
Graden Scarifier in 2002.
Previously, the method of removing
sub surface thatch on bowling greens was
to hollow core twice a year with 13mm x
125mm tines at 50mm spacing. Whilst
this method was tried and tested, and
reasonably successful, the ensuing results
they have achieved with the Graden are
outstanding.
Chris
assesses every
green and will
tailor his
maintenance regime to the condition
and requirements of each of them. One
of his main aims is to promote and
maintain a high density of fescue and
bents whilst at the same time reducing
Poa dominancy.
The Graden is now used once a month
during the playing season with 1mm
blades on the diagonal. In the autumn
renovations they change the rotary shaft
to 3mm blades and do two passes.
Chris’s biggest problem has been to
persuade his staff and the end users that
the cosmetic damage after using the
machine does not harm the surface.
Once the green has been blown of debris
and cut the surface is acceptable for play.
Chris has also noted some other added
benefits from using the Graden:
• Reduction in worm activity (not all
greens!).
• Improved aesthetics and playability of
the greens.
Add some
‘autumnal magic’
to your site
“the biggest problem has been
to persuade the staff and the
end users that the cosmetic
damage after using the Graden
does not harm the surface”
• A firmer surface.
• Increased root biomass.
• Reduced stressed areas (areas of
dry patch).
• Improved surface water drainage.
• Provides a better seed bed during
autumn renovations.
Also, he has not had to hollow
core his greens, and he has noticed
a reduction in crane fly larvae. He
used to get large infestations on the
greens because the cranefly used to
lay their eggs in the holes in the
soil profile.
With the deeper and increased
root mass the grass plant is more
able to tolerate drought conditions
which, in turn, has reduced the
number of times they have had to
water the greens this year.
The main benefit, however, has
been the ability to raise and
maintain the height of cut at 6mm
throughout the playing season and
still produce a fast, true playing
surface for the bowlers.
Chris’s maintenance regime starts
in March/April before the season
begins when he implements his
spring renovations - light scarifying,
topdressing using 3-5 ton per green
and over seeding the bare areas.
No topdressing is carried out
during the playing season as the
dressings could possibly damage
the woods. A combination of
aeration, scarifying and feeding
continues throughout the playing
season April - September, and
involves the following operations
shown in the table below.
Operation
Occasions
Scarifying with Graden using 1 mm tines
Once a month
Scarifying using a thatchaway to a depth of 2mm
Fortnightly
Solid tine aeration using a JD Aercore 800
Fortnightly
One application of slow release fertilizer spead at 50gm
Preferred ratio 24-5-10
At the start of the season.
April
Liquid feed if necessary. Preferred ratio 8-10-10
Late August
Cutting height 6mm with groomers set 1mm
above ground level
3 times per week
Switching/Drag brushing
Daily
2
Marcus C. Jones, Senior Horticulturist, Trentham
LAURENCE Gale recently descended on the gardens at
Trentham in a whirlwind of infectious enthusiasm for
this publication. He talked voraciously, dished out cards
and magazines, raced out questions at a fairly
impressive rate of knots and finished off asking me to
write ‘something horticultural’ that would be relevant to
the magazine’s readership. After a couple of days
thought on the matter I decided to oblige.
My first problem was deciding what on earth to write
that could be of interest to those mainly looking after
sports facilities. I needed an angle of some description.
After a couple of days scratching my chin, looking at
local golf courses, driving past football and rugby
pitches the answer just jumped out at me as being
surprisingly simple. What many sites seemed to lack
were interesting plants and plantings that could add to
the amenity value of the place.
So, for this edition I’ve decided to recommend a
selection of four excellent trees for autumn interest.
These will all add some horticultural ‘spice’ to any
location and, of course, enhance the quality of the
landscape.
Persian Ironwood (Parrotia persica)
• A slow growing, deciduous tree that is fully hardy in
the British Isles.
• The foliage of this tree turns yellow, orange and red in
the autumn.
• It grows to about 8 metres tall with a spread of about
10 metres.
• It prefers full sun, grows best in a fertile but well
drained soil and will tolerate alkaline, neutral or acid
soils but ‘colours up’ best in acidic conditions.
Tulip Tree (Liriodendron tulipifera)
• This tree is slow
growing, hardy and
originally introduced
from the U.S.A.
• The striking foliage
turns a beautiful
butter yellow in
autumn.
• This tree is large
growing up to 30
metres with a
spread of 15
metres.
• It requires full sun,
although it will grow
in semi-shade and
prefers a deep, well
drained soil.
Tupelo (Nyssa sinensis)
• A fairly quick growing deciduous tree.
• The foliage turns a brilliant crimson in the autumn,
especially after a hot summer.
• It grows to about 10 metres with a spread of about 7
metres.
• It will grow in sun or semi-shade and prefers a moist,
neutral to acid soil.
Sweet Gum (Liquidambar styraciflua)
• A medium vigour, deciduous tree with maple like
foliage.
• The leaves turn orange, red and yellow in the autumn.
• This tree will grow to be 20 metres tall with a spread
of about 10 – 15 metres.
• It will grow in sun or semi-shade but prefers a
moisture retentive soil.
LPG - is
there a
future?
Legislation will strengthen position say Hayter
MENTION LPG to anyone involved in
groundscare and you will get many
different responses. “The modern diesel
is a much better alternative than LPG.”
“LPG is ok in theory but in practice it
doesn’t work.” “I know somebody who
ran a fleet of vehicles on LPG and they
had nothing but trouble.” If you are lucky
somebody will say. “With the need for
equipment to be more environmentally
friendly, there is a place for LPG but
existing LPG powered vehicles are not up
to the mark.” So what are the facts about
LPG?
The problem with traditional fuels such
as petrol or diesel is that they produce
harmful emissions. Diesel engines,
commonly used in groundscare because
of low running costs, emit high levels of
Oxides of Nitrogen and Particulate
Matter which are harmful to human
health. Emissions of pollutants from
vehicles powered by LPG are significantly
lower than diesel powered vehicles. Much
is promised for the future with vehicles
fitted with fuel cells running on hydrogen
with no emissions apart from water. That
technology is here already but it will be
many years before the costs become
viable for mass production. Significant
improvements have been made in both
petrol and diesel engines in the last few
years in respect of their efficiency and
emissions. That situation will continue
but progress will be gradual and
emissions have to be cut quickly.
In the groundscare industry the case
for converting a petrol powered vehicle
to run on LPG is straightforward. The
cost of duty free LPG, around £0.26 per
litre, is reason alone for the conversion.
With no perceptible difference in
performance between the two fuels, the
savings on fuel soon justify the
installation costs. The situation is totally
different with diesel. (Incidentally a diesel
engine cannot be converted to run on
LPG; the ignition system precludes that.)
With red diesel available in bulk at
around £0.29 per litre the only difference
between the two fuels is that of emissions.
That is reason enough so why does the
diesel still reign supreme? Hayter have
strong views on that.
Traditionally, existing standard
machines have been converted to run on
LPG; or a diesel engine has been
replaced with an automotive petrol
engine which is then converted to run on
LPG. Often these products have not
performed well and the problems have
been put down to LPG itself. Hayter, who
see an increasing demand for
environmentally friendly LPG powered
products, have come at it from a different
perspective. Their new LT324G uses a
General Motors 1600cc industrial engine
which develops 44 hp and is specifically
designed for LPG and has an installation
approved by General Motors. This
machine, outwardly similar to the highly
successful LT324, apart from the two
LPG tanks either side of the engine, is
already beginning to dispel the myths
regarding LPG. More powerful, and
significantly quieter, it performs as well
and, in some cases better, than its diesel
equivalent.
There is still a great deal of work to be
done to convince the commercial user on
the merits of LPG. However, Hayter
believe the position of all manufacturers
will be strengthened by the inevitable
continual legislation to reduce harmful
emissions which cause so much damage
to our environment.
Tri-maximum
LOCAL authorities have the difficult
task of grooming parks and many sports
grounds to the satisfaction of local
residents. With increasing demand on
public services this task is not as easy as
it may seem with wet weather, rapid
spring growth and tough mowing
conditions. Luckily for many local
authorities throughout the UK they have
Trimax to make their job a lot easier.
Trimax Mowing Systems produces a
range of commercial mowers that have
been designed for and tested in the
toughest municipal applications. The
Stealth mower has been an
indispensable machine for many
authorities for years. The 3.4m wide
Series 2 Stealth now provides increased
wing flotation for following ground
contours and is tough enough to handle
difficult conditions. Yet despite its
strength and rugged construction it
produces a superb cut finish thanks to
LazerBladez, and full width striping, a
real benefit where sports grounds are
concerned. For wide area mowing the
Trimax Pegasus tri-deck rotary mower is
unparalleled for productivity and
versatility, grooming everything from
high profile golf courses to council
reserves. Available in 4.93 and 6.10m
wide models with an optional full
electro-hydraulic lift control system you
can be sure that Trimax has the perfect
model for all wide area mowing
requirements. For maintaining smaller
or more confined areas the Trimax
FlailDek is ideal. This out-front mowing
deck produces an excellent cut in long
or short grass and can be easily
manoeuvred around
trees and over
kerbs.
Days OFF!
... or what Pitchcare contributors get up to out of office hours
STEVE ROUSE, Head Groundsman,
Warwickshire CCC - I got into cricket more by
chance than design. I was 16 years old, just
moved to Birmingham from south Wales, and
was waiting for my pal who was playing cricket
at Warwickshire’s indoor school. The coach
said I might as well join in and I had a bowl.
He told me to come back on the Monday and I
was offered a 2 year contract on the
groundstaff as an apprentice cricketer. At 18 I
signed as a professional and spent 16 years
with the club. My father wasn’t too happy
because, at the time, I was at college training
to be an RAF pilot. Both my father and uncle
were fighter pilots in the war, so flying is in the
blood. I love flying, I got my pilot’s license but
I haven’t flown for 10 years or so, the cost
became too prohibitive. Supporting the Welsh
rugby team is a favourite hobby of mine and I
go to watch them as often as possible. I also
like a game of golf because it brings you
down to earth, but I only play 3 or 4 times a
year. We have 3 kids (all moved out thank
God), so Gill, my wife, and I go out to Cape
Town whenever we can. We’ve got a place
there, it’s a fantastic part of the world.
Sometimes Gill goes off skiing; I
tried it once but it’s not for
me, I hate the cold!
My eldest daughter, Tash, is
getting married next year 4 days before we have a
Test match at Edgbaston.
As if I won’t have enough
stress! So any spare time
coming up will be spent
working, so that I can
pay for the wedding!
Zero-turn mower
has helped cut
mowing times
by up to 50
per cent.
commercial and industrial sectors
and now employs close to 50 staff,
providing a comprehensive
landscape development,
sportsground construction and
grounds maintenance service to
local authorities, construction
companies and businesses
throughout Ireland.
“Having looked at and discussed
the various merits of zero-turn, we
took the decision earlier this year to
bring in the Kubota ZD28 for
assessment” said Redmond.
“Although we did not have a great
deal of specific work for it initially,
the machine has been in action
three or four days a week
continuously throughout the season,
enabling the staff to get used to the
mower and its controls. All in all,
the mower has impressed with its
speed and ease of operation and
tremendous manoeuvrability.”
As to the future Redmond says
that the time savings produced by the ZD28
could prove the answer both to reducing
costs while also meeting customers’ demand
for more frequent mowing schedules to keep
on top of increased grass growth at the
height of the season and following wet
weather.
“Kubota and their local dealer, Irish Grass
Machinery, have always responded extremely
well to our queries and service requests,” he
concluded. "Although the zero-turn steering
system takes a little getting used to initially,
the machine’s workrate speaks for itself. You
could say that we are most impressed with its
all-round abilities.”
Mower’s ‘all-round’
abilities impress
IRELAND’S leading commercial
landscaping firm is confident that Kubota
ZD28 ride-on zero-turn mowers will become
the mainstay of its grass-cutting fleet over
the next two to three years.
This belief is based on the impressive
results being achieved by the company’s first
machine which is producing time-savings of
up to 50 per cent on some of the firm’s
more demanding mowing contracts.
Based at Mulhaddart, near Dublin,
Redlough Landscapes was founded in 1983
by skilled horticulturists Liam Redmond and
Liam Loughnane.
Starting off with residential work, the
business quickly expanded into the
13 www.pitchcare.com/re
Z-Cat now
has sense
of Humus
THE successful SCAG ‘Z-Cat’,
that was introduced at the
start of this year, is now
available with the Humus
safety cutting deck in 36”
format The deck’s unique
milling/cutting action, using a
spiral with peripheral teeth
that rotates at 7000rpm,
means that debris such as
rubble, glass and golf balls is
ejected safely from the side.
the deck is robust enough to
cut through really tough and
high grass.
37
WATER
management
The Met Office
has announced
that October
was the ninth
month in the
last eleven to
receive belowaverage rainfall,
making 2005 so
far one of the
driest years on
record
by Alastair Mitchell
Few would dispute that
Britain’s climate is changing
and that the traditional cycle
of the seasons is shifting in
sometimes unpredictable
ways. If the recent past tells
us anything, it is that water
is becoming an increasingly
precious commodity - one
that grounds managers and
greenkeepers, who are
responsible for managing it
on outdoor sport facilities,
must use prudently.
An 18-hole golf course for
example will use typically
between 80 and 140m3 a
night at peak demand: a
football pitch meanwhile
will consume 30m3 a night
during summer overseeding.
The quantity of water
applied to turf varies from
club to club and pitch to
pitch of course but the
deciding factors in the water
usage and management
equation remain common to
each - those of ambient
temperature, evaporation
rate, solar radiation and
evapotranspiration of grass.
To this list, grounds
managers must add another
factor that is assuming ever
greater prominence within
their reckoning, namely the
price of water. Facilities now
pay around £1/m3 for mains
water, says Roger Davey,
Managing director of
independent irrigation
consultants Irritech Limited
and chairman of the British
Turf and Landscape
Irrigation Association, but
recent research suggests that
this figure could rise
dramatically over the next
10 to 15 years.
