Dudsbury GC reaps the rewards

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Warren Moss, Course Manager at Dudsbury Golf Club in Bournemouth, believes that his greens are reaping the rewards following a switch from liquid fertilizers to ICL’s SierraformGT and Greenmaster Pro-Lite granular fertilizers.

Dudsbury Golf Club is a 6,904 yard par 71 championship golf course and was designed by Donald Steel – the man who modernised the famous St Andrews course. Set in 160 acres of beautiful Dorset countryside, Dudsbury has played host to a number of prestigious golfing events including the PGA Europro Tour, the BMW PGA Order of Merit Championship and the EGU McGregor Tournament.

After joining Dudsbury Golf Club seven years ago as an assistant greenkeeper, Warren has since worked his way up through a number of promotions to that of course manager. When he felt that the greens were not performing in line with his high expectations, he knew that it was time to take action.

“I wasn’t happy with the way our previous liquid fertilizers were performing on the greens – they were just not looking healthy enough. A report revealed that the greens had poor root growth, so basically I felt that all the nutrients in the liquid were passing through the top 50mm and not getting used up by the rest of the plant. Therefore, I felt that I needed a product that would last longer and benefit the plant for an extended period of time.

“I spoke to Darren Hatcher (ICL Technical Area Sales Manager), and explained what I was trying to achieve and he suggested that switching to ICL granular fertilizers was something that I should consider. He was confident we would get the desired results and after using the first product I saw how good the results were and continued with the iTurf programme. There’s been no looking back since.”

After Darren’s recommendation, Warren decided to change from his previous liquid fertilizers and turned to ICL’s SierraformGT and Greenmaster Pro-Lite granular fertilizers, with the aim of giving the greens the initial spring kick-start that is needed but also providing that longevity throughout the playing season.

“The first product I used was the Greenmaster Pro-Lite Cold Start and that just got the greens going. Combined with the SierraformGT, the greens went from looking really poor to me receiving comments from our members and committee that they were the best they have looked in the last fifteen years. Quite simply, the products did exactly what they said they would do – by the third or the fourth day after application we could already start to see the effects of using them.

“The greens look incredibly healthy now with great colour and I’d say that the feeds have lasted for approximately seven to eight weeks, which is a massive difference to what we were previously using.”

ICL’s granular fertilizer technology means that Warren is now seeing a dramatic increase in terms of longevity. The Pro-Lite technology in Greenmaster gives plants an excellent head start during the colder period of the year while it improves the longevity and performance of the fertilizers. Each homogenous granule disperses quickly into the turf sward and so it will not be picked up by the mower. The fine granules result in a high amount of granules per square metre, which helps to create a denser turf area.

Each SierraformGT granule contains all of the nutrients that the turf requires. The Mu2 and SiLK technologies helps make sure that the plant receives these important nutrients, while it develops stronger cell walls to fight wear and tear, as well as disease.

“Before switching to the ICL granular fertilizers, we were spraying every four weeks and then it went to every three weeks because we were not getting the results we wanted. I then received the feeding programme for 2016 and it was suggested that I spray every two weeks – I thought there is no way I can spray it every two weeks! That was just the feed – I would have been spraying the greens every week with different products.

“Using the SierraformGT and Greenmaster Pro-Lite has freed up so much time and our tees, fairways and approaches have all improved because all our time is not spent on the greens.

Please contact ICL on 01473 237100 or visit www.icl-sf.co.uk

Hero groundsman praised after primary school flood

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An Ipswich school is to be closed for at least three days after a leaking water fountain flooded the building, soaking hundreds of books as well as children’s PE kit.

The security alarm was triggered at Britannia Primary School and Nursery just after midnight today as water from upstairs seeped through the ceiling onto the ground floor.

Headteacher Tracy McKenzie said a pipe had become disconnected from the back of a drinking fountain and she believed it had been running for the entire weekend.

She said: “It [The water] was about two or three inches deep upstairs and downstairs and was coming through the ceiling.”

The school’s security company contacted premises supervisor, Jake Whent, who attempted to clean up the water before calling Miss McKenzie and deputy headteacher Keith Hart around 3am.

Shortly before 4am staff alerted Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service, which sent one crew to the school.

Firefighters assessed the building and found that there was no threat of fire so left the scene at 4.20am.

Mr Hart praised Mr Whent, who is a former pupil of Britannia, as a “hero”.

He said: “He’s only about 18 and he was wading through a lot of centimetres of water.

“He was alone here in the cold and darkness dealing with a potential crisis.

“He did amazingly well. He was using his machinery to soak up all the water.

“He was very calm when I arrived. He worked really hard on the trauma of it all and he did a really good job.

“It was really frightening because water was pouring down and we have got electrics.

“If there’s a hero of the story, it’s him.”

However, Miss McKenzie said hundreds of books, as well as children’s PE kit bags and possibly laptops and iPads had been damaged in the flood.

