Martyn Parrish joins ICL

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Martyn Parrish joins ICL: Martyn Parrish has joined ICL as Technical Area Sales Manager for North London and surrounding counties.

Martyn began his career in greenkeeping and started working at his local golf club at the age of 16. During his time as a Greenkeeper, he completed his foundation degree in Sportsturf Management at Myerscough College and participated in the Ohio State Programme on a 12-month internship in which he worked on a Jack Nicklaus course construction and a grow-in in Texas – something which he pinpoints as a career highlight.

Martyn Parrish joins ICL

Martyn Parrish joins ICL

He then moved away from golf and accepted a position as a Grounds Manager on an ambitious landscape construction project of a 400-acre site in Henley on Thames.

Martyn worked in this role for six years before joining Maxwell Amenity, later to be acquired by Agrovista Amenity, as a Technical Area Sales Manager.

During this four-year period, he developed an impressive portfolio of clients, and believes that his experience will prove to be of great benefit in his new role at ICL.

“I will be working with a lot of the same people in many of the same areas,” said Martyn. “It also helps that I am very familiar with the ICL brand, and I know what the company stands for.

“I worked with some fantastic people at Agrovista Amenity and many of them will be friends for life, but you have to keep challenging yourself to reach another level, and the opportunity to join ICL was just too good to turn down.”

Martyn will be operating throughout North London and counties such as Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Oxfordshire, visiting new and prospective customers from various facilities and sectors, which is the part of the job he loves most.

“In this line of work it is important to feel that you are in a two-way relationship with the customer, assisting them to help them reach their best possible level,” he said. “When you can see that you are making a difference, that is when it feels really good – that is job satisfaction.”

After spending the entirety of his career to date in the turf and amenity industry, Martyn admits that times are changing, but with the backing of ICL, he certainly feels prepared for whatever challenges lie ahead.

“Product regulations and climate change are arguably the biggest challenges,” he said. “Customers are also asking different questions about products too, and they are looking for answers that are backed by research.

“ICL has been doing that for a long time now; and it will be a privilege to work with some of the most knowledgeable people in the industry selling the best products.”

Outside of work, Martyn likes being active and still enjoys a game of golf . He  has completed three Iron Man races and has represented Great Britain in the World Triathlon Grand Finals.

Please contact ICL on 01473 237100 or visit www.icl-sf.co.uk or www.icl-sf.ie if you are in Ireland.

For more news and insightful views, you can follow ICL on Twitter @ICL_Turf

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Ventrac for Stellar Asset Management

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Ventrac for Stellar Asset Management: Stellar Asset Management, working in partnership with Ben Blackburn Golf, has purchased two Ventrac golf course maintenance equipment packages for their properties in Perth, Scotland and Hampshire in England.

Murrayshall Country Estate, situated in Scone near Perth features a four-star country house hotel and 28-holes of stunning parkland golf, while the recently acquired Bramshaw Golf Club has 36-holes of golf set in the beautiful surroundings of the New Forest near Lyndhurst.

Ventrac for Stellar Asset Management

Ventrac for Stellar Asset Management

Commenting on the new equipment, Ben Blackburn said, “Although these two golf courses are over 500 miles apart, they are similar in that they are both located in magnificent parkland settings. This brings its own challenges, especially when maintaining the woodland margins, and this where the Ventrac and its numerous attachments comes into its own.

“At Bramshaw the package comprises a selection of attachments including Power Broom, Power Rake, Stump Grinder, Trencher, Turbine Blower as well as two cutting decks; a Contour deck and Tough Cut.

This provides a range of equipment to ensure that the presentation on the Manor and Forest courses are at the highest level all year round to the benefit our members and visitors. We are also undertaking major drainage work this winter which the Trencher attachment, in particular, will help us to proceed this project at speed.

“Similarly, at Murrayshall the package, which includes two mowing decks, a Trencher, Power Broom and Snow Blade, will be used to maintain both the golf courses and the 365 acres of picturesque countryside that surround this flourishing country estate, located right in the heart of Scotland.