“Grounds managers are
becoming wiser about how
they source their water, and
more aware of the
implications of using it,” he
says. “We are all now
seeking recyclable and
sustainable alternatives to
sourcing everything from
water companies, as
sportsgrounds pay water
rates just like you or I.”
Despite the seemingly low
rainfall affecting some areas
of Britain, Davey maintains
that there is “plenty of water
around”. It is, however,
becoming “an expensive
commodity” - the reason
why clubs are looking to
source their own by
abstraction, he says.
The alternatives range
from winter boreholes,
which can be anything from
25 to 125m deep, to winter
bournes, springs that are
active only when the water
table wells up in winter.
Clubs can then store this
abstracted water in storage
reservoirs.
“All clubs consider
abstraction within their
water management regime”
Davey says, “although they
should view it within their
long-term strategy as lead-in
times can be lengthy. It can
take up to four years before
clubs start to abstract water,”
Davey said. “They would
need to secure planning
permission and an
abstraction licence before
they proceed.”
Any club considering this
route will have to do their
homework as in some
regions the Environment
Agency (EA) will not allow
any more water to be
abstracted from aquifers.
Regions differ and every
case is judged on its merits,
although the Catchment
Area Management Strategy
(CAMS) national framework
offers guidance but should
be viewed within the EA’s
vision of sustainability
within different
environments.
“Domestic drinking water
is the priority for the EA”
maintains Jon Jinks,
Managing Director of
Osprey Irrigation Ltd, who
supplies turnkey systems for
fine turf, sportsfield and
landscape irrigation, as well
as closed loop recycling
equipment.
“It must continue to
remain free flowing and to
be delivered at the volumes
that now apply” he said.
“Sportsturf is low on the
EA’s list of priorities and the
intention is to stagger
charging rates accordingly.”
Research conducted by
Osprey at an 18-hole North
Wales golf course about a
year ago showed that the
annual cost for buying
mains water could rise from
some £12,000 to £120,000 by
2012, a ten-fold increase.
“This is the best case
scenario and assumes that
the course is using water
efficiently,” Jinks said.
“Water companies will
price sportsturf customers
out of the market as supplies
will be ring-fenced for
drinking water, which will
remain at a lower fixed
price.”
With no affordable mains
water available, grounds
managers must look to new
ways of sourcing their water,
he advises. Inevitably, clubs
will have to turn their
attention to what is currently
an untapped resource ‘grey water’, which includes
rainwater and road and field
run-off, as well as treated
effluent from clubhouses
and other facilities. “Water
managers must start to
seriously consider this
option” he says. “Bore holes
will not necessarily be viable
for the same reason. A club
could spend £30,000 on
digging the hole and find
that their licence is not
“We all need to look at waste. It is an
environmental more than a greenkeeping
issue and there can be no excuses for it.”
renewed in five years
because of ring-fencing of
the supply. They would do
better to research collecting
grey water.”
Protecting water supplies
earmarked for domestic use
is designed to ensure that
everyone has enough to
drink but is also aimed at
encouraging clubs to
recycle. “Recycling will be
the only way to save money
over the next decade and
beyond - that and collection
of grey water will pay for
themselves many times over
in the coming years,” Jinks
believes.
There is another key
process - of particular
concern for local authority
run clubs - that has to occur
before recycling becomes
the rule rather than the
exception, as Jinks explains.
“Local authorities have
large maintenance budgets
but little money to invest.
This has resulted in clubs
using a confusing and often
inefficient mish-mash of
irrigation systems, even on
the same green. Many
systems date back to the
1970s. Modern theories of
water application - that it
should proceed at
precipitation rates - were
still a long way off, and
water was applied in
measures of time.”
“This method is difficult
to work with, especially now,
as the systems have been
updated inconsistently,
leaving many sprinklers
with a variety of different
heads across greens.
Applied over, say, ten
minutes, with all the
applicators sprinkling
different amounts, you’ve
got an inconsistent
application.”
“The result is
overwatering in some areas
and underwatering in
others” says Jinks, “with
little regard for what the turf
actually requires.”
“You need to water at the
precipitation rate to
maintain the turf just at
water holding capacity. To
do this, the
evapotranspiration rate
needs to be established,
which can be done from the
local meteorological centre,
then top up the turf
accordingly.”
The only way to achieve
efficiency, and to stay on the
right side of the local water
authority, is to apply a
uniform amount of water to
greens, on a millimetre per
hour basis. “Club managers,
for example, will need
records of all this activity
when they come to apply
for, say, a borehole licence.
Local authorities insist on
efficiency.”
Becoming water efficient
will not be the preserve
solely of wealthy clubs,
Jinks believes. Most will
find a system to suit their
budget and their needs.
“Facilities could spend
around £60,000 - half on a
PC-based control centre,
which can link directly to
the Met Office, and the rest
on radio controlled moisture
sensors and sprinklers; or
they could buy a wallmounted controller for
£2,000 and a weather station
for £500. An upgrade of
existing sprinklers will
bring the spend up to
£3,000, and the system will
soon earn its money back.
And by recycling, facilities
are set to save even more
energy and money.”
“The issue of wasted
water and how to reduce the
quantity lost from
sportsgrounds and clubs is
weighing increasingly
heavily on managers and
groundsmen” says Davey.
“We all need to look at
waste. It is an environmental
more than a greenkeeping
issue and there can be no
excuses for it.”
“With new technology in
place, groundsmen can
control individual sprinklers
rather than just saturating
areas that look like they
need it. The new systems are
computerised and use
accurate electric valve and
head sprinklers that deliver
a more target load of water.
Grounds managers can even
use GPS and satellite images
to target their turf. As
technology improves, so
does efficiency.”
“Irrigation is an
environmental issue more
than domestic use for
example, not just because of
volume, but also because of
where the water goes after
use” Davey adds.
“In the home, used water
goes to wash down the drain
and is returned to the water
company. Water used for
irrigation evaporates and
condenses in a cooler
climate. For this reason,
there is extensive legislation
stating what can and can’t be
done. Managers have to
consider everything, from
by-law compliance to
abstraction licences. Again
you need to do your
homework, particularly after
the Water Regulations Act
2003.”
“Recycling of water is set
to become a major factor in
water management
strategies, both as a way of
Hydroscape’s water management system
conserving resources and
reducing pollution” says
Dave Mears, a director of
Course Care, one of several
companies who specialise is
water-recycling equipment
and who produce systems
designed to be not only
efficient but also
environmentally sound.
“Grounds managers have
to observe the Ground Water
Regulation Act of December
1998,” he said. “Waste water
is not allowed to enter the
ground with certain
contaminants included in
‘List One,’ that is, oils and
hydrocarbons.”
“This applies particularly
to washing down turfcare
equipment,” Mears adds.
“Whenever you do this,
diesel, petrol, grease and oil
will be washed on to the
ground. It is your
responsibility to ensure that
they end up in the right
place.”
What then do groundsmen
and greenkeepers need to do
to stay within the law?
“Until recently, groundsmen
might have thought it was
acceptable to stand a
machine on hard ground
and wash it down there,”
said Mears. “It isn’t, as this
still contaminates and
pollutes. Every facility with
turf care equipment now
requires a dedicated washoff area, which is either
kerbed or slopes into a
collection sump or grass /
sand trap to remove the
grass clippings and dirt etc.
from the wash water. The
potentially contaminated
wash water then passes into
either a Class 1 Interceptor
or a Closed Loop Recycling
Wash-Off System.
Tim Earley, Managing
Director of Waste2Water
agrees, adding, “Recycling
has to be the preferred
choice for the majority of
maintenance facilities as
Interceptors (Oil / Water
Separators), which merely
separate oils and
hydrocarbons from water,
are no longer legal if
chemicals or a pressure
washer are used. An
Interceptor does not remove
chemicals from water and a
“Every groundsman
and greenkeeper
has to know
precisely the
boundaries that he
or she is working in”
Above: Carden Park Golf
Club’s Environmental Activity
Centre supplied by ESD
Waste2Water
Left: Integrated fuel storage
and washpad recycling by
Course Care at Ashby Decoy
Golf Club
Right: Small Equipment
Wash Station from ESD
Waste2Water
pressure washer emulsifies
oils etc., allowing them to
pass through the
Interceptor. In practise this
means that for most
equipment maintenance
facilities installation of an
Interceptor is no longer a
valid option.”
David Mears adds, “the
disadvantage of an
Interceptor is that it will
gradually fill with
contaminants and needs
pumping regularly –
between every six months
and every two years,
depending upon use. This is
clearly an imperfect solution
as no facility wants a buildup of pollutants. Recycling
seems a good option.
There are a number of
companies supplying
Recycling Wash-Off systems,
all working on the same
principal of digesting
(eating) the contaminants
biologically using specially
selected microbes. These
systems produce quality
recycled wash water for
continuous use, reducing
wash water usage by a
massive 90%. “An 18 hole
golf course could save £800
a year by installing a
recycling system,” Mears
calculates.
Golf course and larger
maintenance facilities have a
range of established
recycling wash-off systems
available, but what are the
implications of this new
legislation for the smaller
facilities found at the
majority of football and
cricket grounds, which only
have a small amount of
equipment and are often
limited for space. One
answer may be the new
Small Equipment Recycling
Wash Station from
Waste2Water. Tim Earley,
commented “The
Groundsman Wash Station is
specially designed for
washing hand mowers and
smaller equipment,
removing the need for a
dedicated concrete wash
pad. We believe this is the
perfect answer for football
clubs, cricket grounds and
other facilities with a small
amount of equipment. The
‘Plug & Go’ design allows
for easy installation in the
tightest of spaces.”
Perhaps the greatest
benefit of installing a
recycling system however is
peace of mind as recycling
reduces waste and pollution,
so benefiting the
environment.
“You can also be sure that
you will not be prosecuted
for polluting the local river
or lake,” Mears says, but he
believes that it is only a
matter of time before a case
is brought. “Until now,
nobody has been
prosecuted. Sooner or later
there will be a case, and
every club will have to fall
in line by installing
recycling equipment.”
He estimates that fewer
than 20% of clubs have a
recycling system. “A class
one interceptor is legal now,
but for how long? The
restrictions are getting
increasingly stringent and
interceptors will become
obsolete as the EA’s
demands tighten. There has
been one well-known case in
Australia, and the same will
happen here.”
“There is an increasing
awareness of how strict the
legislation is. Every
groundsman and
greenkeeper has to know
precisely the boundaries
that he or she is working
in.”
14 www.pitchcare.com/re
LAW
WHAT’S
REQUIRED OF
YOU TO COMPLY
WITH LEGAL
AND HEALTH &
SAFETY
LEGISLATION
New Sex Discrimination
Regulations in force
1 October 2005 saw the introduction of the
Employment Equality (Sex Discrimination)
Regulations 2005. For employers in
England, Wales and Scotland the
regulations tighten the rules on how
businesses deal with issues of sex
discrimination.
The Sex Discrimination Act (SDA) now
requires employers to make it clear to staff
that any behaviour that might offend
another person, violate their dignity or
create a hostile environment could be
unlawful.
The amendments include:
• A new definition of indirect sex
discrimination.
• Prohibition on harassment and sexual
harassment.
• Clarification that less favourable
treatment of women on grounds of
pregnancy or maternity leave is unlawful
sex discrimination.
• An amended exception to the SDA,
whereby an employer could refuse to
offer a particular job to someone who
was intending to undergo, was
undergoing or had undergone gender
reassignment.
The regulations expand the definition of
sex discrimination and spell out the way a
person’s dignity can be violated by a
hostile, degrading or offensive
environment. So, for example, a colleague
making remarks about a woman’s
appearance could be accused of sexual
harassment.
Employers must now provide a working
environment free from victimisation and
harassment on sexual grounds, and this
includes office parties and events. The
amendments will mean people will have
to be careful during and after celebratory
occasions in case they make uncalled for
comments, lewd remarks, indecent
proposals or rude suggestions that
might be taken the wrong way.
If a person claims they have suffered
discrimination or harassment,
employers are obliged to respond to
their complaint within eight weeks. If
they fail to do so, it could count against
them in an employment tribunal.
Mobile phones - consider
the Health & Safety issues
I am worried about
ur safety so get
back to work
It is accepted that mobile phones
are often used at work. They can
have benefits for safety, efficiency
and convenience of employers
and staff. Lone workers for
example are able to call for
assistance and be contactable as
necessary.
Since December 2003, it has
been an offence to use a handheld phone, or similar device,
when driving. These regulations,
however, only apply to the
drivers of motor vehicles on the
road. They do not cover the use
of tractors, sit on mowers etc.
driven on sports fields, parks etc.
Employers have legal duties to
protect the health and safety of
their employees and the general
public. The Health and Safety
Executive advises employers that
they should instruct staff not to
use mobile phones while driving,
or doing anything else where
safety is important and their use
might interfere with
concentration.
This ‘anything else’ can cover
the use of any
machinery/equipment, and
‘doing’ can include any other
potential distraction such as
listening to ipods.
There is a responsibility on the
employer to provide the
employee with clear, written
guidelines on what is acceptable
and what is not acceptable at
work.
Similarly, the employee has a
duty to take reasonable care to
safeguard their own health and
safety as well as that of others
and a duty to cooperate with
their employers on all matters
relating to Health & Safety.
Many employers have banned
the use of mobile phones and
ipods during work hours, and
unauthorised use is a disciplinary
offence. It may seem draconian
but, bearing in mind the possible
injury that could occur to the
employee, fellow worker or
passer-by, it is also the most
sensible approach.
The Health & Safety Executive advise not to
use mobile phones where safety is important
Horticulturalists the world over have been encouraging earthworms
in the soil for years, but the turfgrass industry has always seen
them as a pest. Why is it that groundsmen and greenkeepers hate
and fear earthworms so much? Should they really be that concerned
about all of them? How can they control them?
Cranfield Centre for Sports Surfaces has taken on the challenge to
answer these questions.
EARTHWORMS eat soil, and lots of it.
