On The Right Lines At Ardingly College

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Ian Card is Head of Grounds and Security at Ardingly College, an independent, mixed school set in a beautiful 230-acre campus in the West Sussex countryside. In 2014, having previously worked at the college under another Head Groundsman, Ian returned to Ardingly, bringing with him his 20 years of agronomy experience. He now leads a skilled team of nine, maintaining the grounds, gardens and sports pitches.

Football is the dominant winter sport played at Ardingly College, unlike many private schools that traditionally play rugby as the first choice game. Still, the oval ball has its place alongside football, cricket, hockey, athletics and tennis (to name a few), with Ian’s team maintaining twelve grass pitches, three squares and two all-weather artificial turf pitches.

As is expected for a fee-paying school, the standards of all facilities must be maintained to an exemplary level and Ardingly College more than fulfils this remit. The pitches are pounded seven days a week by the school’s 400+ students, and in the past have been used as training centres for England U21s, England Ladies, Crawley Town FC plus Bunbury’s Cricket matches. Therefore, the amount of use and the high quality playing surfaces expected of the grounds certainly keep Ian and his team on their toes.

The finishing touch and stand out feature of any sports pitch is the white line presentation. This school year saw Ardingly become a customer for Bristol-based sports paint supplier, Pitchmark. With a growing portfolio of independent schools across the UK, Pitchmark’s user-friendly Eco System appealed to Ian and his staff, as he explained: “I like the marking machine. It’s very simple and easy to operate and has a nice user-friendly feel to it.”

Ian continued: “Customer service is crucial in any of my purchasing. Pitchmark’s assistance before and after I became a customer has been excellent. One of their reps, Olly (Boys), comes to see me and the team, and we chat through how the paint and machine are performing and my general feedback. It’s something that was being overlooked with a previous supplier – good, friendly customer service.”

Pitchmark have been supplying Ardingly College with their ready-to-use paint Ecoline+ for nine months so far and this is having a positive effect on work efficiency. “The no mixing is very convenient. My guys don’t have to spend down-time mixing and getting messy. The product quality and finish is consistent as it’s the same every time you mark. It allows us to spend more time on other tasks to raise the standards further.”

“Sometimes, the paint can be too good,” he said, jokingly. “We swap some football fields to rugby every January and I could still see the old lines weeks after.” Well, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Thanks to Ian for his time.

Pitchmark can be contacted on 01454 776666, sales@pitchmark.com or www.pitchmarkltd.com

Etesia UK announce new dealers

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Etesia UK has announced that Forest Park and Gardens, Mowers UK and Blakewell Services have joined its extensive list of UK dealers, and will be distributing the company’s complete product range.

Since 1989, when Etesia revolutionised the green space industry with the Hydro 100 ride-on mower, the company have, year-on-year, introduced market-leading and innovative solutions.

Forest Park and Garden, the family dealership based in South Wales, will be distributing Etesia products in the area of Swansea. The company has rapidly grown since its founding in 2008 and over recent years the company has quickly become leading specialists in the sales and service of quality outdoor products, catering for professional arborists, landscapers and gardeners.

Commenting on Forest Park and Garden’s new Etesia dealership status, managing director Rhys Coles said: “We try and supply products that we know we can stand behind and that are perfect for our professional customers. As for Etesia we were always being asked for the best and a mower that can be used in all weathers and packs grass into the box in all conditions ticks all the boxes. That’s what Etesia does – we bought Etesia push mowers 20 years ago when we first started contracting and we still use them now. For me that says a lot.”

Mowers UK, a division of Acacia Groundcare Equipment Rental Limited, is a leading retailer of garden, forestry and arboriculture machinery in North Hampshire and director Ritain Patel highlighted his reasons for wanting to work with Etesia: “Mowers UK is currently geared slightly more towards the domestic market so we wanted to enhance our commercial offering. We’ve always stocked Etesia machinery through our hire fleet and we wanted to be in a position where we could sell the products. I brought the subject up with other members of management and everyone was extremely keen to bring Etesia on-board. We know the value, the quality of the machines and we know how strong they are in the commercial market.”

Blakewell Services’ managing director Richard Tanton, started the business back in 1971 when he began servicing used tractors and machinery. He continued to build up the business over the years and soon out grew the premises at Blakewell Farm. Now recognised as a leading supplier of agricultural and garden machinery the company will be distributing Etesia products from its base in Barnstaple, North Devon.

All three dealerships will be on hand to offer professional support, sales and servicing on Etesia’s extensive product range.

For further information, please contact Etesia UK on 01295 680120 or visit www.etesia.co.uk

Inaugural Tacit Freshman Tournament

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Tacit, the largest and most prestigious golf course equipment manufacturer in the UK and Ireland are hosting a series of golf days across the UK and Ireland specifically for Deputy Course Mangers and a Member of the Committee in a pair’s competition.

Tacit, always forward thinking in their outlook are encouraging the professional development of the future leaders in the green keeping industry by introduction of the “Freshman” tournament to foster a growing relationship between those people working on the coal face and the club management.

Each regional qualifier will include breakfast on arrival, 18 holes of great golf,nearest the pin challenges and other prizes followed by an informal dinner and presentation.

The winner and runners-up from each venue will qualify for the grand finale at the Belfry with 18 holes of golf on the Brabazon course, host to four Ryder Cups and countless other European Tour events. Following the final will be a drinks reception, gala dinner and one nights luxury accommodation at the Hotel. Prizes will include personal ones as well as those specifically for the club they represent.