“It’s the versatility of the Ventrac that attracted us to this equipment; one compact tractor unit with multiple attachments ensures that we have a portfolio of tools to tackle most jobs at these facilities without the need to hire in additional machinery. This allows us to actively manage our golf businesses and enhance our facilities, adding value to the golfing experience.”

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Wiedenmann duo assists Ladybank GC

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Wiedenmann duo assists Ladybank GC: In a corner of the UK where there are many remarkable golf courses, Fife’s Ladybank Golf Club, sets the bar high. Designed by Old Tom Morris in 1879, and venue for final qualifying for The Senior Open in 2018, Ladybank, has quintessential charm.

Grant Frogley, who joined as Course Manager in August 2021, is conscious of a responsibility to manage golf and the native flora and fauna in harmony across the site.

Wiedenmann duo assists Ladybank GC

Wiedenmann duo assists Ladybank GC

“We are a true heathland course. I consider this our USP, especially in Fife. Golf must be sensitive to the habitat. Take the red squirrel on our club badge, for example. It might be in decline nationally, but it thrives here. Our woodland policy will naturally promote pines and silver birch, trees the red squirrel favours. Our work is to tie all these strands together.

One of Grant’s first major projects is a programme of heather regeneration, requiring a three-to-four-year timeline to invigorate existing plantations and establish new growth.

“Heather is very much ‘in play’ at Ladybank; it’s a feature of the golf course which claims many golf balls,” explained Grant. “It predominantly lines the fringes of the fairways on many holes. The acreage of existing areas isn’t known, so part of our new process will be to measure so we can benchmark it year-on-year to chart its increase.

“Not long after I arrived, I ordered a 2.3 m Wiedenmann Terra Rake from Mike Lindsay, Area Sales Manager at Fairways GM. It partners the Wiedenmann Super 500, which I was pleased to inherit. These are my machines of choice for heather management. Previously as Course Manager at the Roxburghe I purchased a Super 600, so was familiar with that machine, but the Terra Rake is invaluable.

“Much of our heather is in a mature state. Plants are 25-30 years old, not at the degenerative stage but now is the perfect time to act. Unattended heather can become too old for intervention, the canopy begins to open and invasive species, like gorse and broom, appear.”

Already Grant, and his team of seven, have conducted a host of separate operations.

Heather seed is traditionally collected from the end of October, once heather flowers have faded. Conventionally, rogue grasses that stand taller than the heather plants are removed from the plot where the seed is gathered. The Super 500 fitted with flail blades then cuts and collects the heather pods, or brash. The valuable brash is respread on existing or new areas.

“In other places we are topping it off and continue to collect more seed. Cutting heather back is an important part of our plan. It means we will return it to that ‘building stage’ of its growth cycle; so next season, it remains youthful, and when it flowers, we would hope to see it with a better, more vibrant colour.

“We have also gone into several of the fringe sections of the fairways, and only partially topped them off. We’re mindful that heather plants at varying life stages creates a more consistent habitat for wildlife.

“At edges of the fairways within the playing corridors, places where we don’t want to strip the vegetation, the Terra Rake is the perfect tool for raking and scratching the surface to break the canopy, to expose the existing seed beds without us losing the vegetation.

“Next stage is looking at and preparing areas where we can respread that seed. We have some techniques up our sleeve which include the Terra Rake, but heather management will always be a continuous cycle.

“Still on the theme of promoting the habitat, we are introducing some wildflower areas which will prosper while our heather flourishes. Similarly, our programme of good woodland management will also get underway. These are all great projects to start in my first six months here,” explained Grant.

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Jersey Wanderers’ pitch damaged

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Jersey Wanderers’ pitch damaged: A football club has been left ‘disappointed’ and ‘frustrated’ after their pitch was damaged and logs used as a barrier to the neighbouring rugby club were taken.

Read the full article from Jersey Evening Post here

Jersey Wanderers' pitch damaged

Jersey Wanderers’ pitch damaged

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