Around 900 texts were sent out through Parentmail first thing this morning informing mums and dads of the closure.

Miss McKenzie said only one of the school’s 672 pupils arrived today expecting a day of lessons.

“They all got the message, we had no come back at all,” she added.

The headteacher said she hoped to re-open the school on Thursday, but it depended on the extent of the damage.

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STRI Group go stateside

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STRI Group has joined forces with a leading provider of turfgrass education, Auburn University, to initiate research and development programmes throughout the US sports surface market.

The agreement, with the world-renowned Alabama-based University, will focus primarily on expanding the US soccer industry, as well as conducting surfaces research in other sports including golf, football, baseball and equestrian.

The collaboration aims to further enhance Auburn’s existing turfgrass and sports turf research facility, helping it become a centre of excellence for innovations and emerging technologies in sports turf. Auburn will showcase cutting edge techniques and technologies such as grow-lights, water management and reinforced turf systems.

Scott McElroy, professor in the College of Agriculture’s Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Department, said: “Working with STRI is a great opportunity to not only grow our research program at Auburn, but to also greatly enhance the educational content, internship experiences and job opportunities for our students.”

Over the past five years, STRI has reinforced its position as a market leader in the sports surface industry. With its collaboration with Auburn, STRI secures a permanent presence on four continents, with further significant investments being made at its facilities in Australia, the United Kingdom and Qatar.

Lee Penrose, STRI Group Director, said: “STRI is thrilled to collaborate with such a forward thinking and well-respected university. Together, our organisations will create the leading sports turf facility in the US, demonstrating the latest in international thinking.”

MJ Abbott bring international cricket to Somerset

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MJ Abbott’s completed outfield drainage project has helped secure international cricket at Somerset’s County Ground, whilst contributing to the team’s excellent performance in the County Championship, according to head groundsman, Simon Lee.

In order to bring international cricket to the Taunton based ground, upgrades were required on and off the pitch to take it from a category C to B. These improvements included the stands and seating which were completed before attention turned to the outfield.

Only a small amount of improvements had been made since the club was founded in 1875, meaning the outfield didn’t come close to the ECB’s (English Cricket Board) required 30mm an hour infiltration rate.

The importance of this drainage, as Simon explains, is paramount to hosting international matches. And with the work successfully completed and a full season behind him, attention can now turn to their first T20 international between England and South Africa in June 2017 and the men’s World Cup in 2019.

“We knew the shortcomings of our outfield before the work took place, so once we had secured a grant from the ECB we set about really understanding what we needed to do to meet the infiltration rate,” Simon explains.

“The ECB wants all international pitches to have high draining outfields to ensure that matches go ahead for television and financial reasons. And if you’ve got a full ground it’s in everyone’s interest to get the game on, and having well-draining outfields really helps to do that.

“The work MJ Abbott did was fantastic, and we’ve been seeing the benefits of it all season. We had a situation at the end of this season where we previously would have struggled to get the game on, and other grounds on the day didn’t play any cricket. But we were able to remove the sheets and play straight away because the outfield was in great condition.

“Ultimately – despite not winning anything – I think it’s helped the team throughout the season because rain delays used to see them come off the field for a long time, whereas now we’re in a position to compete with other Test grounds around the country.”

The project involved removing the vegetation from the outfield and re-levelling the surface in selected areas. This was followed by the installation of a new outfall pumping chamber before a primary piped drainage system was installed along with secondary sand banding, with the work completed by seeding the outfield.

Over the course of the 2016 County Championship season Simon has seen the major difference he hoped the drainage would make, but as well as praising the results he was also very positive about the process that got it there.

“We haven’t carried out any major projects here, so working with MJ Abbott was my first experience of working with a contractor on something of this size,” he said.

“I can’t fault the planning or execution. The efficiency and quality of the work was a pleasure to watch, it was very neat and tidy for a fairly aggressive job, and it made my life a lot easier because I didn’t have to worry about the job.

“Doing the work helps us play cricket, and that can be the difference between drawing, winning and losing.”

MJ Abbott worked alongside Dr Iain James, Technical Director at TGMS Limited, who consulted and designed the project on behalf of Somerset CCC prior to MJ Abbott winning the contract to execute the plans.

“Working with MJ Abbott was a very good experience. The staff are highly skilled, the communication was good and the project went very smoothly,” Iain said.

“The pitch is performing well, Simon is happy, the Club is happy and we are delighted with how everything has gone.”

The quality to which this project has been completed can be seen in the ECB’s approval and the matches Somerset CCC has subsequently been given. This is not only of huge benefit to Somerset as a County team, but also boosts their international profile as a venue.

Simon and his team of four now have the opportunity to build on the fantastic surface they’ve produced this season, as they continue to look forward to the arrival of international cricket at The County Ground for the first time in June 2017.