Swedish Greenkeeper Wins Award

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Swedish Greenkeeper Wins Award: Swedish greenkeeper Daniel Grant has won this year’s SRUC Elmwood’s annual John Deere HNC Student of the Year Award, which was sponsored by John Deere and Scottish turf dealer Double A. Daniel was selected as the winner due to his outstanding commitment and attitude to his programme of studies at HNC Golf Course Management level throughout the 2016/2017 academic year.

Daniel, aged 27, works at Tomelilla Golf Club in Skåne, near his home town of Ystad, which has an 18-hole main course, a nine-hole short course and Footgolf. Although born and working in Sweden, Daniel has a Scottish pedigree – his father John is the golf professional at PGA Sweden National at Bara near Malmo, having moved from Scotland to Sweden in 1987 to work at Ystad Golf Club.

Swedish Greenkeeper Wins Award

The HNC course at SRUC’s Elmwood campus in Cupar, Fife, was recommended by PGA Sweden National course manager Barry Crawford – another Scot, who gained the same qualification there, among others – when Daniel was working for him as a seasonal greenkeeper.

“The course was a fantastic experience,” said Daniel. “I really was not expecting to receive this award, so it was a very pleasant surprise, especially as I never planned to be a greenkeeper! It came into focus when I need a full-time job after Swedish National Service. I really enjoyed my seasonal work at PGA Sweden National and Ystad Golf Club, and after the army I decided this was what I wanted to do full-time. I’m very happy being a greenkeeper, and want to progress as far as I can.”

The course covers many different areas such as ecology, soil science, irrigation, drainage, design and construction, the history and development of golf and much more. For Daniel’s year it finished with a graded unit where the students had to present a management plan for Auchterderran Golf Course, near Kirkcaldy in Fife.

“Although Daniel brought several years’ experience and very evident practical abilities to the course, it was his engagement with learning and the desire to develop his knowledge and learn even more that shone through in all his work,” said his SRUC Elmwood course tutor Stuart Mackie.

“His attention to detail and the depth of his analysis allowed him to present assignments that provided the required evidence and fully engaged the reader in understanding his conclusions. His nomination was very well deserved for the work he put into every subject.”

For more information visit www.johndeere.co.uk

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Duncan Ross Expertise At BTME

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Duncan Ross Expertise At BTME: Quality of work, customer satisfaction and an expertise in golf course maintenance and construction are factors that have helped Duncan Ross establish their name in the industry, and that experience will be brought to stand A60 at BTME 2018.

A successful expansion of services has meant 2017 afforded Duncan Ross Ltd the opportunity to work on some exciting golf projects. A tee reconstruction at Hesketh Golf Club was one of a number of golf course maintenance and drainage contracts, including the installation of drainage on the 18th green at Lancaster Golf Course.

Duncan Ross Expertise At BTME

Now a regular exhibitor at BTME, Duncan Ross, managing director at Duncan Ross Ltd, knows the benefits of meeting customers face to face and talking through potential projects.

“We used to attend every other year, but this will be our third year in a row at BTME in Harrogate and we’re really looking forward to it,” he said.

“A lot of what we offer comes from customer service and making sure that they always get their specifications met. So, being able to speak to them face to face about anything they might want to improve on their course or any issues they’ve got is ideal for ourselves and them.

“We’ve had a very exciting year with the projects we’ve been working on across all aspects of golf course maintenance and construction, and we know we’ll be continuing that throughout 2018.”

Duncan Ross are committed quality and cost-effective services with highly experienced staff using some of the most advanced machinery and techniques in the industry.

For more information visit www.duncanrosslanddrainage.co.uk

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Bright Future Ahead After SALTEX College Cup

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Bright Future Ahead After SALTEX College Cup: The SALTEX College Cup returned to the NEC once again at this year’s event and highlighted just how well young grounds staff are academically prepared for careers in the industry.

The SALTEX College Cup, sponsored by Ransomes, is a national student-led sports-turf challenge. It is an academic test of turf management knowledge for student competitors who are enrolled at colleges throughout the UK on relevant courses of study.

Bright Future Ahead After SALTEX College Cup

Askham Bryan College, Bridgwater & Taunton College, Myerscough College and, last year’s winners, the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) Greenmount Campus competed for a chance to have its name engraved on the trophy in support of their respective turf programmes.

In teams of four, the colleges embarked on the two-hour competition consisting of paper-based multiple choice and short answer questions on turf management, plus a case study which required a more in-depth written answer. The students were also presented with live test samples in which they had to identify potential threats to the health of turf.

CAFRE, from Northern Ireland, claimed the top prize for the second year running although Askham Bryan were only one point behind in what was a closely fought competition between all of the colleges. CAFRE was awarded the trophy, a £500 cheque for the college’s turf department, and each student received a £50 Amazon voucher. The team was also presented with a prize that money can’t buy – the chance to get involved with pitch preparation at the 6 Nations, Scotland vs England, at BT Murrayfield Stadium.

