High Standards From MM Seed

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High Standards From MM Seed: Cheltenham College’s Christian Brain has praised Limagrain UK’s range of MM grass seed mixtures for their role in helping him to maintain the high standard of pitches in his role as head of grounds at the prestigious school.

Located in the heart of the Cotswolds, Cheltenham College is a leading independent boarding school which dates back to 1841. Well known for its classical, military and sporting traditions, Cheltenham has approximately 700 pupils between the ages of 13 and 18 with many of whom go onto world-class universities such as Cambridge and Oxford. The College also features a prep school with pupils aged between 3 and 18.

High Standards From MM Seed

Christian is the man responsible for maintaining the grounds at both the main site and the prep school, and was initially drawn into the world of groundsmanship through his involvement with club cricket. He went on to work in a number of deputy roles in public schools before getting his opportunity at Cheltenham College.

Christian now oversees a team of four and ensures that the sports and surrounding grounds are at a consistent quality all year round.

“As you would expect, we have cricket in the summer term and then we change into rugby which lasts pretty much up until Christmas,” he says. “After Christmas, it is mainly football and rugby sevens until Easter with hockey which is played on our artificial surfaces.”

Christian relies on both Limagrain’s MM50 and MM60 grass seed mixtures which he uses on the winter pitches, outfields and cricket squares.

“We overseed our winter pitches with MM60 and this is done twice a year,” he says. “Once in August so we are ready for rugby and then we apply again in the spring. We overseed with MM60 after we’ve scarified the smaller cricket squares during the renovation period – purely because it is a stronger mix and can withstand winter sport.”

As Christian says, Limagrain’s MM60 grass seed is renowned for performing incredibly well on winter pitches and produces an excellent playing surface. It is a 100% Ryegrass formula which is perfect for renovation and divot repair, has a high disease resistance, fantastic aesthetic qualities and offers extremely fast germination. MM50, is arguably a more popular choice for cricket groundsmen. This superior mix contains the perennial ryegrass cultivars, Venice, Alison and Malibu, which are renowned for providing a great sward. It features excellent shoot density along with tolerance to close mowing making it particularly suitable for cricket squares.

High Standards From MM Seed

“I’ve been using MM mixtures throughout most of my groundsmanship career and I don’t have any reason at all to change. Both MM50 and MM60 are very strong mixtures, we’ve never had any problems with them, the recovery is very good and they withstand a lot of wear.”

Both MM50 and MM60 are boosted by the inclusion of Headstart GOLD®. Developed using the latest scientific findings and field experience, Headstart GOLD® is a natural revolutionary grass seed treatment that ensures rapid germination and is perfect for enhancing performance on grass seed coatings for sports fields, golf courses, lawns and amenity turf.

“The seed is always quick to establish – it is strong and has good rooting. They are just great products which perform well and provide great colour all year round. The mixtures are always available and are easy to get hold of which is another benefit.

“I also have a good relationship with Matt Gresty who is always on the other end of the phone if I need him. He is also quick to offer technical advice as and when it’s required.”

For further information, please contact Limagrain UK on 01472 371471 or visit the company’s website www.lgseeds.co.uk/mm

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Greenkeeping Award For Gregg Hood

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Greenkeeping Award For Gregg Hood: Trainee greenkeeper Gregg Hood has been crowned SRUC Elmwood’s annual John Deere HNC Student of the Year, after making a career change in is early 40s. Greg won the award, sponsored by John Deere and Scottish turf dealer Double A, for a conscientious and enthusiastic approach to his programme of studies during the 2017/2018 academic year.

Born and bred in Glasgow, Gregg had a successful career as a qualified accountant and then a mortgage broker before making the jump into greenkeeping at the age of 42. “It was one of those life changing decisions that I just had to make,” he says. “I had thought for a couple of years that it was time for a change. I’ve always loved my golf, and thought it was a great environment to work in. I was also interested in how golf courses are put together, how they’re looked after and made to look so good.

Greenkeeping Award For Gregg Hood

“My partner Lisa was very supportive, so I finally left work in June 2017 and applied to the SRUC, having been in contact with Elmwood’s greenkeeping coordinator Mike Clark for a year or so before that. We agreed that the HNC in Golf Course Management would be the best entry level course for me, combined with volunteering on a golf course to get some practical experience.”

That golf course turned out to be St Andrews Links, where Gregg started volunteering two days a week from September 2017, about two weeks after starting the course. “It’s been fantastic, and course manager Kevin Muir and his team couldn’t have been more helpful. Everyone’s been very happy to give me the benefit of their time and knowledge, so it’s been an absolutely brilliant opportunity.

“Going in I was obviously a little apprehensive about my age, but both Mike and Kevin said if you show a good attitude and you’re there to learn, then as long as you can do the work and be a part of the team, there are no issues. I haven’t given it another thought since.

“I’ve never been part of anything like this before, certainly not in accountancy, where there’s always that element of competition, even when you’re working in a team. The only competition on a golf course is to improve your skills and make yourself a better greenkeeper. People at St Andrews Links and the college are really impressive, and all round I’ve found it to be a very encouraging environment to work in – I’m still very excited by it all.

