Pitch Award For Nowlan Park

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Pitch Award For Nowlan Park: Nowlan Park, Kilkenny, has received their 2018 GAA County Pitch of the Year Award, sponsored by Campey Turf Care Systems.

As part of their prize the grounds team at Nowlan Park will receive a specially commissioned award and pitch supplies from Campey and fellow sponsors Irish Turfcare and ICL.

Pitch Award For Nowlan Park

The Kilkenny city venue was chosen in August 2018 after a thorough adjudication process, with McGovern Park, South Ruislip in London announced as the runner-up.

Other venues including Dr Hyde Park, Roscommon, Semple Stadium, Tipperary, Innovate Wexford Park, Wexford and Netwatch Cullen Park, Carlow were shortlisted as high achievers in the competition for excellence in playing surfaces.

Assessment of the grounds nationwide was completed by Stuart Wilson, Pitch Manager at Croke Park and the GAA National Games Development Centre, and by Dr Stephen Barker of the Sports Research Institute, who visited all six venues.

The process involved scoring and feedback from referees during the National Leagues in spring and took into consideration a Pitch Quality Assessment based on performance standards, construction, management program, environmental conditions and usage levels.

The awards scheme is part of a wider initiative to improve the standards of playing surfaces around the country and to share some of the expertise and experience used at Croke Park and from the GAA’s National Pitch Committee.

Commenting on the scheme and the results, GAA President John Horan said: “I would like to congratulate all the team who are responsible for the pitch in Nowlan Park on winning this award. It’s a pitch that gets more than its fair share of important, high profile matches and thanks to the time, dedication and investment, there is a surface there worthy of the great occasions hosted by Nowlan Park.

“This is an important scheme for the GAA to champion and I want to thank Stuart Wilson and also the National Pitch Committee for setting standards and encouraging our ground staff around the country to ensure that our pitches are in the best possible condition for our great Games.”

Campey continues to place a high priority on recognising excellence within the professional turf care industry as well as conducting regular educational days for everyone from volunteers to full-time turf professionals.

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Otterbine Reveal Contractor Award Winner

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Otterbine Reveal Contractor Award Winner: Water Garden Ltd, a family business based in Portsmouth, have been crowned winners of the has won the prestigious 2018 Reesink Turfcare UK Otterbine Contractor of the Year award.

The company achieved the highest Otterbine sales figures for 2018 thanks to their knowledge of the product, belief in the brand and support from Otterbine and its UK distributor Reesink Turfcare.

Otterbine Reveal Contractor Award Winner

Andy Staves, managing director of Water Garden Ltd, explains: “We were delighted to hear we’d won the award as the whole team has been working really hard this last year. We pride ourselves on having an expert group of staff who have a deep technical understanding of all the products we deal with. Customers can trust we know what we’re talking about and having quality products to back that up is vital.

“We don’t deal with the cheap and cheerful, we want the best, which is why Otterbine is the principle supplier for our aerating fountains,” he says. “Anything else simply doesn’t come close to the quality they offer.”

Even with such a dedicated sales team, the company can only go so far without the right back up and support from the manufacturer, says Andy: “We have a really close relationship with Reesink and Otterbine, in particular Reg Varney, the international region manager, who’s really helpful. Any issues we’ve had, they’ve been tackled head on without hesitation, and resolved quickly, allowing us to give the best possible service to our customers. It’s imperative we get the support we need, when we need it, and that’s what Otterbine and Reesink provide.”

Water Garden Ltd has recently benefitted from Otterbine water management and product training courses, adding to the company’s extensive knowledge of the brand.

Reesink’s national sales representative for Otterbine, Pete Newton, comments: “Water Garden Ltd is incredibly deserving of this year’s award. It is a delight to work with them and particularly rewarding to work with a company who recognises the importance of quality products and who has expert knowledge in the industry. We hope our close partnership continues for many years to come.”

With such a successful year for the company, it’s hard to reflect upon just one stand out moment says Andy: “We’ve had so many great installations this year, particularly with the larger fountains. We have a lot of customers who want not only quality water aeration but also stunning visual centrepieces for their golf course, private estate or wedding venue. Everyone has been delighted with the results – we haven’t had a single complaint, and we intend to keep it that way.”

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Campey Award-winning Dealers

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Campey Turf Care Award-winning Dealers for 2018: Campey Turf Care Systems has announced their award-winning dealers for 2018 with George Browns named as Dealership of the Year.

The Bedfordshire company are joined by Finish dealer, NH Koneet, who was awarded Most Improved Dealer whilst German company Rasenwelt won European Dealer of the Year 2018.

George Browns has been selling Campey products from their six depots since 2002 and now offer the entire range from Dakota and Imants through to Raycam and Vredo. For Browns, Campey products lend themselves to the hire market as much as they do retail sales, making them very popular with customers who recognise the impact they can have.

Jon Ryan, a member of the professional grass machinery sales team, collected the award on behalf of George Brown’s at BTME 2019 and appreciated the work of everyone at the dealership had been recognised.

“We were delighted to be named the Campey UK Dealer of the Year,” he said. “It recognises the work of everyone in our six depots and the combined efforts of the sales and hire side of the business who have come together to make a successful team.

“We started with Dakota TopDressers in 2002 following on with Vredo Seeders, Imants, Koro  and Raycam. To be honest there aren’t many Campeyô products that we haven’t sold which says a lot about their products and us a dealership.

“It’s a balance between us and Campey as we go out and offer the products to our customers but Campey themselves bring enquires to us and that’s the bond between the dealership and the manufacturer, we also see that in their product support and knowledge.