Results were announced on the first day of SALTEX and CAFRE’s senior tutor, Paul Campbell, revealed his delight at picking up the trophy for a second successive year.

“A combination of excitement and disbelief ensued among the squad as they emulated the achievement of 2016 – particularly for team captain and rugby fan Michael Dundee as he realised he was on his way to BT Murrayfield – and he didn’t need a ticket!

Paul continued: “CAFRE staff and students fully support the concept of the SALTEX College Cup – it provides a forum for showcasing and acknowledging the skills of young people making a career in the industry and allows college staff to benchmark how their programmes are performing against other specialist colleges in the UK. The excellent organisation of the event, the generous sponsorship and the once-in-a-lifetime experience afforded to the winners will mean healthy competition for next year`s team and guarantees CAFRE will return to defend the title in 2018.”

Commenting on the sponsorship of the 2017 SALTEX College Cup, Ransomes senior director Alan Prickett said: “The SALTEX College Cup was another success this year, and we were delighted to have sponsored it for the second year running. Ransomes has a commitment to educating the next generation of groundscare professionals, and we aim to support this in a variety of different ways, including sponsoring the SALTEX College Cup competition. CAFRE, based in Northern Ireland were deserved winners again this year.

Congratulations to CAFRE and we look forward to seeing if the college can retain its title for a third time next year!”

For more information visit www.iogsaltex.com

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Launch Of ISEKI UK & Ireland

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Launch Of ISEKI UK & Ireland: ISEKI UK & Ireland has been launched as part of a huge investment in UK and Ireland markets by the Japanese tractor manufacturer.

The launch of ISEKI UK & Ireland is an exciting development showing great investment and commitment by ISEKI in these key markets. ISEKI UK ltd is a company formed with investment from ISEKI for the sole purpose of distributing the ISEKI range of products and growing market share and sales in the UK & Ireland Markets.

Launch Of ISEKI UK & Ireland

For the last many years, the ISEKI product line has been distributed in the UK and Ireland by Ransomes Jacobsen operating out of their facilities in Ipswich Suffolk. ISEKI would like to sincerely thank Ransomes Jacobsen for all their hard work and dedication over this period and look forward to building on this foundation.

The new ISEKI company will also be based in the Ipswich area and joining ISEKI UK in the new year as Managing Director will be ex-President of Jacobsen, David Withers.

Withers is well known in the industry having served for many years at Ransomes and Jacobsen and more recently working as a business consultant in the golf industry.

“I started working with Iseki when the product line came to Jacobsen in 1996 and have always enjoyed being involved with such an exciting and reliable product line. When ISEKI outlined their strategic vision of getting closer to the customers by investing in their own distribution in the UK it made sense to me” said Withers, who went on to say “I am really looking forward to joining Iseki UK in the New Year to head up this exciting new venture”

Kazuya Tani the European Managing Director of ISEKI  said “This is an exciting time for ISEKI we will be investing more in marketing and promotions of the ISEKI brand and want to see a wider acceptance of our products through expanding our markets served and getting more share from existing customers. The commitment of ISEKI to the UK Market will be significant and we trust that the market will react positively to this approach”

More information will be issued over coming weeks and no changes are anticipated to the current dealer network.

For more information go to www.iseki.co.uk

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WACA Jack Gets Cricket Ground Ready For Ashes Test

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‘WACA Jack’ Gets Cricket Ground Ready For Ashes Test: Next weeks’ Ashes test will be the last to be held at Perth’s traditional home of cricket.

John Lewis, who was given his more catchy nickname by WA fast bowling great Dennis Lillee, has been a WACA Ground staple for almost 40 years with his jobs varying from “general fixer-upper”, groundsman and assistant pitch curator to cultivating his beloved roses.

But as the WACA prepares for its final Ashes battle tomorrow week before a move to Perth Stadium, the 71-year-old admits his tenure is also nearing an end. Unlike most Victorians who revere the MCG, his adopted State’s ground is his only love.

“To me it’s home … well, my second home anyway,” Mr Lewis said. “It may as well be because the only time I’m not here is when I’m home sleepin’. To be here for so long, this ground means everything to me, mate, it really does. It’s going to be hard to walk away, mate, I can tell ya.”

Mr Lewis, a former roof carpenter and truck driver who survived a heart attack in 2015, started work at the WACA on June 19, 1978.

“At 8am,” he said proudly.

He laughed as he recalled once heading out to the wicket to remove a broken stump with a hammer and a screwdriver, only to find English Test batsman Derek Randall unsuccessfully trying to loosen it pouring cordial down the stump hole.

Mr Lewis still has his part of the stump at home. But not all of his tasks were a joy. “There were 1287 old garden chairs which were all multiple colours,” he said.

“Every year they had to be shaved back and repainted with all new boards put on. It would take nearly the whole of winter to fix them up.”

And there was only a brief pause when asked what he could buy if he had a dollar for every time he had mowed the WACA lawn. “Probably the Taj Mahal,” Mr Lewis said with his trademark cheeky grin.

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