They can eat up to 30 times their own
body weight every day which passes out
of the other end as fertile, well structured
aggregates. There are normally about
300 earthworms below a square metre of
turf, and the burrows that earthworms
create and live in improve the drainage
of soil. Earthworms also eat thatch and
other organic material in the soil so they
can reduce thatch build up. Earthworms
help to complete nutrient cycles in the
soil, reducing the need for inorganic
fertilisers. A healthy earthworm
population has the same effect as adding
100 kg of nitrogen fertiliser per hectare
every year because they free nutrients
from the soil.
Not all earthworms behave the same
way, only deep burrowers earthworms are
a pest to turfgrass because of the casts
that they leave on the playing surface.
There are 25 different species of
earthworm found in the United
Kingdom, but only three are deep
burrowers causing this problem, the most
common is Lumbricus terrestris. Nonsurface casting earthworms are beneficial
for turf growth, being responsible for the
majority of the nutrient recycling and
thatch breakdown.
the number of earthworms found; they
prefer clay soils and are less frequently
found in sandy soils.
Earthworm Habitats
Control of Earthworms
Earthworms can survive in a wide range
of conditions, but most earthworm
activity is dependent on the quality of
food available and the season. Deep
burrowing earthworms will thrive where
clippings are not boxed since food is
always available. During the year when
soil temperatures are at their lowest and
highest earthworms go into a form of
hibernation where they do not eat and
can not move. This is why there are more
problems with earthworms in the spring
and autumn. The soil pH affects where
earthworms are found and in strongly
acid or alkaline soils earthworms are
rarely seen (pH less than 4.5 or greater
than 8). The soil texture will also affect
Historically, earthworms have been
controlled chemically, killing all
earthworms in the turf. The most widely
used chemical was chlordane, an
organochloride, now banned due to it’s
wide ranging toxic effects and
persistence in the environment. Other
chemicals such as benomyl,
carbendazium, thiabendazole and
thiophanate-methyl (all of which are
primarily fungicides) have an effect on
earthworm populations. Research has
shown that thiophanate-methyl is the
most effective at reducing
casting. All these fungicides
are considerably less effective
at earthworm control than
chlordane.
Earthworms in Turfgrass
Farmers encourage deep burrowing
earthworms to thrive in their fields
because of all the nutrient benefits they
give, but casts on the surface of turf
cause groundsmen and greenkeepers
several problems. Deep burrowing
earthworms generate casts that spoil the
appearance of the turf surface that
customers have paid to play on. More
than this, if casts are then pushed across
the surface by mowers or trodden
underfoot then they can create patches
of turf that are hard to revive and can
also cause problems with drainage. On
sandy soils this can also blunt mower
blades. Another problem is that deep
burrowing earthworms can move weed
seeds from within the soil to the surface
where they are able to germinate.
Earthworm casts provide ideal conditions
for germination; they are loosely packed,
moist and full of nutrients. Even if the
seeds are not in the soil, the earthworm
casts provide a perfect tilth for wind
blown weed seeds to germinate.
EARTHWORMS
Some groundsmen and greenkeepers
use a different approach, trying to make
the soil unsuitable for earthworms. This
is achieved in two ways: the available
food is reduced, by boxing grass
clippings; and the soil is acidified using
sulphur-based fertilizer thus lowering
pH. The disadvantage of this approach is
that soil unsuitable for earthworms is also
unsuitable for turf, which can struggle to
grow. Prior to the widespread use of
chlordane, one way earthworms were
controlled was using chemicals that
forced the deep burrowing earthworms
to the surface. The chemical irritates the
earthworms which come up to the
surface. The draw back with this method
is that the earthworms then need to be
collected and disposed of.
The Solution?
Groundsmen and greenkeepers are
always trying to strike a balance between
the positive and negative effects of
earthworms. Everybody wants the
increased aeration, drainage and
nutrient cycling advantages of having the
earthworms present, but nobody wants
the problems associated with casting.
Soil scientists at the Cranfield Centre
for Sports Surfaces and the National Soil
Resources Institute have been
researching this problem, by trying to
link all of the pieces of the puzzle.
Focusing on golf courses they are
measuring the size of the casting
problem, working out what species are
causing the damage and why they are
there. Once these pieces are fitted
together it should be clearer how the
deep burrowers can be controlled and
still maintain the advantages from the
non-surface casters.
Watch this space!
Friend or foe!
About the Author:
MARK Bartlett is currently
studying for a PhD in Soil
Ecology at Cranfield Centre for
Sports Surfaces, part of
Cranfield University at Silsoe,
under the supervision of
Professors Karl Ritz, Jim Harris
and Dr Iain James. Any enquires
should be sent to
m.d.bartlett.s04@cranfield.ac.uk
or Cranfield University at Silsoe,
Barton Road, Silsoe,
Bedfordshire. MK45 4DT.
Cranfield Centre for Sports
Surfaces is a centre for research
and training expertise based at
Cranfield University at Silsoe. It
provides the MSc Sports Surface
Technology degree, unique in
Europe for the advanced
education of industry
professionals. It is also a centre
for excellence in both doctoral
and commercial research,
working with industry bodies
and the UK government to
advance knowledge, and to
develop safe, sustainable sports
surfaces in all environments.
More details are at our website
www.silsoe.cranfield.ac.uk/ccss.
The National Soil Resources
Institute was established in 2001
to create a unified institute with
the necessary scientific expertise
and research capability to focus
on the long-term development of
the sustainable management of
soil and land resources, both in
the UK and around the world.
Further information about NSRI
is available at:
www.silsoe.cranfield.ac.uk/nsri
DEC
NOV
OCT
SEP
AUG
JUL
JUN
MAY
APR
MAR
FEB
A graph of annual earthworm
activity on a golf green
JAN
Earthworms can survive
in a wide range of
conditions but activity
depends on the quality
of food available
Know your worms!
Earthworms are very adaptable creatures and can live in a
range of soil environments. Biologists divide them into three
groups
Epigeic earthworms: Most commonly found in woodland
environments. Not important to sports turf.
Endogeic earthworms: These earthworms form burrows that
are not open to the surface and do not cast at the surface.
They normally live in the top 15 to 20cm of the soil.
Anecic earthworms: These earthworms are capable of
burrowing deeply and normally have burrows that are open to
the surface. They feed on leaf litter that they find at the
surface and mix it within the soil horizons. This type of
earthworm is responsible for the formation of surface casts
that cause major problems for sports turf.
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15 www.pitchcare.com/re
16 www.pitchcare.com/re
43
Leatherjackets are the second
most widespread pest problem
on golf courses in the UK and
Ireland (Mann, 2003) and
throughout the majority of
Europe. Unfortunately, little
research has been carried out
into leatherjackets infesting
turfgrass
Leatherjackets
M
ost research work
on Leatherjackets
has been
concerned with forage
grass. A review of work
carried out into
leatherjacket problems in
grassland was written by
Blackshaw (1991) and has
been used throughout
this report.
Leatherjackets are a
major pest in grassland
leys, lawns, golf courses,
sports fields and arable
crops (Anon, 1984).
Reports of
leatherjackets damaging
grassland or turf in
England, Ireland, France,
Germany, Netherlands,
Norway (Blackshaw,
1991) and cool season
turf areas of USA and
Canada (Potter, 1998)
have been published.
Leatherjacket biology
Leatherjackets are the
larvae of the crane fly
(Tipula spp.), more
commonly called the
daddy-long-legs. There
are numerous species,
such as Tipula paludosa, T.
oleracea, T. variipennis, T.
vernalis and T.
subnodicornis (Blackshaw,
1991). Only T. paludosa
and T. oleracea are
recognised as a pest
throughout Europe and
T. paludosa is cited as the
pest species found in US
and Canada. The
lifecycle differs
depending on the
species.
Tipula paludosa emerge
as adults in August and
September (Blackshaw,
1991). Females do not
move far from emergence
and mating occurs
quickly with eggs being
laid within 32 hours of
emergence. Larvae enter
a resting phase in the
summer before pupation
which may be responsible
for the synchronisation of
adults emerging
(Blackshaw, 1991).
Tipula oleracea has two
adult flight periods per
year. One in
August/September and a
second in May/June,
although adults may also
be present all summer
(Blackshaw, 1991).
Mating takes place after
the eggs have fully
developed and not
immediately on
emergence. The females
are multivoltine so egg
laying is spread over a
longer period than other
species. They also fly
much further distances
and so populations do
not build up in affected
areas.
Up to 400 eggs are laid
with 6 or less eggs being
laid at one spot (Dawson,
1932). Eggs are dark
brown and are laid into
the soil at the base of
grass stems (Drury,
1993). Eggs hatch around
14 days later and larvae
start to feed (Dawson,
1932). Leatherjackets
feed on roots but can
often be found on the
surface on damp
Damage can range from no
visible symptoms to complete
sward destruction
evenings feeding on leaves
(Potter, 1998). The
leatherjackets are grey/brown
to green/grey in colour,
legless maggots with no
distinct head capsule (Anon,
1984). The first stage larvae
are around 0.3cm long
(Dawson, 1932) growing to
1cm after approximately one
month (around November in
the UK) and reaching 2.5 4cm after the feeding period
in spring (Anon, 1984).
Larvae then move down the
soil profile in the summer to
pupate. The pupae wriggle
up the soil profile with the
help of backward pointing
spines and push themselves
partly above the surface for
the adult to emerge (Anon,
1984; Potter, 1998).
Problems of leatherjackets
on golf turf
Leatherjackets feed on roots
and organic matter below the
soil surface. They may also
come to the surface on damp
evenings and feed on leaf
material. Damage can range
from no visible symptoms to
complete sward destruction.
Most turfgrass will harbour a
low number of leatherjackets
and show no adverse effects.
The amount of damage is
related to the number of
leatherjackets present and the
condition of the grass
(Blackshaw, 1991). In turf, a
threshold of 16 leatherjackets
m2 has been proposed for
insecticidal application
(Anon, 1983). Potter (1998)
reported more than 1000
leatherjackets m2 on heavily
infected turf. Turfgrass that is
already under stress will be
more severely damaged by
leatherjackets. Shallow rooted
grass plants find it more
difficult to recover from
attack (Blackshaw, 1991).
During the winter months
when turf is only growing
slowly (or not at all)
leatherjackets may still be
actively feeding. Turf may
have difficulty in recovering
in a period when growth is
low or has ceased (Blackshaw,
1991).
As well as feeding on the
turf, leatherjackets disrupt
the surface of fine turf by
tunnelling. This may affect
the trueness of the golf
green. The activity of birds
searching for the grubs also
disrupts the turf surface with
tufts of grass left loose and
holes opened up in the
sward. Badgers may also
cause damage to the turf
surface searching for
leatherjackets.
Past chemical control
measures
Dawson (1932) lists
naphthalene, Jeyes fluid and
orthodichlorobenzene as
leatherjacket expellants.
However, naphthalene gave
inconsistent results and
orthodichlorobenzene
temporarily discoloured the
sward surface. Lead arsenate
was shown to be an effective
leatherjacket killer which
removed the need to dispose
of the expelled larvae
(Dawson, 1932).
Many other insecticides
have been shown to be
effective in controlling
leatherjackets. These
included DDT, aldrin,
gamma-HCH, gamma-HCH
+ thiophanate-methyl,
triazophos and cypermethrin
(Atrick, 1994). Applications
of chlordane for earthworm
control would also have
controlled leatherjackets. The
literature often suggested
that leatherjackets were only
a problem on golf fairways
and not on greens. However,
since chlordane was banned
in 1992, leatherjackets may
have become an increasing
problem on greens.
Leatherjackets were indicated
as being as widespread as
earthworms on greens, with
81% of respondents
indicating leatherjackets
being present, in a survey of
golf courses in the UK and
Ireland (Mann, 2003).
Present chemical control
measures
Carbaryl and chlorpyrifos are
effective and are still
available in some countries
for insect control.
Cultural control measures
All methods will be best
aimed to reduce the
leatherjacket population in
the autumn before they
spend the winter feeding.
Methods that try to reduce
the population in spring will
not prevent feeding damage
occurring. However, it may
reduce the population for the
successive season (especially
in the case of T. paludosa as
the females do not move far
from where they emerge
before laying eggs).
Leatherjackets, especially
small ones, are susceptible to
drought (Anon, 1984).
Therefore improving the
drainage to prevent excessive
moistness during the period
of egg laying and hatching
will help to reduce the
population. Moisture
shortage
in September
and October
has been cited as the reason
for reduced leatherjacket
numbers in autumn
(Blackshaw, 1991). However,
a difference in leatherjacket
numbers found between four
different drainage systems
could not be related to soil
moisture.
The leatherjacket
population have been shown
to decline over the winter
months. This reduction will
depend on how severe the
winter is. An average decline,
in grassland, of 35% with a
maximum of 63% has been
recorded (Blackshaw, 1991).
In small areas the use of
tarpaulins to encourage the
leatherjackets to come to the
surface has been successful
(Dawson, 1932). The
leatherjackets could then be
swept up and removed.
However, the amount of
tarpaulin and man hours that
would be required over a golf
course would make this
method prohibitive.
Although, in extreme cases
this may be possible on
greens.
Rolling is often suggested
as a method of crushing the
larvae. However, there is no
evidence to suggest this
reduces larval numbers.
Rolling during the summer
months has reduced adult
numbers by trapping the
pupae under a soil cap
(Blackshaw, 1991). This could
have serious implications for
other characteristics of the
rootzone such as drainage
rates.
Biological control measures
Blackshaw (1991) reports
little success with naturally
occurring enemies of
leatherjackets. Tipula
Irridescent Virus has been
Leatherjackets were
indicated as being as
widespread as
earthworms on greens
44
found in a small proportion
of the population. It
appeared to be transmitted
by cannibalism which
restricted its spread.
Although there was some
success by introducing it
through treated bran.
However, in field populations
the leatherjackets must
encounter the bran while it is
viable which may prove
difficult. Wide scale
production of this virus
would also be difficult as it
cannot be produced in vitro
(Blackshaw, 1991).