“Campeyô offers a wide range of machines like the Koro FTM, Air2G2, ShockWave, and the Raycam SPEEDRESSER. All of the ranges are popular with our customers because they’ve come from an innovative and forward-thinking company that have seen the challenges faced by turf professionals and made a point of providing a solution.

“Because of that they are now a company that sets the trend of the industry rather than following it.”

Managing director of NH Koneet, Teemu Hakkinen, hopes the successful relationship with Campey will continue as new customers in Finland continue to adopt the exclusive range of machines.

“It is an honour to receive this award. It reflects the successful relationship we have had with Campeys over many years and this is down to them supplying quality products with an excellent back-up service from a very reliable company, with excellent personnel in the field and at head office. ”

Rasenwelt’s impressive performance in 2018 also saw them named the European Dealer of the Year with the award received by Sales manager Armin Langenmair and his team.

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Belfry Named ‘Ultimate Golf Resort’

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Belfry Named ‘Ultimate Golf Resort’: The iconic Belfry Hotel and Resort underlined its position as one of the world’s most desired golfing destinations as it was crowned ‘Ultimate Golf Resort’ at the globally-recognised 59club Service Excellence Awards.

The legendary Ryder Cup host venue in the Midlands also received the coveted Gold Flag Award for both The Brabazon and PGA National course.

Belfry Named ‘Ultimate Golf Resort’

Individuals from The Belfry Golf Team were also recognised as Jack Bowen for winning Leading Individual Golf Sales Performance, Chris Reeve was named  Golf Manager of the Year and Angus Macleod won ‘Greenkeeper of the Year’ for the second year running.

The resort received a total of 11 nominations from the 59club, which honours venues for their commitment to customer satisfaction and service excellence, scoring strongly across a number of categories. Each resort is marked independently by ‘mystery’ visitors to ensure an accurate representation of customer service, with the aim of maintaining the highest levels of exemplary service throughout the industry.

Director of Golf Chris Reeve said: “To win Ultimate Resort from 59club is an amazing achievement for everyone at The Belfry. As our performance is benchmarked there’s nowhere to hide with mystery judges, so we have to provide the best experience every day for every guest. The Ultimate Resort award demonstrates how we can provide that all round service no matter what touchpoint our golfers have across the resort.

Director of Golf Courses and Estates Angus Macleod became the first in 59club history to retain the ‘Greenkeeper of the Year’ award, underlining his reputation throughout the industry.

Macleod commented: “At The Belfry we have to produce a Ryder Cup experience every single day, no matter what. Golfers come to The Belfry expecting to follow in the footsteps of legends of the game, to play our iconic holes in the same condition that the greats of the game had.

“I am delighted with the award and it is a testament to the expert green keeping team who continue to deliver a first-class experience to our golfers. They are constantly pushing the boundaries of excellence and meeting set targets that contribute to the wider resort objectives” said Macleod. ‘’The level of detail required  in our maintenance across our three golf courses is second to none, bringing them to a standard to sit at the top of the most elite golf clubs across the globe.’’

Resort Director, James Stewart said:“It’s an honour to be named the Ultimate Golf Resort and work alongside such an outstanding team. I am very proud of everyone here who contributes daily to ensure the quality and service we provide to guests remains world class. They are all truly deserving winners.”

Set in 550 acres of countryside, The Belfry has three golf courses, luxurious guest bedrooms and suites, an award-winning club house, meeting and events rooms, restaurants and bars, as well as a Spa and Leisure  Club.

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GreenFields Launch Pitch Awards

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GreenFields Launch Pitch Awards: GreenFields, official Pitch Partner of the EVO-STIK Northern Premier League, have launched their second annual Pitch of the Year Awards. The Pitch of the Year Awards recognise individuals and clubs who work tirelessly to ensure that their pitches look and feel the best that they can despite often having limited resources.

The awards were launched via an online survey sent out to all clubs and they will be able to make one vote for their top pitch in the EVO-STIK NPL. Clubs have 21 days to complete the survey, and with nominations from 80% of member clubs for the 2018 awards GreenFields are hoping that 2019 will see even more clubs cast their all-important vote.

GreenFields Launch Pitch Awards

Paul Milton, Commercial Director at GreenFields commented: “We are incredibly proud to be sponsoring and judging the second EVO-STIK NPL Pitch of the Year Awards and hope that even more clubs vote this year. There is so much hard work and dedication that goes into maintaining a pitch and it is of paramount importance to us that both individuals and clubs receive the recognition they so rightly deserve.”

Once the votes are in GreenFields will be shortlisting three clubs per division to carry out pitch inspections at towards the end of March. The shortlisted pitches will be judged on the following criteria: clegg and moisture results, visibility of lines, overall grass coverage, quality of grass in goal mouth areas and overall surface stability. The judges will also take time to interview each Groundsman on aspects such as fertiliser frequency and Summer renovation plans as well as taking into account the staff used for pitch maintenance, the maintenance equipment owned by the club, the weather on the day of the visit, the geographical location and weather implications, the average hours of pitch usage and the level of irrigation in place at the club. GreenFields will document the visits by using a dedicated app and by taking a series of photos.

EVO-STIK Northern Premier League Chairman, Mark Harris commented: “The quality of playing surfaces is an essential part of any thriving Non-League football club and the volunteers who maintain them are cherished. The Pitch of the Year Awards complement the Football Association’s Groundsman of the Year scheme by giving further recognition to those pitches in the Northern Premier League that are already of an exceptional standard. We are delighted to be working with GreenFields on this initiative.”

As with last year’s winners, (Premier- Whitby Town FC, North- Trafford FC and South- Loughborough Dynamo FC) there will be one winner per division. The winners will be announced at the League’s Annual End of Season Awards on 15 June in Blackpool and will be presented with a trophy along with a £500 voucher to redeem against maintenance materials or services from GreenFields.

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