Tim Webb, Managing Director at Tacit believes “This is a daring step to go beyond the predictable and find a way of bringing youthful exuberance together with experience to a tournament.” It is very easy, he explained “to go on academical courses and recite what has been taught, it is much more difficult to gain experience and to create associations and friendships that will set you in good stead for your future. We wanted to find a way of getting our younger professionals who are looking to get into management in the future, a way of learning life experiences that cannot be taught in the classroom and then can be built on with the friendships and experiences gained for the benefit of the club as well as their professional development. What better way than by playing golf together? ”

Qualifying events are to be held at;-

IRELAND: Headford Golf Club, 

Enniskerry, 

County Wicklow

Monday 12th June 

SCOTLAND: Dunblane Golf Club, Dunblane, 

Stirlingshire

Tuesday 8th  June

NORTH OF ENGLAND: Malton and Norton, Malton, 

Yorkshire

Monday 19th  June

MIDLANDS ENGLAND: Overstone Park Golf Club, 

Overstone 

Northampton

Thursday 29th June

WEST REGION (WALES & ENGLAND): The Kendleshire, 

Coalpit Heath,

 Bristol

Thursday 18th  May

EAST OF ENGLAND: Ely City, 

Ely, 

Cambridgeshire

Tuesday 18th  July

SOUTH OF ENGLAND: Lingfield Park Resort, Lingfield, 

Surrey

Thursday 22nd  June 

GRAND FINALE:

The Belfry, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands

Monday 30th October 2017

In order to be a part of this fantastic event please register online at;-

www.golf-event.co.uk/tacit
Using password T4cit17 choosing one the locations above.

Kingsbarns Golf Links Set For New Season

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As Kingsbarns Golf Links prepares to host this year’s Ricoh Women’s British Open from the 3 – 6 August, the renowned European Tour venue has released details of a series of changes which have taken place both on and off the course. The North East Fife course, which co-hosts the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, will also start the 2017 season on a high following a string of accolades from the golf media.

The course improvements, which appear on two of the par five holes, have been introduced to optimise the relationship between the course and the rugged North Sea coastline. Under direction of course architect Kyle Phillips, new tees on the 3rd and 16th holes have been constructed on existing land immediately beside the rocky beach. Golfers will now enjoy even more views along Scotland’s east coast while retaining teeing options for players of all standards.

The on-course developments have been accompanied by a number of key appointments to bolster the Kingsbarns roster and its ongoing drive to deliver exceptional customer service. As Kingsbarns chief executive Alan Hogg noted, the developments have been carefully planned.

“The changes both on and off the course have been implemented wholly to enhance the customer experience,” he said. “With the Ricoh Women’s British Open being contested over the links here in August, 2017 will be an exciting and busy year at Kingsbarns. We were conscious of implementing these changes ahead of the tournament and formally unveiling them at the start of the season. This has been achieved through a lot of hard work by our highly skilled maintenance team supported by local contractors during the winter months.”

Released in December 2016, Golf Monthly’s Top 100 Courses of UK and Ireland registered a four-place climb for the Fife course which now holds 17th slot in the respected poll and was the third highest climber in the top 20. “The course is jam-packed with strong golf holes and wonderful views,” the magazine noted. “It is a very special course indeed, and one that should be on every keen golfer’s must-play list.”

The result followed an unprecedented leap earlier in the year when Kingsbarns jumped 10 places to enter Golf World’s top 10. “There has always been a great deal of fondness for the links,” explained Chris Bertram, Golf World’s Top 100 editor, “with plenty among the panel eager to see it rise into the top 10.”

As well as on-course changes at Kingsbarns, the practice facility has been enhanced with the short-game area being expanded and the grass-tee driving range extended. “The recent polls recognise our continuing commitment to develop Kingsbarns by fine-tuning our customer service and delivering a unique playing experience,” said Hogg. “This extends from making detailed improvements to the practice area and on the course to taking important decisions regarding our management team.”

As part of the ongoing programme of improvements, Kingsbarns is delighted to announce the appointment of PGA professional Garry Forrester as its new golf operations manager. With over 20 years’ experience in the golf industry, Forrester has amassed a wealth of experience in retail, tournaments and golf coaching after a number of appointments across Asia and operating his own golf school in St Andrews. He has also had success on the course recording a top 10 finish in the prestigious Scottish PGA Championship and is now looking forward to sharing his experience at Kingsbarns.

“Kingsbarns has been one of my favourite courses for a long time, so to come here to work alongside a fantastic team of professionals is extremely exciting,” said Forrester. “This year’s Ricoh Women’s British Open and everything else that goes on at a European Tour venue will make 2017 a fantastic season, and I am just thrilled to be a part of it.”

The Kingsbarns team has also been bolstered by the promotion of Josh Anderson to the post of caddie master; a key linchpin in the delivery of the Kingsbarns experience. A talented golfer, Anderson started at Kingsbarns in 2008 as a caddie. He played college golf in the US before returning to Fife to complete his PGA training. Anderson has also worked at The International in Amsterdam and is a fully qualified greenkeeper.

“I have a passion for providing great service and sharing my knowledge of golf,” he says. “Building lasting relationships with the customers and staff at Kingsbarns has been so enjoyable that to become caddie master has been a real honour. Our caddie team takes pride in everything we do.”

The changes at Kingsbarns have been led by the idea of creating unforgettable golfing experiences year after year. “The principle that has underpinned Kingsbarns since its launch in 2000 has been to realise the unquantifiable value of an exciting round of golf with good friends and colleagues,” said Art Dunkley, director of Kingsbarns Golf Links. “That has been our guiding philosophy and with the changes made over our closed season, I think we have raised our standard once again.”