A parasitic wasp (genus
Anaphes) has been found in
Northern Ireland that was
recovered from eggs, which
may prove useful in future
control methods (Blackshaw,
1991). However, the wasp has
not been found in other areas
of the UK and may not occur
in other parts of Europe or
the USA.
An entomopathogenic
nematode (Steinernema feltiae)
has shown promise in
reducing leatherjacket
numbers (Peters & Ehlers,
1994). The highest mortality
(51%) of leatherjackets was
shown to be just before the
first molt (15 day old larvae)
in a laboratory test. Mortality
then declined as the
leatherjackets move through
the larval stages. The number
of dauer juveniles (the life
stage of the nematode that
infects the leatherjackets)
required to kill the
leatherjackets also differed
depending on the age of the
leatherjacket. The lowest
LC50 was 7
dauer juveniles when the
larvae were 6 days old
increasing to 56 when the
larvae were 72 days old.
However, these results were
for leatherjackets placed in
sand filled petri dishes and
the nematodes applied close
to hand. A field trial would
be required to determine the
efficacy of nematodes in vivo
when the leatherjackets may
not be close to the site of
application.
In the UK, this nematode
is currently on the market,
aimed at lawn owners. We are
unaware of anyone who has
used this product and so do
not have any information on
its effectiveness.
Bacillus thuringiensis var.
israelensis (Bti) has also been
suggested as a promising
biological control agent
(Evans, 1996). Autumn
application of Bti to
grassland in Scotland
reduced the leatherjacket
population from 3 million
larvae ha-1 to 0.5 million
larvae ha-1. This reduction
was similar to chlorpyrifos
applied at the recommended
rate. However, spring
application of Bti did not
significantly reduce the
leatherjacket population
compared to the untreated
control. Chlorpyrifos
significantly reduced the
leatherjacket population in
the spring. In grassland, it is
commonly accepted that the
economic threshold for
treating leatherjackets to
prevent a decrease in yield is
1.0 million ha-1 (100
leatherjackets m2). Treatment
with Bti in autumn brought
the leatherjacket population
below this threshold.
However, in managed
amenity turf the threshold for
pesticide application is 16
leatherjackets m2. Further
work would be required with
Bti to ensure it could reduce
the population to an
acceptable level for golf.
Grass species infected with
endophytes are often less
susceptible to insect feeding
due to their alkaloid content.
Lewis & Vaughan (1997)
investigated the effect of
endophytes on the feeding
behaviour of leatherjackets.
Three perennial ryegrass
varieties with and without
endophyte infections were
fed to leatherjackets in a
laboratory experiment. There
was no significant effect of
endophyte infected ryegrass
compared to no endophyte
infection on weight, survival
or number of adults that
emerged. It was concluded
that the levels of alkaloids
may not have been sufficient
enough to deter feeding by
leatherjackets. The level of
alkaloids produced differed
depending on the
endophyte/plant genotype
and the season. It is possible
that other grasses infected
with endophytes may
produce improved resistance
to leatherjacket feeding.
This article has been taken
from a paper published in the
Sports Turf Research
Institute's annual "Journal of
Turfgrass and Sports Surface
Science",Vol 80, 2004.Copies
are available from STRI
tel:01274 565131. The author
would like to thank the R&A
for financial support in an
expanded version of this
article.
References
Anon. (1983). Pests of Turf. Sports
Turf Bulletin 140, 7-8.
Anon. (1984). Leatherjackets.
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries
and Food Leaflet 179. pp 8.
Atrick, G. (1994). Insecticides: an
historical perspective.
Groundsman 47 (1), 34.
Blackshaw, R. P. (1991).
Leatherjackets in grassland.
Proceedings of the British
GrasslandSociety Conference.
Strategies for Weed, Disease
and Pest Control in Grasland,
6.1-6.12.
Dawson, R. B. (1932). Leather
jackets. Journal of the Board of
Greenkeepers Research 2, 183195.
Drury, S. (1993). Worst of Pests.
Turf Management May, 16-17.
Edwards, C. A. & Bohlen, P. J.
(1996). Biology and Ecology of
Earthworms. Chapman & Hall,
London, pp 426.
Evans, K. A. (1996). The control of
leatherjackets in grassland
using Bacillus thuringiensis.
Proceedings Crop Protection in
Northern Britain, 231-236.
Lewis, G.C. & Vaughan, B. (1997).
Evaluation of a fungal
endophyte (Neotyphodium lolii)
for control of leatherjackets
(Tipula spp.) in perennial
ryegrass. Annals Applied
Biology 130 (supplement), 2435.
Mann, R. L. (2003). A survey to
determine the spread and
severity of pests and diseases
on golf greens in the UK and
Ireland. Journal of Turfgrass and
Sports Surface Science, in press
Peters, A. & Ehlers, R. U. (1994).
Susceptibility of leatherjackets
(Tipula paludosa and Tipula
oleracea; Tipulidae;
Nematocera) to the
entomophthogenic nematode
Steinernema feltiae. Journal of
Invertebrate Pathology 63, 163171.
Potter, D. A. (1998). Destructive
Turfgrass Insects. Biology,
Diagnosis and Control. Ann
Arbor Press, Inc. Michigan, 117118.
Days OFF!
... or what Pitchcare contributors get up to out of office hours
PATRICK CALLABY: commonly referred to as
Cal (a nickname left over from Army days). The
last 11½ years I have spent as workshop
manager at The Celtic Manor Resort and
previous to that at St. Pierre Hotel & Golf
Course, Chepstow for 8 years.
I have a passion for dogs in general,
but gundogs used in the field in
particular, especially the English
Springer Spaniel. I have kept them
for many years (we won’t go into
how many). I must have owned
50 odd during this time and
have had a certain amount of
success in competition, and
generally train a competent dog
for field work. I currently have 6
in the kennels, one Golden
Retriever, 2 Clumber Spaniels (guests) and 3
English Springers.
My wife says I think more of those dogs than I
do of her and my reply is I think more of next
door’s dog than I do of her.
Married to Maralyn for 34 years; I have 3 grownups to my name, a son aged 27 - maturing to
about 16ish and twin boy & girl aged 24. My
daughter, Gail, has a son, who, at 2 years old is
bonkers about dogs (don’t know where he gets it
from) and would live in the kennel with Bob (his
favourite dog) given half a chance; he’s a lovely
boy.
Retiring age is fast approaching and since my
pension fund is absolute rubbish I’ve had to resort
to plan B, writing articles for Pitchcare, a measure
of my desperation (sorry Dave).
When
AUTUMN
LEAVES
start to fall
www.sweepfast.com
Artificial Turf Maintenance Specialist
Artificial Turf Maintenance
AUTUMN MAINTENANCE
on artificial surfaces
A STRANGE phenomena can
be observed across the UK
this autumn. Here we are
heading towards the middle
of October and the majority
of our broadleaved trees are
still in full leaf and green. So
maybe, just maybe, I will get
to appreciate the autumn
before the dreaded annual
event takes place!
If you hadn’t already
guessed I am talking about
the annual leaf fall! Artificial
surfaces and leaves go
together as well as snow on a
beach! Not only are they
unsightly and dangerous on
any sports pitch, but on
artificial surfaces they can be
positively ruinous!
Already the phone is
ringing from various parts of
the country as drainage
problems crop up. With the
arrival of shorter, cooler days
and autumn rain, lack of
maintenance in previous
years manifests itself now, just
as football, hockey and tennis
winter leagues get under way.
In many cases this situation
could have been prevented by
good surface hygiene i.e. by
removing all organic debris
from the surface before it is
broken down either by foot
pressure or mechanical
brushing.
Any traffic over dead leaves
will lead to small organic
particles being pushed down
into the pile and infill
properties. Dragbrushing at
this time of year, whilst
essential to keep the infill
mobile and the surface decompacted, will only increase
the amount of debris in the
infill if leaves are not
removed from the surface
before brushing takes place.
So, out should come the
leaf blowers, billy goats and
cleansweep or greensweep
machines to keep artificials
free from leaves, pine needles
etc.
Another ever increasing
problem is rearing its ugly
head again - moss and algae.
With a largely dry summer
this hasn't been the problem
that it could have been, but
with a warm damp autumn
the mosses are growing, busy
producing spores for next
spring.
Moss not treated now could
lead to an explosion next
year. Again, moss growth
seems to be a byproduct of
poor surface hygiene; it
doesn't seem to grow on clean
infill but rather on the debris
present - another reason to
keep debris out of the
surface!
What we could really do
with is a chemical that shows
some residual activity against
moss and algae. Most of the
chemicals we have trialed
seem to give reasonable
control in the short term, but
surfaces don't stay free for
long.
With the end of
dichlorophen just around the
corner and viable alternatives
being cost prohibitive, I’d
love to hear from someone
who thinks they have a
solution to the problem.
Meanwhile, as soon as the
first frosts arrive the leaves
will be down en masse. My
advice - the faster you get
them off the better.
SAM BREEDEN
Sweepfast
U.K. importers & Manufacturers of the
Triple Greensweep
U.K. importers of the Cleansweep
Artificial Turf Restoration
Before Restoration
After Restoration
Moss Control also available
For friendly advice
or a site visit ring
01675 470770
17 www.pitchcare.com/re
47
Trainer and Careers Counsellor FRANK NEWBERRY concludes his
series on ‘self marketing’. This month he looks at how to market
yourself through the format of your CV and how to come over well
at interviews
Top Ten Tips for
CV’s and
INTERVIEWS
Tips for CV’s
1 Reduce it
Keep your CV size down to two sides of
A4 paper and don’t go below font size
10. CV sifters won’t wade through pages
of detail to get the data they need to
make a decision.
2 Jazz it up
Make your CV look appealing with a nice
layout and maybe a bit of colour and a
flattering photo. Use short jargon-free
statements to help the non-technical CV
sifter.
3 Accentuate the Positive
The job of the CV is to get the CV sifter
to recommend you for an interview. It is
a snap-shot, not a comprehensive history,
so stress your successes and
achievements, not just your past duties
and responsibilities.
4 Put in a Profile
A busy CV sifter will get a positive
impression right away if there is a
‘Profile’ section at the top of the CV. The
Profile is about six lines of text that
summarises your suitability and stresses
the positive aspects of your personality
e.g. ‘a positive attitude and a cheerful
disposition’.
5 Put in your Achievements
The positive impression is reinforced if
you place a ‘Work Achievements’ section
directly under your Profile. This should
be about six lines and summarises those
work achievements that are impressive
and those that relate directly to the
vacancy advertised.
6 Customise it
Make the CV sifter’s life easier by
customising your CV to the precise
requirements of the job advertised. If the
advertisement is not detailed enough
then call the employer and ask for a copy
of the relevant job description and the
employee specification (it describes the
ideal candidate).
7 List Achievements in History
Make life even easier for the reader by
stating or repeating your achievements
in the ‘last first’ chronological sequence
of the ‘Employment History’ section.
People are interested in your history but
your achievements will get you the
interview.
8 Address the Covering Letter
to a Person
If you don’t know who to write to then
call up and get the correct name and job
title of the right person. It makes your
approach more personal, more polite
and more professional. Unless you are on
first name terms with the individual
concerned use their formal title i.e. ‘Dear
Mr Bloggs’ not ‘Dear Joe’.
9 Use AIDA format
Use the AIDA format in your covering
letter i.e.
Attention: ‘I saw your advert …’ or ‘A
friend told me…’
Interest: ‘I’ve heard very good things
about…’
Desire: ‘I enclose my CV and I’d really
like to visit you for a look round …’
Or if preferred you could write ‘Before I
send my CV I’d like to visit you for a
look round …’
Action: ‘I will phone you for an
appointment …’
10 Put it to Work
Once written you can then customise
your CV for specific vacancies or you can
target your ideal employers, do some
research on them and send the CV out to
all of them. You can ask each for a visit
and suggest they interview you first when
there is a vacancy, before they spend
money on advertising.
Tips for
Interviews
1 Visit in Advance
As part of your research you can visit the
organisation privately to check their
facilities or publicly to meet key people.
The ‘public’ visit would be seen as a
proactive and professional move on your
part. Whilst on their premises you should
show a positive attitude and a cheerful
disposition. If problems are mentioned,
be understanding rather than critical or
prescriptive.
2 Use Correct Body Language
On your visit and at the interview relax
but stand or sit in an upright position
making eye contact when you meet
people. If people offer a handshake then
match the pressure they are using. When
people talk lean forward slightly,
maintain eye contact and nod to show
that you are interested.
3 Plus One Dress Standard
On your visit and at the interview dress
and groom to a standard that is one
higher than that expected. Many people
think that first impressions count a lot
and you should not disappoint them.
‘a positive attitude and a cheerful disposition’
50
4 ‘Memorise’ CV statements
8 Use the ‘I’ word
Remember what you have
written in your CV. Interviewers
will quote you and probe your
statements
A good interviewer will skate
over any reassurances you give
and probe your answers for
evidence. At all times you
should use the words ‘I’ and
‘my’ and not ‘we’ and ‘us’ in
your responses. The
interviewers need to know what
you did and what you think.
5 Do Your Research
For each interview do research
into the organisation. Find out
what the interviewers are like
and what they are looking for.
You might take an illustrated
portfolio of your best work
achievements. Take it with you
but wait for a question that
would make a picture an
appropriate answer. To help
non-technical interviewers some
candidates do an illustrated
portfolio on the organisation
itself. Do not offer to leave your
portfolio and don’t expect them
to read it during the interview.
6 Rehearse Answers to
Predictable and
Difficult Questions
Anticipate all their questions
and rehearse positive answers
containing real examples and
evidence. Rehearse until your
delivery sounds smooth and
natural.
7 Don’t be modest and
speak in ‘triples’
When you are preparing
answers try to have three things
to say. When you say something
like ‘I think there were three
things that needed to be sorted
out’ it sounds convincing. One
is not enough, two is OK and
four is too many!
Take-all
patch ...
disea
se
OF TH
E
MONTH
9 Have ‘mistake’
answers ready
No one is perfect and a good
interviewer will want to know
about any significant mistakes
and errors you have made.