“I’m now a BIGGA member and contracted at St Andrews Links until November 2018, and if a permanent position became available then I’d definitely apply. If not then I might try a warm weather grass course abroad over the winter months. Ultimately I would like to hone my skills and get more experience, including tournaments at other courses.”

Course tutor Paul Miller, who is based at SRUC’s Elmwood campus in Cupar, Fife, adds: “Gregg’s decision to change career was made after a great deal of research, preparation and consideration of all the implications. This thoroughness of preparation soon became evident in his course work, which he produced most conscientiously and to a very high standard right from day one – his commitment to making the most of the learning opportunity was impressive.

“Quickly realising that he would also need to build up his practical skills and his industry networking, Gregg volunteered to work at St Andrews Links, again demonstrating his enthusiasm and willingness to learn in that environment as well as in the classroom. He also applied for and was successful in gaining an R&A Greenkeeping Scholarship through SRUC.

“Having also secured a seasonal position on St Andrews Links, Gregg’s development continues apace. We all look forward to watching his growth in the industry and the contribution that he will make to greenkeeping as his career progresses.”

For more information, visit: www.JohnDeere.co.uk

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SISIS Scarifiers Key At Merchant Taylors’

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SISIS Scarifiers Key At Merchant Taylors’: Merchant Taylors’ School, based in Middlesex, have recently invested in a range of SISIS turf maintenance equipment to help maintain high standards at the school’s cricket facilities.

Academic prowess aside, at Merchant Taylors’ there is a huge emphasis on sport and the success of its sporting teams is testament to this. Cricket at Merchant Taylors’ is exceptionally strong and just last year the school won the national under 17’s cricket competition – which was an outstanding achievement for a day school.

SISIS Scarifiers Key At Merchant Taylors’

To date there are currently 17 competitive teams throughout the school who enjoy playing the game across 12 grass cricket squares, indoor and outdoor (all weather) nets, grass nets, and 3 bowling machines. Such is the quality of the cricket facilities that Middlesex County Cricket Club train regularly at the school and use it as a pre-season training camp. The Australian cricket team also trained at the school in preparation for their Ashes tours of 2013 and 2015.

“I think the work we do with Middlesex County Cricket Club, and the teams we have hosted, only benefits the school because of our need to be at the top of our game,” says grounds manager Richard Ayling. “If you are going to host these kind of top sportsmen you have to be in a position to provide the very best surfaces for them. They wouldn’t come here unless they were right and that is, I believe, a reflection on the work carried out by my team.”

Richard and his team of ten have exceptionally high standards and never rest on their laurels despite a hectic work schedule.

“I like to think that all of our sports surfaces are good but we are always striving for that bit more,” he says. “I have a great deputy in Scott Patterson who was the former head groundsman at the Oval and he has really pushed the cricket on.

“The twelve squares are used every Monday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday and we are actually one of the few schools that has started playing cricket throughout September whereas most schools would be moving to just rugby and football.”

As a result, Richard invested in a range of heavy duty SISIS scarifiers – two self-propelled Auto Rotorake MK.5’s and a tractor mounted Rotorake TM1000.

The SISIS Rotorake TM1000 is a tractor mounted heavy duty scarifier and linear aerator and is un-rivalled when it comes to removing and controlling thatch. It includes a collector box and floating unit to follow ground contours and its contra-rotating reel throws debris forward ensuring a clean, consistent groove resulting in an excellent finish when the time comes to scarify. With interchangeable blades and a quick, simple depth setting without tools, Richard has been quick to notice the benefits.

“The TM1000 is predominantly our main cricket scarifier and the ability to change blades is very convenient. With all of the cricket squares and grass nets there is a lot of scarifying to do and the TM1000 serves us incredibly well. It sits nicely behind our tractor, is a solid piece of machinery, collects well and does exactly what it says it will.”

Over recent years Richard has been a big fan of the Auto Rotorake MK.5 and the two new machines were brought in as direct replacements for two older machines. It is perfectly suited to a range of applications from sports field maintenance to synthetic turf maintenance, lawns and amenities. Its contra-rotating reel has specially designed tipped blades for clean, consistent cut and maximum thatch removal. Furthermore the Auto Rotorake MK.5 features a selection of seven different interchangeable reels which enables the machine to carry out a variety of maintenance tasks.

“The Auto Rotorake MK.5 is the perfect sized machine for us and we predominantly use it for cricket pitch preparation and also on the smaller school lawns for scarifying.

“We use the Brush Reel, Scarifying Reel, Verti-Cutter Reel and we like the Spring Tine Reel. We use this reel, not for scarifying, but more for standing up the grasses. It’s great for thinning the grass out, gently cleaning the surface and for a general tidy up on the wickets.”

“The staff use the Auto Rotorake MK.5’s a lot and I have the confidence to let them have their own say on preparations. Therefore, everyone has their own little quirks on how they like to do things and the Auto Rotorake MK.5 gives them the versatility to do so.”

For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact SISIS on 01332 824 777 or visit www.sisis.com

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