Prepare to give real life
examples that show how you
recovered from your mistakes.
10 Have your own
questions ready
You will probably be asked if
you have any questions. You
should thank them for their
time and then ask something
meaningful like ‘Do you
anticipate any changes that
might affect this job in the near
future?’
Further help
FRANK NEWBERRY is an
experienced CV sifter and
interviewer. He has fully
formatted sample CV’s that
you can get by visiting
www.franknewberry.com and
clicking on ‘Contact’ and then
‘Request Information’.
The Greatest
Golfing Tips in
the World
John Cook £6.99 Public Eye Publications
With a title like that the author, PGA
Coach John Cook, is obviously not shy. But
why is the book reviewed in Pitchcare
magazine I hear you say? Well many of
you will know the illustrator of the
cartoons, one Graham Robson, often to
be seen working (loitering) on the Simon
Tullett Machinery stands at various
exhibitions. And as many of us play golf it may just
be of some use.
Actually it’s a cracking little book. Full of useful tips, written and illustrated with
a sense of humour. From the first cartoon where a player seeking to gain match
play advantage introduces his oppo to “Knuckles my caddy” the tone is set.
Explaining how short putts are missed Cook recommends “With any short putt
of four feet or below, putt the ball and listen for the ball to drop. This will keep
your shoulders square to the line. In the interest of slow play, if you have not
heard anything within ten minutes, you have missed it!!”
With a foreword by Cook’s close friend Gary Player and nods to Butch Harmon
and his brothers, the book has a strong pedigree.
The Greatest Golfing Tips in the World is available from Public Eye Publications.
Email sales@publiceyepublications.co.uk. www.thegreatestintheworld.com
It only costs £6.99 and I reckon any golfer, regardless of ability, will get
something out of this book. Come to think of it I might just buy John Richards a
copy for Christmas!
This disease is caused by the
fungus Gaeumannomyces
graminis var. avenae and is
frequently seen developing
on fine turf swards during
the late summer and
autumn months. The fungus
actually begins to infect
turfgrasses as the rootzone
temperatures start to
increase in late spring (cool,
moist weather) but the
symptoms on the sward only
become apparent as the
summer stresses (heat and
drought) increase and the
individual plants become
more heavily colonised by
the fungus.
Historically, take-all patch
has been largely restricted to
bentgrass swards although
we are now seeing an
increase in the development
of take-all patch on annual
meadowgrass swards.
The general symptoms of
take-all patch disease are
roughly circular patches of
damaged turf that appear
bronze in colour. The
patches can become slightly
sunken towards their centre
and once they appear, they
may change in the intensity
of their colour during any one
season although they may
increase annually in
diameter. Towards the late
summer, the outer edge of
the affected turf may be
more distinctly red/brown in
colour. Patches may
coalesce to form large,
affected areas. The centre of
the affected patches is often
colonised by fescues or, in
advanced symptoms, by
broad-leaved weeds.
Individual plants may show a
dark fungal mycelial growth
along the stem and root
tissues and, as the disease
progresses, dark flask-like
spore producing structures
may be seen protruding
through the leaf sheaths
around the stem bases.
Take-all patch disease is
commonly seen on newly
constructed fine turf areas
where the diversity of
microbiology in the rootzone
is limited. Several naturally
occurring rootzone fungi and
bacteria are known to be
antagonistic to G. graminis
var. avenae and once their
populations have developed
sufficiently, the disease
subsides due to so-called
take-all decline. The disease
is more commonly seen on
high sand content rootzones,
on areas receiving
unbalanced nutrient input
and where rootzones either
have a high pH or where the
surface pH undergoes a
sudden, slight increase due
to product or water
application. We are now
aware that manganese is
also important in the
development of this disease
and, where availability is
limiting, the disease is both
more likely to occur and
more intensely.
Fungicides are currently
available for use that can be
used as part of an integrated
programme to manage this
disease. Since this is
primarily a root disease, it is
important that the fungicide
is applied in such a way that
the product reaches the
target area to achieve
efficacy. Always ensure that
the disease is correctly
identified prior to the
application of any plant
protection product.
Dr Kate Entwistle MBPR,
The Turf Disease Centre
Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff began his cricketing
career at St Anne’s Cricket Club in Blackpool.
The local residents (and their insurance companies)
were delighted when young Freddie was
fast-ttracked into the Lancashire County set-u
up!
FREDDIE’S old
hunting ground
Laurence Gale MSc reports
Andy Mackay
D
uring a recent trip to Blackpool to
attend an NTF meeting I took the
opportunity to call in and see one
of Pitchcare’s long standing members,
Andy Mackay, who is the groundsman of
two cricket clubs, Blackpool and St
Anne’s, the latter located to the south
side of the town. Both clubs play in the
same Lancashire Premier Cricket
League.
Andy is employed by both clubs,
sharing his time between the two. To
help him undertake the heavy workload,
especially during the season, Andy
employs his dad full time.
I met up with Andy at St Anne’s
where I found him busy
carrying out hollow coring
operations on the
outfield.
St Anne’s is a
prosperous club with
well over 1300
members, putting
out four senior
sides and a number
of youth teams.
The club has been
responsible for
grooming many
talented players
over the years,
none more famous
than England’s
current legend,
Freddie Flintoff.
He played at St
Anne’s for a number of
seasons before being
fast-tracked to the
Lancashire County side.
There is plenty of
memorabilia celebrating
his time at the club.
The ground is a tight
and small, having a relatively short
boundary on all sides, and surrounded
by 1960’s housing developments. It was
no surprise to discover that young
Freddie was responsible for breaking a
few of the roof tiles during his early
career!
ANDY has been working at St Anne’s for
five years and, during that time, has
vastly improved the playing quality of
both the square and outfield. The club
generously supported his education at
Myerscouth College, where he gained a
degree in sports turf management.
The square at St Anne’s provides 16
match wickets and four practice wickets.
8 of them are kept for the first team and
are generally sited in the middle of the
square. With over 80 fixtures a year,
maximising wicket use is a priority for
Andy.
Autumn renovations had been
completed on the square, with the new
grass now beginning to thicken. The
square is well over 70 years old and
comprises made up ground with a loam
profile averaging 125mm in depth.
The loam on the square is a Surrey
Supernatural 28% Gostd loam which was
introduced three years ago. The previous
loam was another Surrey loam supplied
by Gem. However there was a need to
improve the quality of the square to
accommodate better players. In the first
year the new loam was integrated into
the square at a 1-3 ratio, followed the
second year at a rate of 50/50 . This year
has seen a full application of 5 tons of
Gostd loam at 100% content.
Before renovations were started the
square was well watered. Several passes
with a SISIS scarifyer were undertaken
followed by some aeration using solid
tines set at 100 mm depth. The square
... the square
at St Anne’s
provides
sixteen match
wickets and
four practice
wickets
was then overseeded with a mix of rye
grasses and fertilised using a Scotts
granular 7:0:14 product.
Over the years Andy has experimented
with different methods to control Poa
and other weed species. He is now
beginning to see a reduction in weed
grasses on the square; it has gone down
from 60% to less than 5% in three years.
Now the square has been put to bed
Andy concentrates his time on the
outfield, often an area that gets
neglected at some clubs. Being by the
sea, the outfield at St Anne’s is
predominantly a sandy soil with over
80% content in its profile. This makes it
an ideal free draining turf. However,
during warm spells, it is prone to drying
out. Until the club introduced a new
irrigation system a lot of grass was lost in
the summer months.
A number of drought resistant grasses
were trialed to overcome the problem.
However, to protect the grass during dry
periods, Andy has been encouraging
about 6 mm of thatch in his outfield.
Each year the outfield is hollowed
cored to maintain thatch
levels, aid
aeration and restore levels. The cores are
brushed back into the surface using drag
mats and brushes.
Aeration is a key activity at St Anne’s
where the outfield is spiked regularly
during the winter. The square also
receives some aeration which, when
conditions are right, is undertaken on a
fortnightly basis trying to get down below
150 mm. However, aeration is ceased
after January.
The outfield is cut with a ride on triple
mower allowing the clippings to fly which
helps to create some desired thatch
formation. The sward is mown at 12 mm
during the summer and raised to 15 mm
during the winter. The square is
maintained at 8 mm in the summer and
15 mm in the winter.
Maintenance of the facility has been
made easier with the introduction of a
new automated pop up system that
serves both the square and outfield.
In fact the investment has nearly
paid for itself because the sward
remains healthy, requiring less inputs
to replace dead and dying grasses
which, prior to the installation, was
a regular occurrence after dry
periods.
Now that the renovations have been
put to bed Andy is hoping for some quiet
time to plan the next improvement
works, which will probably see the square
being Koro’d to remove some minor
undulations.
I suppose the next time I visit I will
need to call in at Blackpool CC and
compare facilities. I am sure, however,
that the hard work and commitment
Andy puts in at St Anne’s is replicated at
Blackpool.
Aussie Turf
Managers visited
top UK venues as
part of a
development
programme linked
with the ECB
through Pitches
Consultant
Chris Wood
Rob Savedra with
losing (sorry, had to
put that) Australian
Ashes Captain,
Ricky Ponting
Aussies ENJOY
a WINNING tour!
I
t wasn’t just the Aussie cricketers
that visited the UK this summer.
Three members of the Australian
Ground and Garden Managers
Association also made the trip as
part of a development programme linked
with the ECB via Pitches Consultant
Chris Wood, who visited Australia and
spoke at the Association's conference in
June 2004.
Rob Savedra from Wesley College,
Melbourne, Bill Sciarretta from Scotch
College Melbourne and Warwick Starr
from Bankstown Council, Sydney spent
three weeks touring schools and sporting
venues across the country as well as
visiting Cranfield Soil Science Laboratory
and the STRI at Bingley.
They received funding from their
employers to take part in the exchange,
which aims to give groundsmen from
both countries the opportunity to
compare working conditions and
practices and to find out whether they
are affected by similar issues at work.
A gruelling itinerary took them right
around the UK and as it coincided with a
number of sporting events, provided the
group with a number of ‘once in a
lifetime’ experiences such as meeting
Aussie cricket captain Ricky Ponting out
on the square at The Oval and being
driven in a golf buggy down the fairway
at St. Andrews during The Open.
Rob Savedra is grounds manager at
Wesley School, a traditional school in
Melbourne which is the largest in the
country with more than 3,500 pupils. It
also sets the benchmark for sports
surface standards, hosting the training
sessions for the World XI Elite cricketers
prior to their series of One Day
Internationals against Australia earlier
this month.
He’d wanted to find out whether
budgets, running costs, machinery and
working conditions were on a par with
those in Australia and to find out about
the relationships that British grounds
managers have with their employers, in
“I got the impression that
grounds managers in the UK
aren’t valued in the same way as
they are in Australia. They don’t
seem to enjoy the same level of
communication with their
managers as we do.”
52
comparison to his experiences at home.
“It has been fascinating to see at first
hand, some of the turf management
techniques used by the guys over here”,
Rob commented. “Take cricket
preparation for example. The weather’s
so different in the UK - either too wet or
too dry and there’s a real danger of overrolling. We’re luckier in that with 80%
clay content in the soil we’ll roll just
before a match to close the cracks. The
cricket groundsmen over here have a
very difficult job to do.”
“I got the impression that grounds
managers in the UK aren’t valued in the
same way as they are in Australia. They
don’t seem to enjoy the same level of
communication with their managers as
we do.”
“I was surprised by the amount of
grounds without irrigation and some
having to make do with travelling
sprinklers. In Australia, every pitch
would have an irrigation system. I was
also surprised by how little fertiliser is
With
Mick Hunt
at Lord’s
I was struck by how calm
the guys were before such a
major event - cool as
cucumbers!
used in the UK. Everyone’s
so environment conscious,
not wanting to spray if it’s
not absolutely necessary. If
they’ve got Fusarium, they’ll
try and feed it out rather
than spray. We use a lot of
wetting agents and fertilisers
back home, but you can’t
wash fertiliser in if you don’t
have an irrigation system.
Lack of irrigation limits all
sorts of things.”
“The whole trip was
amazing. Visiting the Oval
and Lord’s just two days
prior to international cricket
was an honour and a
privilege. Gordon Moir at St.
Andrews also took time out
on the Friday during The
Open to show us his
machinery and irrigation
system. Visiting World-class
venues was great, but the
hospitality shown to us by
everyone involved in our
18 www.pitchcare.com/re
itinerary was amazing and
we're extremely grateful to
them for making our trip
such a success.”
Since returning home the
group has presented their
findings to relevant
institutions and are using
the knowledge gained to
trial such things as fibresand
in goalsquares and the
possibility of importing the
hovercover. They’re also
spreading the word about
how we can share knowledge
from across the globe.
Rob’s looking forward to
welcoming the party of
British grounds managers
that’ll be visiting Australia in
2007, adding: “The
hospitality will be
reciprocated of course…but
you can bring the Ashes!”
Above: Freddie and KP in training with members of the World XI at the
grounds of Wesley College, Melbourne prior to the first One Day game.
Below: Muttiah Muralitharan, Daniel Vettori, Brian Lara, Shoaib Akhtar,
‘Freddie’ Flintoff and Makhaya Ntini listen to Kevin Pietersen ... probably
talking about ‘that’ innings at the Oval!
53
Jargon
busting
Computer
A little electronic machine
that sits in a corner, has a
few sockets around the
back, a button and a couple
of lights on the front, and
serves well as a stand for
your cup of tea (though I
really should discourage you
from that). A range of
peripherals can be attached
to it.
Peripherals
The collective name for
devices that connect to the
computer, eg Mouse,
Keyboard
Monitor
A screen that displays things
that the computer tells it to looks a bit like a TV
Mouse
A handheld device to provide
control over the computer.
Not usually furry
Keyboard
Like the top of a typewriter,
to type text into the
computer
Modem
A device that allows
computers to talk to one
another
Network
A collection of computers
that are interconnected
Internet
Millions of interconnected
networks of computers. Each
computer is able to talk to
any other
Online
When you connect your
computer to the internet, you
are ‘online’
Offline
When you are not online, you
are offline, disconnected
from the network
54
The Web
Monkey speaks
Well, writes actually and presents us with part one of
Pitchcare Online, for those who are Offline
Hello, I’m Alastair, Pitchcare’s Web Developer
and IT expert. I’m known (fondly, I like to think)
as the Pitchcare Web Monkey. I’ve been asked to
write a simple, concise and informative article to
help you read the online version of this
magazine, as well as provide tips for those of you
who already have experience with this kind of
thing.
Here is part one, an introduction, looking at
ways of getting online if you don’t have your own
computer. Part two in the next issue focuses on
“buying your own computer.” I've not written it
yet, but I think part three will be in the
February/March 2006 issue and will look at ways
of connecting to the internet to help you get the
most out your time online.
If you don’t have a computer, don’t have an
internet connection, don’t use a web browser, or
don’t even know what those terms mean, you
need to read this, because you need to read the
online version of Pitchcare. If you don’t, you’re
missing out on all the
advice that would
help you prepare the
perfect pitch, the
greenest golf
green, the most
wonderful
wicket ...
and that
would
be a disservice to the sports people who play on
your surface(s).
If you don’t have a computer, you will need
access to one. You can buy a computer of your
own (see next issue for help with that), borrow
one from a friend, or easiest of all, use one at
the local library, for free.
I don’t know if it is a government requirement
that libraries provide free internet access, but I
do know that all the libraries in my local area
have it, and I’m quite sure it is the same all over
the country. You may have to book a session as
they are well used. There is probably a librarian
to ask for help, should you need it. Apart from
the inconvenience of having to wait your turn and
the fact that people can see the screen while you
are online, I can think of no negative elements to
this, and heartily recommend it.
If you know someone who has their own
computer, who is prepared to lend it to you, and
possibly give you some training on it, you have a
great friend and should take them up on the
offer. They need to have an internet connection,
and you need to be aware that they might be
charged for every minute the
computer is online.
Training is essential if
you are to make the most
of your time when
borrowing or
buying a
Not mentioned in dispatches is the little
device top left of Al’s screen! It’s a
mirror, not through any vanity on his
part but to see who’s behind him. Al sits
facing out into the Pitchcare office with
.... a solid wall behind him!
computer. You wouldn’t try and
access to a computer, have
drive a car without taking
enough computer training to be
lessons, and in my opinion, the
able to comprehend the next
same should apply with a
sentence and are ready to
computer. Of course it isn’t a
experience the online magazine
requirement, you are unlikely to
for Groundsmen and
kill someone if you don’t know
Greenkeepers, you now need to
how to use a computer properly,
know how to get to Pitchcare
but if you have no experience
online. It’s as easy sitting at the
using a computer at all, the
computer, opening the web
basics may not be obvious to
browser, typing the following
you and it may dishearten you.
URL into the address bar and
Many schools and colleges
either pressing “enter” or
run informal courses in basic
clicking “Go”:
computer use and provide
http://www.pitchcare.com
certif-ication upon comp-letion.
There may be a fee, but usually
I’d like to suggest that you
this is only a few pounds. My
should go to read “About
father in law recently completed
Pitchcare” before you do
one, and his skill in operating a
anything else. You can find the
computer has increased
link on the left hand menu, the
dramatically. The stage after
third green box down. It
this basic introduction is to take
provides you with
a training
a good
course such as
overview of
Already online?
the European
what we are
Computer
Al’s best of the net:
about, shows
Driving License,
you the team,
• Get a new browser! You will probably
or ECDL as is it
the staff and
use
Internet
Explorer
(The
web
browser
is more
many of the
that comes with Windows) to access
commonly
contributing
the internet. You’re not restricted to
known. Again,
authors. From
that, and I would recommend that you
you can take
install Firefox. It’s free and better, so
there, if you
training for this
get it from http://www.getfirefox.com
would like to
and receive
join the site
• If you are regularly skint, the best
certification at
ways to save money and beat the
(you have to do
many schools
system are documented by Martin
this to read
Lewis
at
and colleges,
any of the
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com
but it is more
2500+ articles
formal and
• See how busy your commute is and
or contribute
avoid the jams for free with the
there may be a
to the
Highways
Agency's
up-to-date
Traffic
larger fee.
Message
Info
website
at
However, it is
Board, and it is
http://www.highways.gov.uk/trafficinfo
an
completely
internationally
free) click on
recognised
the “Join
qualification, indicates your
Pitchcare” button, sixth down
level of computer competence,
on the left hand menu. On the
and will be appreciated by
page that is presented to you, in
prospective employers in
the left hand “I am not a
addition to providing you with a
member” section, fill in a
comprehensive education in
chosen username, name, email
computer skills.
address, how you found out
Assuming you somehow have
about us and then click on
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19 www.pitchcare.com/re
“Subscribe FREE.” You are then
asked to fill in a few more
details, and are finally
automatically emailed your
chosen username and a
computer generated password.
From this point, explore the site
at your leisure.
I hope I’ve given you enough
information to get the training
you need, get online and get
started with the internet. If you
do get online and are able to
send email, I’d appreciate if you
could email me at
al@pitchcare.com to let me
know how you got on. In the
next issue I’ll tell you about the
exciting world of computer
purchasing.
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55
A day with
TURFMECH
Laurence Gale MSc spends a day with
Austin Jarrett MD of Turfmech
F
or many years the sports turf
industry relied on many of the old
tried and tested manufacturers
who were involved in the
development and supply of
traditional maintenance machines.
It was not perhaps until the mid to late
1980s that we began to see some innovative
developments with the introduction of some
new product designs such as the vertidrain
aerators, topdressers and disc seeders. They
began to change and stimulate the industry
into what we see today.
The range of specialist machinery now on
offer is staggering. We have Koro fraise
mowers, linear aerators, air assisted
aerators, topdressers, laser guided mowers
and line markers, and so on.
One firm that has contributed much to
this change is Turfmech, a small
Staffordshire company, formed in 1990 by
Austin Jarrett and his wife Sabine.
AUSTIN has always been interested in
engineering, having studied and gained an
HND in Agricultural Engineering at Writtle
College. Once qualified, Austin got himself
a job working for a turf company where he
got hands on experience in using and
selling turf harvesting equipment.
It was his thirst for engineering that led
him to decide to set up his own business in
1990. He saw an opportunity to fill a void
in the leaf collecting and sweeping market
which led to him designing the
Tornado leaf blowers and vacuums,
targeting the golf and Local Authority
markets.
From those early days, Turfmech
Machinery has developed into a major
equipment producer in its own right,
manufacturing, marketing and
supporting an extensive product range
for the turf market. The company has
developed and marketed well over
twenty products, ranging from mowers,
turf harvesting machines, blowers, vacuums,
rotary decompactors and topdressers.
Listed are a few of the products that have
been developed and marketed by
Turfmech:
• Tornado debris blowers
• Turfmech V800 high performance
truck loaders
• The TM5 and TM1 pedestrian
and high tip vacuum
collectors
• Tri Deck fine finish rotary
mowers
• The Earthquake rotary
decompactor which
can now offer sand
injection options
• A range of ProPass
‘light and frequent’
top dressers
The company has one
of the few pipe and
tube laser cutting
machines in
the country, which
enables high quality
fabrication in minutes
TM1 Vacuum
Collector
Robotic
Ball Picker
Pro Pass Top Dresser
Turf Harvester
• Turf harvesters
• Compaction meters
• Robotic mowers and golf
ball collectors
AUSTIN is always keen to
complement and support
other industry manufacturers
and, over the years, has built
up a healthy relationship with
many of the leading
companies. Turfmech is not
interested in trying to
compete with established
manufacturers but are keen
to develop new concepts in
machinery which meet the
needs of the sportsturf
industry.
One example of this has
been the recent development
of the TM1 sweeper collector
which was launched as a
prototype at last year’s Saltex.
This enabled Austin to
gauge potential customer’s
reaction and to refine the
product accordingly. The
result is an attractive looking,
easy to operate pedestrian
hoover sweeper that has the
ability to pick up wet soil
cores.
The concept behind the
design was to make the job of
collecting soil cores easier
and more efficient. The
sweeper can collect and self
empty, thus reducing the
number of staff required to
complete the tasks.
OVER the years Turfmech
has invested many thousands
of pounds in research,
development and
manufacturing processes,
coupled with the fact that he
has managed to attract some
of the best engineering
minds in the UK.
Combining these resources
has enabled the company to
produce quality, well
designed products.
The factory contains some
leading edge technologies
with laser cutting and
scanning equipment. I was
particularly interested in the
laser scanner which, in
minutes, could copy any
profile of metal or solid
object turning it into a fully
finished CAD drawing. The
copier cost over £50,000.
The company also has one
of the few pipe and tube laser
cutting machines in the
country, which enables high
quality fabrication in
minutes. Well over fifty full
time staff are on the books,
and include designers,
machinists, welders,
fabricators, technicians,
accountants and sales
representatives.
Austin says the success of
the company has been down
to the fact that he and his
staff are prepared to listen
and try to understand
customers' needs and
requirements.
The customers often have
very good ideas of what they
want, but do not have the
resources and skills
to turn them into
reality. He also
believes that
Turfmech is
primarily a
facilitator which
brings the idea to
fruition.
As a company
they know they
have only scratched
the surface with
regard to innovation within
our industry. He knows only
too well that there are many
groundsmen and
greenkeepers in the UK who
are constantly thinking, or
have even thought, of how
they can make their tasks
more efficient, easier or
precise, but they are never
able to put these thoughts
into practice.
Austin is always very
interested to hear of any
ideas, no matter how wacky
they may seem at the time.
Technology moves at a
great pace and, sometime in
the future, these ideas will
become a reality.
Turfmech’s latest machines
are not just restricted to the
professional turf market - the
Bigmow and Ballpicker are
robotic machines that can
offer 24 hour non manual,
emission free operation.
Austin is confident that these
new products will stimulate
much interest and debate
within our industry.
Turfmech’s impressive
new-iish headquarters
Officially being launched
this autumn is the TM1
Pedestrian Vacuum, designed
to collect a range of debris
off sports pitch facilities. The
machine offers a variable
suction mode that can be set
for different debris, leaves,
litter and soil cores. Austin
believes this will be a great
asset for the golf industry,
particularly for removing
unwanted soil cores from
greens and tees during
renovations.
Nowadays all manufactured
products have to meet
stringent guidelines with
regard to operator safety,
noise and pollution; they all
have to be considered when
designing and building any
new machine.
After 15 years, Turfmech is
very well established and
recognised as one of the
leading UK companies for
innovation and design in
sports turf machinery.
57
CULTIVATION
TECHNIQUES
Planning an optimum programme
The first part of a two-part article reviewing the
processes of identifying soil physical problems and
the design of a corrective programme using
appropriate cultivation techniques based on a
scientific understanding of symptoms.
by MARTYN T. JONES, National Turfgrass Foundation
INTRODUCTION
IDENTIFYING THE PROBLEM(S)
The soil in most putting greens in this
country is far from ideal and, as an
alternative to costly and disruptive
reconstruction, most course managers try
to improve the performance of the soil
through a programme of cultivation.
Each situation has a distinct set of
characteristics that require accurate
diagnosis. Course managers should
examine their own unique situation
before deciding on a particular piece of
equipment or course of action.
Planning an optimum programme
involves a number of stages. Firstly, what
is the problem, or problems, that needs
to be corrected? In some cases, the
overall poor state of the green may result
from an assortment of deficiencies and
each fault may need individual attention.
Secondly, what equipment is the most
appropriate to alleviate the identified
problems? Where there are a number of
causal defects, a range of equipment with
differing actions may be required.
Remember that there is never a
panacea for all soil ailments. And thirdly,
what intensity of treatment with
appropriate equipment will be needed to
achieve the desired improvement? The
latter point will include timing and
frequency of operations based on
prevailing weather conditions, state of
the soil, and degree of acceptable
disruption to play.
Detailed inspection of the turf and soil is
necessary to identify the problem or
problems that may exist. Major problems
can vary significantly from one area to
another, even though the general
symptoms of poor turf colour, low shoot
density, restricted rooting, susceptibility
to environmental stress, high disease
incidence, and surface ponding may be
common to all.
Some conditions are easily identified.
Examples include excessive thatch
accumulation, or layering in the soil
profile resulting from siltation from
flooding, faulty construction, or
inappropriate topdressing programme.
Severe soil compaction, be it at the
surface or lower in the soil profile is also
usually easily identifiable. However,
moderate compaction is not as easily
discernable and may require close
inspection of rooting and moisture
movement to locate the zone of
compaction and its severity. A soil probe
can be used to locate a hard pan in the
soil or physical impedance to rooting
may also reveal the problem.
All too often, inexperienced turf
managers jump to conclusions without
adequate diagnosis. Consequently,
inappropriate actions may be taken in an
assumption that a treatment will be
effective. In some instances, not only is
the treatment ineffective but the problem
can actually be aggravated.
There is never a panacea for all soil ailments,
no matter how good the piece of equipment.
Some problems are easily identified
Where a green is constructed from
fine-textured soil, identifying the causal
problem is generally straightforward,
whereas problems associated with high
sand content constructions can be much
more complex.
For instance, it is not uncommon to
find sand-based greens built to a perched
water table specification that appear to
drain rapidly, yet display shallow rooting,
weakened turf, and the presence of black
layer. There may be no signs of
compaction, little thatch, and no visible
surface water. Close inspection of the
rootzone will often reveal that the
material is saturated throughout its
depth. Generally, unsuitable sand or an
inadequate depth of rootzone material
causes such a condition. Where the depth
of the sand rootzone is less than the
critical tension or air-entry pressure of
the material, the pore spaces remain full
of water, air cannot enter at the surface,
and the rootzone material remains
saturated. Such a problem is generally a
construction fault and must be rectified
by means other than cultivation
techniques.
Some suggestions in the identification of
soil physical problems are:
• Select an area that is a fair indicator of
the general state of the green, tee or
fairway. Avoid areas that are likely to be
particularly wet because surface contours
are simply channelling water into the
area in quantities greater than the soil
Reconstruction may be necessary
Layering of thatch and top dressing can
seriously interrupt downward movement of
water and resrict root development
Dug profiles can reveal all sorts of problems
infiltration can remove it, thereby
causing surface ponding. Such areas will
require specific attention or even
reconstruction may be necessary to
refashion the contours.
• If the area being investigated is a
fairway, carefully excavate a hole to a
depth of 450 - 600mm to observe the
different layers or horizons in the soil
profile. If the problematic area is a green
or tee and is of a perched water table
construction similar to a USGA
recommended system, excavation only
needs to be to the depth of the sub-base.
Take a note of even small layers if the
texture or structure is distinctly different
from surrounding soil. Note the depth of
the thatch layer, presence of black layer,
and any obvious changes in soil colour,
organic matter content, or moisture
retention. Identify if there are distinct
layers of topdressing, either separated by
thatch, or as obvious changes in material
selection.
• If a layer within the soil appears to
interfere with water movement, take a
core, using a hole-cutter, and, with the
offending layer in the middle of the
plug, add water to the top of the soil and
observe its movement. See if the
downward movement of the water is
interrupted by the layer and if it moves
across the top of it.
• Observe the root growth patterns for
any indications of restricted rooting
deeper in the profile. Abrupt impedance
to rooting at depth will reveal a zone of
compaction or a distinct change in soil
texture. If rooting is hindered
throughout the whole profile and not
just at a zone in the profile, the problem
will likely be caused by a compacted
layer at the surface, either as a thin layer
Days OFF!
or several centimetres in thickness. The
surface layer may consist of compacted
mineral soil or a compacted humus-rich
soil in which organic matter is blocking
the pores between the particles.
Alternatively, hindered rooting
throughout the whole profile could
indicate that the rootzone mixture is an
excessively fine-textured soil.
• To confirm a zone of compacted soil at
depth in the profile, slowly insert a long,
pointed steel probe of about pencil-size
diameter into the soil when it has been
thoroughly wetted, such as after
prolonged rain. Note whether any zone
of high resistance can be felt as the
probe is inserted. Any suspect zones can
be checked to see if roots penetrate them
or water perches above them.
• If it is thought that a high water table
is the primary problem, rather than a
drainage barrier that creates a perched
water table within the soil, further
excavate the hole to at least 800 mm and
monitor the depth of the free water table
over a three- to four-day period. A high
water table will normally remain
relatively static, whereas if it is a perched
water table, the deep hole should drain
it and allow a rapid lowering of the
water.
• If identification of the problems is not
easy, check with someone who has
experience in soil physics. Sometimes,
proper identification of the primary
problem can be difficult because
secondary or tertiary problems mask the
most significant symptoms. For example,
black layer is a symptom of an anaerobic
soil environment but the anaerobiosis
can stem from a number of causes and
accurate diagnosis is vital if the problem
is to be corrected.
Black Layer
Some common problems that are either
unidentified or incorrectly diagnosed are
those that result in water ponding on the
surface of a green. Basically, ponding
occurs where the infiltration and
percolation rates of a soil are insufficient
to cope with the quantity or rate of
precipitation arriving on the surface. It
sounds simple but can be much more
complex than it first seems.
A relatively thin surface layer of
compacted soil or excessive organic
content can cause the symptom; a fine
textured rootzone material to depth can
also display similar symptoms; an
impervious layer within the profile can
interrupt downward flow; or excessive
extraneous water flowing from adjacent
ground can also display the same signs.
The faults are all different and require
different treatments. Failure to correctly
diagnose the problem can result in
inappropriate treatment and,
unfortunately, may further aggravate the
deficiency.
For example, if it is assumed that the
cause of the problem is a fine textured
rootzone material compacted to depth;
deep cultivation with a Vertidrain may be
an appropriate treatment. However, if, in
fact, it is merely a compacted layer at the
surface which is causing the problem,
deep cultivation would be inappropriate.
Indeed, it might even create an
additional problem of compaction at
depth if executed when the soil is in an
unsuitable state, i.e. when wet and
susceptible to structural damage.
Thorough investigation and accurate
diagnosis of a condition are the first and
most important stages in determining
appropriate methods and a sequence of
cultivation techniques. An applicable
maxim is, ‘Knowing the problem is 90%
of solving the problem’.
... or what Pitchcare contributors get up to out of office hours
JAMES MEAD, the newly appointed Head
Groundsman at Rugby School - I have been
involved in the sports turf industry since leaving
school in 1972. I served a five-year
apprenticeship as a craftsman gardener with
Birmingham City Council at Kings Heath Park
Horticultural Training School. Also there at the
same time was Pitchcare’s Editor, Laurence Gale
but, despite this early setback, I was still keen to
continue in the profession! I have always treated
my job as a hobby; every day is a day off!! Living
on the job often means that I find myself
working additional hours ensuring that the
school grounds are looking their best. With two
teenage children I seem to spend most of my
spare time ferrying them to various activities in
around the Midlands. My son plays county
cricket and hockey, so many weekends are taken
up watching and supporting him. I’m a life long
Birmingham City supporter, and I try to watch
them at every opportunity, however it can be
depressing at times. I enjoy listening to live
music and have been to the Glastonbury Festival
on several occasions. Keeping fit is another
passion of mine, I swim and play cricket
(not at the same time!), and I cycle in
to work every day. However, I’m still
settling in to my new post here at
Rugby, so any spare hours will be
dedicated to raising the standards
to establish rugby school as a
leading sports venue in the UK.
Classifieds
To advertise in the classified section of Pitchcare contact
Peter Britton on 01747 855335 email: peter@pitchcare.com
GOLF COURSE FURNITURE
DRAINAGE
AERATION
21
26
IRRIGATION
30
.co.uk
Golf Tee Signs
The Natural Choice
35
Design : Installation : Maintenance
Construction
Piped Drainage Systems
Sand Slitting : Vertidraining
Topdressing : Overseeding
Appley Bridge, Wigan, Lancs WN6 9DT
t 01257 255321 f 01257 255327
e duncanross.ltd@virgin.net
36
GROUNDSMAN
AERATORS
22
Hollow, solid and micro tine with
tractor or pedestrian aerators
from Groundsman
HIRE AND SALES
Contact Dave on 01380 828337
Mobile: 07971 843802
email: sales@synergyproducts.ltd.uk
www.synergyproducts.ltd.uk
Why not visit our on-line
classifieds at
www.pitchcare.com
•
Or visit the
Pitchcare Shop for great
savings on a
host of quality products
27
Get more for your money 23
WITH
GRASS CUTTING MACHINERY
A self-propelled, laser-guided, reel-type
mower capable of creating a multitude
of geometric patterns on turf . . . without
an operator being present.
31
Park Farm,
Stancombe,
Dursley
Gloucestershire
GL11 6AT.
Tel: 01453 544135
www.mcmurtryltd.co.uk
Trimax PegasusS2
32
Tractor not included ...
HYDROJECT AERATION
GROUNDBREAKER DECOMPACTION
GOLF COURSE & BOWLING GREEN
RENOVATION & MAINTENANCE
PEDESTRIAN & TRACTOR EQUIPMENT
SPECIALIST EQUIPMENT HIRE
TEL: 01952 511000
www.oakleysgroundcare.com
... but everything you
need for years of
superb mowing is!
Tel: 01933 652235
info@trimaxmowers.co.uk
www.trimaxmowers.com
E.mail phil@oakleysgroundcare.co.uk
DRAINAGE
One-piece nylon head that
trims the grass around
sprinkler heads in seconds
A unique high
37
speed cutter which
fits all commercial
trimmers & brushcutters
A range of cutters to
meet the requirements of the
world’s leading irrigation systems
Distibuted in the UK by Lastec
IRRIGATION
Tel: 01622 812103
Fax: 01622 815534
SPEEDCUT 28
email: sales@lastec.co.uk
CONTRACTORS LTD
24
38
SPORTSTURF
Construction
Drainage
Renovation
Sandslitting
33
NOW IN OVER 2000 GOLF COURSES
Golf Course Irrigation Controllers & Decoders
Programme Testers
Lightning protection modules
User Friendly Controllers
Comprehensive Field Wiring Kits
The world’s widest range of replacement
decoders
NEW - Golf Course Mapping
Contact Kevin Smith
OXFORD 01865 331479
Tel: 01269 832325
J&R ALKER
25
29
34
SPORTSGROUND CONSTRUCTION LTD
Specialists in full construction,
drainage, sand slitting,
verti-draining, top dressing.
Tel/Fax: 01695 622983
Mobile: 07974 462465
60
AGRIPOWER
TOP DRESSING
OVER SEEDING
DE-COMPACTION
VERTIDRAINING
GROUND BREAKING
LANDSCAPING
SPECIALISTS IN ALL ASPECTS OF
SPORTSTURF CONSTRUCTION
DRAINAGE & MAINTENANCE
TEL: 01494 866776
FAX: 01494 866779
www.agripower.co.uk
info@tonick.co.uk • www.tonick.co.uk
You can respond to
advertising in this issue
by logging on to
www.pitchcare.com/re
Clicking on to the
relevant response number
will take you direct to
the advertisers website
Classifieds
To advertise in the classified section of Pitchcare contact
Peter Britton on 01747 855335 email: peter@pitchcare.com
SEED SUPPLIERS
MACHINERY SALES & HIRE
Part of Boughton Loam Limited
TYM tractors
for Hire
23-70hp all fitted with turf
tyres. Competitive rates
for long term or
contract hire
39
TURF-CARE CONTRACTING
TURF-CARE EQUIPMENT SALES
TURF-CARE PRODUCTS & LOAMS
Central Area 01283 704664
South East 01895 834411
Greens aeration with
core collection
Fairway aeration work with
special winter rates.
Greens dressing, seeding and
groundbreaker hire
INTERNATIONAL LTD
Sportsground Mixtures
• Next day delivery
• Technical advice
• STILL in 25kg bags
Used Charterhouse
Verti-drains
for sale
seeds@bshlincoln.co.uk
1.5m greens machines,
2m and 2.4 fairway
machines
www.britishseedhouses.com
44
Possibly the largest stockist of
amenity grass and wild flowers
seed in northern England
www.stuarttaylors.co.uk
40
tel: 01254 813175 mobile: 07810 650007
You have the grass, we have the machine
Lane Ends Cottage, Highfield Gate Lane, Balderstone, Blackburn BB2 7LJ
41
Moore Uni-Drill is the proven
machine for accurate seed placement on flat or undulating areas
Contact Dave on 01380 828337
Mobile: 07971 843802
email: sales@synergyproducts.ltd.uk
www.synergyproducts.ltd.uk
This space could be
YOURS for as little as
£40 per issue
For further details
contact Peter Britton on
01747 855335
or email
peter@pitchcare.com
42
BENSON PLANT NUTRIENTS
Strength
Strength against
against Stress
Stress
At BENSON we have long understood the problems of Stress in
plants and have concentrated upon the effects and alleviation.
a century of development and understanding of plant hormone
Consolidate Plus Half
production has resulted in the manufacture of specialised premium
Renascent
Tel: (0044) 0114 251 3344
Email: sales@tines.co.uk
Fax: (0044) 0114 251 3000
Website: www.garfitts.com
45
Produce high quality topsoil from
your own recycled materials
HIRE AND SALES
Contact Dave on 01380 828337
Mobile: 07971 843802
email: sales@synergyproducts.ltd.uk
www.synergyproducts.ltd.uk
You can respond to
advertising in this issue
by logging on to
www.pitchcare.com/re
Clicking on to the
relevant response number
will take you direct to
the advertisers
website
ROLLERS
48
47
POWEROLL
ROLLERS
PLANT NUTRIENTS
Consolidate
Garfitts International Ltd
Cross Scythes Works: New Street:
Holbrook Trading Estate: Halfway
Sheffield: England:
S20 3GH
Email: nick@hurrells.fsbusiness.co.uk
SOIL SCREENERS
We stock all types of
grass cutting equipment
from 4ft to 50ft cut
Tines
Tel: 01377 271400
Fax: 01377 271500
SOIL SCREENERS
Northwest main dealer for
Benye compact tractors
NEED TO
OVERSEED?
Hurrells Specialist Seeds, Beverley Road
Cranswick Driffield East Yorkshire YO25 9PF
www.hmseeds.co.uk
Sales & hire of used
commercial mowers
THE UK’s PREMIER SUPPLIER
FOR ALL YOUR GOLF AND TURF
MACHINERY SPARES
Tines/slitters/scarifiers
for turf maintenance
machinery
Tel: 01522 868714
Fax: 01522 868095
For more details contact Julian on 07774 746083
or email for pictures - jsimpson@boughton-loam.co.uk
OVERSEEDING
46
43
Providing
Boughton Turf
Management
SPARE PARTS
products facilitating healthy root growth, disease resistance and
most importantly, protection against Stress.
GOT A PROBLEM? Contact Paul Benson on 07733 233333
email: paul@bensonplantnutrients.com www.bensonplantnutrients.com
You can buy our products on-line at www.pitchcare.com
NEW AND USED
Tel: 01822 832608
www.poweroll.com
To subscribe to pitchcare
magazine log on to
www.pitchcare.com
61
Classifieds
To advertise in the classified section of Pitchcare contact
Peter Britton on 01747 855335 email: peter@pitchcare.com
SPORTS TURF CONTRACTORS
SPORTS TURF CONTRACTORS
FTS
49
54
Sportsground & Amenity
Contractors
Cricket Pitch
Specialists
Unit 5, Beenham Industrial Estate
Reading, Berkshire RG7 5PP
Tel: 0118 9714420
Mob: 07768 696291
Fax: 0118 9714522
www.fts-sportsturf.co.uk
J&R ALKER
Vertidraining, Hollow Coring, Overseeding, Draining,
Gravel Banding, Field Top Maker, Deep Scarifying &
all types of Sports Turf Maintenance
Mobile: 07860 259692 Tel: 01284 735241
Fax 01284 735105
Email: peter@buryturfcare.com www.buryturfcare.com
50
55
SPORTSGROUND CONSTRUCTION LTD
Specialists in full construction,
drainage, sand slitting,
verti-draining, top dressing.
Tel/Fax: 01695 622983
Mobile: 07974 462465
Sportsturf Contractors
• Construction
• Drainage
• Renovation
Oasby Mill, Oasby, Grantham, Lincs NG32 3AQ
Tel: 01529 455757
Fax: 01529 455775
Chris Boniface Ltd
Cricket Pitches 51
A qualified cricket
groundsman
with 20 years
experience in
the maintenance and
construction of cricket pitches
Tel: 07795 634948
email:
email: chris@cboniface1.wanadoo.co.uk
chris@cboniface1.wanadoo.co.uk
CH GROUNDS 52
MAINTENANCE LTD
Construction
Renovation
Verti-Draining
Sanding
Seeding & Spraying
Koro Field Topmaker
CHESHAM, BUCKS
Tel: 01494 758208
www.chgrounds.com
e-mail: info@chgrounds.com
Get more for your money 53
WITH
SPORTS TURF RENOVATION &
CONSTRUCTION
EXPERT ADVICE &
AGRONOMY SERVICES
FINE TURF MAINTENANCE WORK
SPECIALIST EQUIPMENT HIRE
TEL: 01952 511000
www.oakleysgroundcare.com
E.mail phil@oakleysgroundcare.co.uk
59
D W Clark
DRAINAGE LTD
SPECIALIST SPORTSTURF CONSTRUCTION
& DRAINAGE CONTRACTORS
• Gravel Banding • Sand Slitting
• Top Dressing • Renovation • Irrigation
Unit 7, Brailes Industrial Estate, Winderton Lane, Lower Brailes
Banbury, Oxfordshire OX15 5JW
Tel: 01608 685800 Fax: 01608 685801
email: steve@stevenpask.co.uk
email: jim@dwclarkdrainageltd.co.uk Web: www.dwclarkdrainageltd.co.uk
60
56
SPORTSFIELD CONSTRUCTION,
FENCING, DRAINAGE AND
LANDSCAPING
Our extensive experience over a wide
range of contracts ensures that we can
offer proven solutions for
almost all situations.
01773 872362
01773 874763
info@pugh-lewis.co.uk
SPORTS TURF CONSULTANTS
55
61
57
Sports Turf
Consultancy
Associates Ltd
A multidisciplinary Turf Consultancy Service
for all Golf and Sports Clubs and Turf Managers
www.stca-ltd.com
Director: George Attwood-Harris
Phone: 01782 515679
Mobile: 07712 779473
Email: enquiries@stca-ltd.com
62
58
Total Turf Solutions
One resource for all your turf care needs
The tts culture is based on its independence.
tts embodies a new generation of turf consultants combining experienced
and practical groundsmen with in-depth technical knowledge.
For more information on how tts can improve your playing surfaces and
contribute effective resource management to your organisation, don’t
hesitate to call.
Telephone: 01604 750555 Mobile: 07973 885 775
Website: www.totalturfsolutions.co.uk email: enquiry@totalturfsolutions.co.uk
To subscribe to pitchcare magazine
log on to www.pitchcare.com
Classifieds
To advertise in the classified section of Pitchcare contact
Peter Britton on 01747 855335 email: peter@pitchcare.com
TURF SUPPLIERS
TYRES
TOP DRESSING
62
64
65
“For landscaping,
for sports, for amenity ...”
66
Growers of natural & rootzone sports turf
using the very best STRI cultivars
Tel: 01724 855000
Fax: 01724 282777
email: andyfraser@countyturf.co.uk
www.countyturf.co.uk
63
Top quality dressings
Kaloam & Ongar Loam • Fertilisers
Specialist grass seeds, machinery & tools
Contact: Alan Ford - Tel:0870 242 1090
Alan.ford@monrogoundrey.co.uk
www.monrogoundrey.co.uk
Contact: Philip Furner - Tel:01277 890246
sales@binderloams.co.uk
www.binderloams.co.uk
NO MORE DOWNTIME - 100% RECYCLABLE
WHEELBARROWS TO GOLFCARS
PSI RATED TYRES KIND TO YOUR TURF
CALL 01564 824343
GROWERS OF
QUALITY TURF
Telephone:
01842 828266
Website:
www.qlawns.co.uk
Email:
sales@qlawns.co.uk
FOR PRICE AND TYRE AVAILABILITY
Why not visit our on-line
classifieds at
www.pitchcare.com
WWW.HANCOX.CO.UK
Respond to advertising in this
issue by logging on to
www.pitchcare.com/re
Clicking on to the relevant
response number will
take you direct to the
advertisers website
Or visit the Pitchcare Shop
for great savings on a
host of quality products
Job opportunities
To advertise in the classified section of Pitchcare contact
Peter Britton on 01747 855335 email: peter@pitchcare.com
Head Groundsman
Major Sporting Stadium
London
GROUNDSPERSON
Brentford
Football Club
Head Groundsman is required to work on the main
ground for this major sports club. Reporting to the
Stadium Manager you must have experience of winter sports, used to providing quality pitches and
have the ability to work under pressure.
Brentford FC have a vacancy for
a groundsperson, reporting to
the Club's Head Groundsman.
Salary is dependant on experience and qualifications
and will reflect the high expectations of the club.
Experience of working with performance sports pitches is
essential, although the character and work ethic of the successful candidate will be of equal importance.
To discuss this position in confidence please contact
Helen Whiting of Groundsearch Consultancy
Limited, 11 Laceys Lane, Exning, Newmarket,
Suffolk, CB8 7HL Telephone: 01638 578816 E-Mail:
info@gscl.co.uk
Telephone: 01638 578816
E-Mail: info@gscl.co.uk
We are looking for a highly motivated individual, capable of
working unsupervised at times, but also able to fit well into a
closely knit team on matchdays. Work will be split at both the
stadium and the Club's training ground.
Salary will be in the range £15,000 to £20,000, dependant
on experience.
The opportunity is available almost immediately.
Telephone: 0208 380 9907
E-Mail: rking@brentfordfc.co.uk
63
You CANNOT be serious!
The not so serious side of the industry
Some of our research for the magazine is conducted over the
internet. Just type in a groundsman’s or greenkeeper’s name
and, voila, all the info you could need. And more! Somehow I
don’t think the following are actually all moonlighting but ...
Did you know that
KEITH KENT is a successful
author of religious titles.
Some of his published work
include ‘Finding personal
meaning in a crazy world’ and
‘Jesus did it anyway - the
paradoxical commandments’.
MICK HUNT is the chairman
of the ASHP Foundation in
Missouri who foster safe and
effective medication use.
DAVE ROBERTS, from
Austin, Texas is a ‘voice-over’
expert for TV and radio
commercials.
STEVE ROUSE is a Director
of Music at Louisville State
University.
EDDIE (Lockjaw) SEEWARD
is a blues musician from the
’50’s. Spookily his best known
track is ‘Digging a hole’
STEVE BRADDOCK is a
Director of the Florida Keys
Outreach Coalition who
specialise in low income
housing.
PETER CRAIG is another
succesful author. Humorous
adventure apparently. Titles
include Southbound and Blood
Fathers.
ANTHONY ASQUITH is a
British film director whose
major works include ‘The
Winslow Boy’ and, er, ‘Fanny by
Gaslight’.
GORDON MOIR is co-author
of ‘Megalithic science and some
Scottish site plans. And who’s
the other author? RAY
NORRIS, who himself is the
head groundsman at
Clayesmore School in Dorset
DAVE SALTMAN is a
Mildred Caldwell and Baine
Perkins Kerr Centennial
Professor (phew) specialising
in Algebra and Division
Algebras.
LAURENCE GALE is a
former President of Cryonics
Research in the USA.... that’s
freezing people to bring them
back to life later - if only!
Big Pussy in Scotland
GREENKEEPERS in Fife
have more than fox and
rabbit scrapings to worry
about. A huge cat, dubbed
the Beast of Balbirnie, is
prowling a public area of
woodland.
Two greenkeepers at the
local golf club watched a
large black animal sunning
itself on a grassy bank for
over an hour.
Police are hunting the
massive feline after a
pawprint measuring 4in by
64
3.5in backed up numerous
sightings by walkers in the
area. They believe the beast,
which is described as taller
than a labrador and twice the
length, could be a puma or
leopard.
Big cat expert George
Redpath said yesterday there
had been more than 30
sightings in Fife in the last
year alone. This figure, he
said, did not include hoaxes
and those made by callers
who appeared to be drunk.
I know we did a similar thing in the last issue but these are
just too good to go unpublished.
Double Entendres
Weightlifting commentator:
“This is Gregoriava from
Bulgaria . I saw her snatch
this morning during her
warm up and it was
amazing.”
“Ritchie has now scored
eleven goals - exactly double
last year’s tally.”
Alan Parry
Dressage commentator: “This
is really a lovely horse and I
speak from personal
experience since I once
mounted her mother.”
“Oh, and here comes
Caddick to bowl from the
pavilion end again...well, I
don’t suppose he’ll mind if I
read the scores between his
balls.”
Henry Blofeld
“What does it feel like being
rammed up the backside by
Barrichello?"
James Allen interviewing Ralf
Schumacher at a Grand Prix
“The breeze is getting up and
we can just about see Umpire
Shepherd’s trousers filling up
with wind.”
Jonathan Agnew
“She comes from a tennis
playing family. Her father’s a
dentist!”
BBC commentator at Wimbledon
- John Lloyd we think
“I’m not going to make it a
target but it’s something to
aim for”
Steve Coppell
Caddies say ...
the most hurtful (truthful) things
Golfer: “Think I’m going to
drown myself in the lake.”
Caddy: “Think you can keep
your head down that long?”
Golfer: “Do you think it’s a
sin to play on Sunday?”
Caddy: “The way you play, sir,
it's a sin on any day.”
Golfer: “I’d move heaven and
earth to break 100 on this
course.”
Caddy: “Try heaven sir,
you’ve already moved most of
the earth.”
Golfer: “You’ve got to be the
worst caddy in the world.”
Caddy: “I don’t think so sir.
That would be too much of a
coincidence.”
Golfer: “Do you think my
game is improving?”
Caddy: “Yes sir, you miss the
ball much closer now.”
Golfer: “Do you think I can
get there with a 5 iron?”
Caddy: “Eventually sir.”
Golfer: “How do you like my
game?”
Caddy: “Very good sir, but
personally, I prefer golf.”
Golfer: “This is the worst
course I’ve ever played on.”
Caddy: “This isn’t the golf
course. We left that an hour
ago.”
Golfer: “That can’t be my
ball, it’s too old.”
Caddy: “It’s been a long time
since we teed off, sir.”
BIGGA expanding?
Not too sure what this means? Perhaps it’s BIGGA’s way of
offsetting some of the losses they might incur in 2007 when
some of the ‘majors’ pull out of Harrogate Week.
Actually Bigga are a Jamaican Soft Drinks manufacturer who
have recently celebrated their 10th Anniversary.
Judging by past experience at the recently renamed
‘Harrogate Week’ I can’t see it becoming the official
drink of show!
Pictured at the recent LDCA Drainage event are a ‘mix’ of
Barenbrugers and British Seed Housers! Bob Scott (BSH), Jane
Leyland (Barenbrug), Louise Clegg (BSH) and David Singleton
(Barenbrug). There’s no suggestion of a merger - just a very good
way of illustrating what a friendly industry we all work in.
We purchase and
buy all our own machinery
•
Ludlow nestles in the heart of the
Shropshire countryside within
two miles of Ludlow Castle and
theTown Centre.
Can’t let the whole magazine pass by without a nod to
Michael Vaughan and his team. A truly fantastic
•
achievement and one that warmed the hearts of a nation.
The course is currently
Also heart warming was Justin Langer’s Daily Diary on the
vertidrained using a
BBC Sports website. An honest appraisal of a closely fought
contractor
Well done boys ...
series. So refreshing after the early series rants of Darren
Lehman, Michael Slater and Matthew Hayden!
It was also good to see ‘Freddie’ and ‘Harmy’ perform so well
in the pointless World XI series - got ’em worried for the return?
Forward THINKING
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
NOVEMBER
2nd to 5th - Green Industry Expo (GIE),
Orlando, Florida (www.gieonline.com)
9th - ‘Putting science into practice in
your grounds and parklands’ - STRI,
Bingley (www.stri.co.uk/training)
21st to 25th - ‘Putting science into
practice on your sports grounds’ STRI, Bingley (www.stri.co.uk/training)
30th to 1st Dec - GCSAI Sportsturf
Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
(www.gcsai.org/tradeshow)
DECEMBER
9th to 10th - IOG Scotsturf Edinburgh, Scotland
(www.scotsturf.com)
5th to 8th - NTF Conference Blackpool (www.turfgrass.org.uk)
12th to 16th - EIMA 2005, Bologna,
Italy (www.eima.it)
22nd to 27th - Harrogate Week
(including BTME and Clubhouse - 24th
to 26th), UK
(www.harrogateweek.org.uk)
13th to 15th - Soccerex 2005 Dubai
(www.soccerex.com)
14th to 18th - ‘Putting science into
practice on your golf course’ - STRI,
Bingley (www.stri.co.uk/training)
JANUARY 2006
25th to 26th - The Hire Show, Excel,
London (www.hireshow.co.uk)
FEBRUARY 2006
6th to 11th - GCSAA Golf Industry
Show, Atlanta
(www.golfindustryshow.com)
MARCH 2006
1st to 2nd - GCSAI Annual Conference,
Galway
(www.gcsai.org/annualconference.html)
1st to 3rd - Fairway 2006, Munich
(www.fairway.de/english/esuche.htm)
To add your event to Forward Thinking please
email details to ellie@pitchcare.com and don’t
forget that you can add it to Pitchcare’s online
calendar yourself! Simply log on to
www.pitchcare.com, select the yellow ‘calendar’
button on the left hand side of the screen and
click on “Add event’ at the top of the page.